The circular walls of the Roerich Art Gallery at the Russian Cultural Centre here seemed to serve as the perfect backdrop for an array of pictures depicting the life of journalist and political thinker ‘Chinta’ Ravindran.
The row of 35 images which begins with a sepia-toned image of a young Ravindran taken by Razak Kottakkal ends with a lovely shot of the personality with his son. The pictures that lay between them were an attempt to offer a glimpse into the life of Ravindran who donned several hats including that of a travel writer and filmmaker.
The exhibition was organised by the Chinta Ravindran Foundation, commemorating the third anniversary of his death. Apart from the photographs taken by Razak Kottakkal, there are also those by Punalur Rajan and K.R. Vinayan.
There is one section that consists of caricatures and cartoons by E.P. Unny and a few portraits by artists Bhaskaran and Valsaraj. One of the standouts of the show is a self-portrait by Ravindran, done effortlessly with a ballpoint blue pen.
Malayalam filmmaker K.P. Kumaran inaugurated the exhibition, commending it for its valiant effort to cover Chinta Ravi’s life. “He was no ordinary journalist and he presented political theories and ideas beautifully. It is near-impossible to depict the life of such a multi-faceted personality,” he said, recalling the presence ‘Chinta’ Ravi always had.
Some noteworthy pictures in the collection include one of Ravindran in the ’70s’ attire, posing in front of Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci’s house in Italy.
There are others of him engrossed in discussion with directors Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Mani Kaul and ‘behind-the-scenes’ shots of him focussing a camera and shooting a scene.
The foundation will hold the Chinta Ravi Memorial Lecture on July 12 at the Co-Bank Towers Auditorium. It will be delivered by Aijaz Ahmad, Marxist thinker and writer.
Poet K. Satchidanandan, journalist Sashi Kumar and economist M.A. Oommen are among those expected to attend the function.