Rooted in tradition

Ramachandran is in search of an Indian idiom

A fortnight ago, 70-year-old Achutan Nair Ramachandran travelled to Eklingji near Udaipur, to watch the morning unfold by a lotus pond. It was one of the numerous "sketching trips" he takes to the region every year.

It is another matter that the surroundings of Eklingji have transformed from the quiet paradise to a washing ghat littered with plastic bags and monstrous constructions.

Ramachandran still visits the place three times a year to study nature and the Bhils and create the lotus ponds of the "mind", which today constitute a significant body of his work.

There has, however, never been an even reaction to Ramachandran's work. Some swear by it, others dislike it. Even fewer works circulate in galleries or auctions.

"One reason for that is Ramachandran is a slow painter. Besides, collectors do not like to part with his works," says gallerist Arun Vadehra.

By the artist's own admission, his main objective all these years has been to find an Indian grammar of art.

While he started painting lotus motifs from 1992 when he executed the Urvashi series, the first major shift in his work came about in the mid-eighties, just after he lost the vision in his right eye.

"This was the phase when I reached maturity, but my artist friends joke that I have started painting better with one eye," he says. Influenced by Mexican muralists, his previous paintings were mainly political statements; grotesque, headless figures dominated his work. Yayati, a 26 ft panel he created after studying the Gadoliya Lohar tribes in 1984, marked a significant change in its lyrical content and graceful drawings.

This was followed by several works of pictorial pun on ancient myths and legends going beyond the realm of reality. On several occasions, Ramachandran himself made an appearance on his canvases "" in the form of an insect, a bat, or even Ramdev (the local hero/god of the Bhils).

He says he never did pure abstractions (like V S Gaitonde) or abstractions in space (like Tyeb Mehta) but was keen on multiple perspectives.

"I've been rooted to Indian tradition and have been in search of an Indian idiom." What upsets him is Indian art not being able to break away from European movements. "This way, we will continue to be an appendix to Western art," says Ramchandran, who has taught the subject at Jamia Milia Islamia University.

In a career spanning over five decades, Ramachandran has painted, sketched, sculpted on bronze and composed illustrations. What is little known is that Ramachandran is an excellent children's story writer.

He has written books for Japanese publisher Fukuinkan Shoten in the seventies, which still churns out reprinted editions.

His book, The Golden City, an interpretation of Satyadarshi's journey, is one of the finest children's books with imaginative illustrations and a modern interpretation where the protagonist encounters different wise men such as Einstein and Michelangelo.

Currently, Ramachandran is giving the finishing touches to his epic tome on Mural Paintings of Kerala, a joint venture between Vadehra Art Gallery and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. "In the end," says the artist, "I'd like my works to be assessed by Indians."