Young at art

Indian artist, 77, impresses with his sketches

His illustrations are recognised immediately, with or without his signature, the simple lines that are not so simple after all.

The music that accompanies the south Indian dance form, Kathakali, played on. With easy, flowing strokes, Vasudevan Namboodiri drew lines that within seconds assumed an identity of their own and within a matter of minutes, the five Kathakali characters depicted in the songs materialised on paper.

The audience, though agog with admiration, was not surprised, because the fame of Namboodiri, as he is affectionately known, is spread beyond the confines of Kerala.

This was the first sojourn outside India for the 77-year-old artist. He was invited by Essence, a non-profit organisation of the Nattika S.N. College Alumni in UAE. The association had organised an art camp for children in Sharjah where 70 children, six to 16-year-olds, studied various art forms from 10 teachers during the summer months.

Namboodiri conducted a day-long workshop for the students of the camp, explaining his techniques and guiding the youngsters in creating works of art using simple medium like crayon.

As an illustrator with the Matrubhumi publication, Namboodiri has brought to life characters from the works of all outstanding writers of Kerala.

Namboodiri's art is not confined to the south-Indian writers either – he has drawn for authors from other Indian states for the special Republic Day issue of the literary magazine featuring stories from all over India.

His illustrations in ink are mere shapes but Namboodiri imparts a few details and the figures – a bunch of old men sitting in the shadow of the banyan tree, the madam, the sage, mythological characters and modern couples – assume expressions, feelings and tell you a story.

The lines are stylish and sparse – where others may need to add a hundred details, Namboodiri's few strokes are enough to portray the nuances of a complete personality.

The larger-than-life representations of women loom imposingly and dignified. He is as comfortable drawing ordinary people as imparting new depths to the depiction of Buddha or modern day public figures. His study in portraits of the late Indian leader EMS Nambudripad shows deep understanding of the complex character.

The artist has a repertoire of etchings, water colours, pastel drawing and sculptures. For nine years, his daily cartoon with socio-political comments, with the central character 'grandmother' and her world, was a great hit.

He has created the 20-foot sculpture of Mother with children in cement for Hindustan Latex Ltd. He is presently working on 20 life-size figures in fibreglass for the Kalamandalam Art School for performing arts in Trichur, Kerala.

Namboodiri is inspired by the impressionist movement and admires Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. The rich, vivid colours of his paintings pulsate with energy, conjuring images of life in scenic Kerala.

The amazing transparency of blues of the sky and the sea, the blurred reflections of flowers in water, the swirling strokes of majestic elephants revealing diminutive men on closer scrutiny, merging in one another yet decidedly distinguished – you want to go on looking at this still life that is more vibrant than any moving form.

He has been the chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi, the premier art establishment of India. Asked about any state-honours he has received, he is shy – Namboodiri believes in letting his work speak for him.

He is the recipient of Bashir Puraskar and Kerala government fellowship. His son, following in his footsteps as an art director, has assisted Aravindam for the award winning film Piravi.

At the closing ceremony of the art camp held at Emirates National School, Sharjah, Namboodiri spoke about his experience with young artists. His work was exhibited at the Sharjah Indian Association hall yesterday.