PAINTINGS
Illustrations
in Tamil publications
About
the artists
Gopulu
Sri Gopulu was born
at Tanjore in the year 1924. Upto his 10th year Gopulu's life was spent
under the shadow of Tanjore ‘Big Temple', playing, learning and breathing
Tanjore culture. He came under the influence of a great genius, Late. Sri.
Mali of Ananda Vikatan, the famous cartoonists of the 1930s and 1940s in
Tamil Nadu. Sri Gopulu joined Ananda Vikatan in 1945 under the leadership
and inspiration of the great master Sri. Mali. Gopulu started to draw journalists
illustrations, cartoons, caricatures, jokes etc. which are part and parcel
of Tamil Journalism. This continued for decades in Ananda Vikatan as well
as in other journals.
cartoonistsindia.com/ |
He was a student of
the Kumbakonam School of Arts. Gopulu entered Vikatan, and for the next
20 years designed covers, did political cartoons, and illustrated several
popular columns. He served under two editors - Devan and later Kothamangalam
Subbu.
When asked, "What did you most enjoy
doing - cartoons, or oil paintings or line drawings?" he conters "Can a
parent choose between his children?" Touché.
hindu.com/... |
| Gopulu illustrated the
episodes from Devan's Thuppariyum Sambu when it was presented in comics
form in Ananda vikatan. |
His illustrations for
Devan's stories and Thillanana Mohanambal and his mythological tales bring
the characters alive.
|
Union Publishing House
deserves to be commended for having published "Lakshmi Kataksham" with
Gopulu's illustrations.
hindu.com/... |
S.Rajam
| S.Rajam studied in the
Government School of Arts in Madras in 1935, when the famous Roy Chowdhury
was the Principal. KCS Panicker, Dhanapal and Kodur Ramamurthy were
Rajam's school mates. |
Rakam's series of paintings
- Origin & Classification of
Swaras
- Twelve
paintings illustrating Venkatamakhi’s melakartha scheme by classifying
the 72 mela ragas into 12 chakras
- paintings illustrating the kritis,
prarticularly the Navagraha kritis of Sri Mutthuswami Dikshitar
- His portraitures of the composers
in the classical traditions of Indian music |
| - Shri Rajam while talking
about his technique of water-wash said, "I learnt it all from my teacher
Shri V.Doraisamy Achari".
- His portrait of the trinity of
Carnatic music (Saint Thyagaraja, Sri Mutthuswami Dikshitar and Sri Shyama
Shastri) which he painted when he was barely twenty years of age is a true
classic; it is a universally acclaimed archetype and one that is even worshipped.
- Hallmarks of his portraits are
their authenticity. He studied and researched into his subjects thoroughly,
grasped the essence of their character and achievements. His portraits
therefore bring out not mere the physical resemblance of the subjects but
more importantly the essence of their very inner being. Thus, imagination,
observation and the expressive force of rhythm became the essential features
of his paintings. Through sustained practice, he learnt to make his pictures
come alive with rhythm and expression.
Visit Legacy
of Chitrasutra - Shri S Rajam by Sreenivasarao for the complete article
and images. |
S.Rajam has illustrated
the book Dancing with Siva, Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism by
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (Kauai's Hindu Monastery), published by
Himalayan Academy, USA, India.
The book is available online at himalayanacademy.com/
along with the illustrations. |
| He was trained in music
as well. In fact some of the greats in the field of Carnatic music
used to visit his home and have personally taught him. He was the
first disciple of Papanasam Sivan. He has also acted in 3
films - Seetha-kalyanam, Radha-kalyanam and Rukmini-kalyanam. |
Bapu
| Narayana, famous by
his pen name Bapu contributed story illustration, magazine covers, cartoons,
comic strips to English, Telugu, Tamil periodicals from 1945. |
| Bapu has also introduced
a new cursive writing in Telugu. This font is his own handwriting and reflects
the same simplicity he exhibits in his art. His main achievements are the
production of an illustrated book of Ramayana for children, over a hundred
exhibitions and ‘one-man shows' of his art work were held all over Andhra
Pradesh and also at the National Film Theatre, London in 1978 and at the
Telugu Conferences held in the U.S.A. in 1978, 1985, 1989, 1992, 1995 and
1996. Many exhibitions and seminars held on his paintings till now have
all registered an unforgettable memory to the visitors & viewers. |
| Just a mention of the
name Bapu brings smiles on the faces of Telugu people. Such is the spell
the artiste has cast on the masses across Andhra Pradesh over the years.
Whether it is the little Budugu with his trademark mischievous smile or
the traditional Telugu girl with a beautiful jada (plait) looking back
over her shoulders, Bapu's line art has earned him a large fan following
in the Telugu Diaspora during the last 60 years. |
Bapu is one of the very
few truly original filmmakers in the Telugu film industry and is the popular
half of the Bapu-Ramana (Mullapudi Venkata Ramana) pair that made movies
that went on to define subtlety in telugu cinema.
- bapuramaneyam. blogspot.com
Excerpts from article
|
Bapu geesina bomma
The Hindu, Jun 21, 2004
Be it the revered Lord Sri Rama
or the naughty Budugu, it's the legendary Bapu all the way, says G.V.Ramana
Rao.
|
Chithiramum
vichitramum
Snippets from
an article by Kalaimaamani Vikraman on Kalki's Sivagaamiyin Sabadham in
Gopura Dharisanam Deepavali Malar 2006
| Kalki wrote two articles
in Kalki under the title "Soppana Logam" (dream world) after a two day
visit to study the sculptural wonders of Mahabalipuram along with T.K.C. |
Kalki wrote his first
historical novel Paarthiban Kanavu in the issue - 16 October 1941.
Artist Varma added glory to the
novel with his illustrations. |
| Varma also illustrated
the great classic Sivagaamiyin Sabadham, which appeared in Kalki from January
1, 1944. |
| When Sivagaamiyin Sabadham
was released as a novel, artist Chandra had done the illustration. |
| Other artists who have
also illustrated this great novel - Maniam, Maaruti, Maniam Selvan, G.K.Murthy. |
|
