It was only last year that Bengaluru got to see the best of the 131 lithographs of Raja Ravi Varma in a rare display. This year will be special again for Ravi Varma fans.
As April 29 marks the beginning of the celebrated painter’s 170th birth anniversary, the Bengaluru-based Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation has organised the screening of the documentary Beyond the Arch created by Studio Trika on Kilimanoor, the birthplace of Ravi Varma.
“People know a lot about Ravi Varma, but how many have seen Kilimanoor or its palace where Varma worked initially?” asks Gitanjali Maini, CEO of the foundation. There will be a special lecture by Choodamani Nandagopal on the collection of Raja Ravi Varma paintings in Mysuru. Dr. Nandagopal, Art Historian, who has researched on Colonial Paintings of South India, has done an in-depth study on his Mysuru palace collections.
Bharani Thirunal Rukmini Bayi Varma, the sixth generation of the family of painters, set up the Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation in the city. “Ravi Varma wanted to retire in Bengaluru. He even lived on Link Road, Malleswaram, for some time. He passed away before he could realise this dream. The establishment of the foundation here has in a way made his dream come true,” says Rukmini Bayi Varma. On why Kilimanoor, she says: “While we all know Kilimanoor as the birthplace of Ravi Varma, local legend has it that every person living there has an artistic inclination.”
“We are grateful to the Kilimanoor Palace Trust for permitting the making of this documentary,” says Ganesh Shivaswamy, secretary of the foundation. The documentary will also showcase the Kilimanoor Palace that comprises the traditional residential structures of Kerala, including small and medium-sized buildings, two ponds, wells and sacred groves ( kaavu ) that Ravi Varma is said to have built and maintained from the proceeds of his paintings. “Ravi Varma studied art at Kilimanoor, developed his style and built his studio there,” says Mr. Shivaswamy. Many of the paintings as Hamsa Damayanti and Shakuntala now at the Shree Chitra Art Gallery, Thiruvananthapuram, were painted at Kilimanoor. “The thematic paintings done by Ravi Varma were commissioned by the maharajas of Mysuru. They are one of the best examples of classic art,” says Dr. Nandagopal.
(Documentary will be screened at 7 p.m. on April 29 at Maini Sadan, Lavelle Road)
