The Painter

Title: The Painter – A Life of Ravi Varma

Author: Deepanjana Pal

Publisher: Random House, 2009 (First)

ISBN: 978-81-8400-064-1

Pages: 272

A must have book for those wishing to know the life and times of Raja Ravi Varma, the man known as the prince among painters and the painter among princes. In fact, the work contain so much information about the history of the period, the transition that gradually reached centre stage in painting, the social upheaval caused by reforming measures of the ruling British and the general uneasiness prevailed in the country in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the First War of Independence in 1857, leading up to a national movement spearheaded by middle class, western educated intelligentsia. Ravi Varma lived and painted in this atmosphere and his works reached every nook and cranny of the country, particularly his depictions of deities that moulded the concepts of divinity for the next three to four generations of ordinary Indians. Though much reprimanded by art critics for the bland, unimaginative character of his pictures even in his lifetime, to many of us, he still represents the epitome of Indian art that every child aspires to. The narration is safely ensconced with the author Deepanjana Pal who is a columnist working with Time Out in Mumbai and writes on art and literature.

As noted above, besides telling the life story of Ravi Varma, the book discloses the tremendous transformation happening in every facet of mid-19^th century society. Establishment of British sovereignty after the 1857 war remoulded the decadent polity and economy in a new crucible. Monarchy was beginning to be bound by some form of control by elected representatives. Absolute monarchy became a thing of the past. Kings found it difficult to re-appropriate public funds for personal ostentation and extravagance. Printed media formed a bulwark against misrule. Though the renovations were a long time coming to Kerala, which was the princely state most steeped in superstition. As in the case of Ravi Varma, there arose alternatives to persona non grata of the kings. Ravi Varma faced this predicament twice. First, when he was ousted from court under suspicion that he was allying with the pretender to the throne of Ayilyam Thirunal, who was none other than his own brother Visakham Thirunal. Varma went to his wife’s home at Mavelikkara to wait for good times. After Ayilyam’s death a few years later, Visakham Thirunal indeed ascended the throne, but the painter’s career at his court was far from scintillating. There arose a tussle between him and the king during the visit of the Duke of Buckingham, Governor of Madras Presidency to Thiruvananthapuram who was an wholehearted admirer of the painter. He talked a lot with him at their meeting in the presence of the king who had had to stand all the time the conversation went. This was a bit difficult for him as he had an affliction of gout. He didn’t forget this slight and expelled Ravi Varma from the court again. If that incident had happened a century ago, it would have been the end of him, both for his career and his life. The changed circumstances enabled him to accept commissions from the royal houses of Baroda, Mysore and Pudukottai and thereby advance his reputation further.

Unlike people coming from conservative backgrounds like that of families allied to the royal household, Ravi Varma was pragmatic and was always ready to experiment. He broke ways with the Tanjore School of Indian art which flaunted water colours as its base and with a distinct set of rules about framing the composition. Varma followed European realistic style with oil as the medium. This was a far greater achievement than we can imagine now with a 150 years of tumultuous change in between. He had no schools open for him and not a teacher to turn to, to master the techniques of blending the colours. Those who possessed the skills jealously guarded it from all acolytes. Varma managed to learn the procedures covertly from the chief assistant of the court painter Ramaswamy Naicker, with whom he had fallen out earlier on the same issue. Unlike some artists who ply their trades only for the sake of art, Ravi Varma was shrewd enough to cash in as much as possible while the wind was favourable. The handsome amount he charged for privately commissioned paintings were on par with that of a master of his stature. He invested the money earned to start a press to mass produce his pictures in a bid to sell them to the public. The Ravi Varma Fine Art Lithographic Press which was established in Kalbadevi, Mumbai with German machinery and foreign technicians produced faithful reproductions of gods and goddesses that appealed to the public. The images of goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati which still adorn the walls of many Indian homes, large or small, were produced in that press. However, Ravi Varma couldn’t manage the daily functioning of the outfit which eventually floundered.

Even though the result of an elaborative research, the author ought to have applied a little more earnestness in analyzing the social conditions of Kerala in the 19^th century in which Ravi Varma was born. Otherwise, such gross errors in what she says about the caste structure, like “Traditionally, non-Brahmin girls like Ravi’s mother who was a Nair and belonged to the Kshatriya or warrior caste that came right below Brahmins, had two marriages” (p.18) would not have occurred. We have to note the double mistake in this statement. Ravi Varma’s mother was neither a Nair nor the Nairs belonged to Kshatriyas. Ravi Varma’s mother was indeed a Kshatriya but Nairs belonged to Shudras, the lowest rung in the Varna hierarchy whose sole function was to act as servants to Brahmins, which most of them took it upon themselves with gusto. Their women were also expected to provide sexual comfort for the Namboodiri Brahmins who often condescended to adopt formal rituals of a marriage which sometimes didn’t last longer than a few days.

The book is not an authorized biography in the strict sense of that term. Pal takes artistic freedom to elevate the narrative, dexterously interweaving threads of history with that of refined imagination. The author has taken special care to denote such portions of fiction in italics which turned out to be a delightful experience as otherwise the readers would have been quite unable to separate the fact from fiction because the two has been blended in so seamless a fashion. An illuminating example is the imaginary discourse between Ravi Varma and his uncle Raja Raja Varma about a painting by Gustave Boulanger titled ‘Ulysses recognized by his Nurse Euryclea’ on pages 32-34. Though the protagonists are unaware of the existence of the Greek classic Odyssey, from which the scene is inspired from, the careful and artistic regard with which they analyze the depicted scene and comes to the subtle interpretation conveyed by the painter. Pal has done a wonderful job in this brief, but extremely fine narrative.

The book is well thought out and written with lucidity, but the layout and attention to details cry for a lot to be desired. The numerous typos plaguing the pages don’t make the work any better. It also seems that the author was at a loss or in a hurry to describe the events leading to Ravi Varma’s death. Apart from a casual remark that he died due to diabetes, no effort has been made to convey the impact of the passing away of the famous painter at age 58. At the same time, the fraternal attachment between Ravi and his younger brother Raja who was also a gifted painter is brought out in heart-touching detail. It might not be a coincidence that the elder brother passed away after a little more than a year after his younger sibling’s death due to tumour affecting the intestines.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 3 Star