The Call of An Artist | Manohar Devadoss
I remember signing off on our last past
post here, with the words,
‘When you have an overpowering urge to
tell something, just express it!’
‘Jot them down! Put them on canvas! Without bothering about anything else! - like
the public man, or cheering crowds!’
This post, in a kutty
little way, would then try to elucidate on these lines, by
invoking a passionate artist who very fervently and intensely stood by this
conviction, evoking the aura of his region with such finesse and flourish!
Art for heart’s sake!!!
Presenting Padma Shri Manohar
Devadoss, ladies and gentlemen, and the legend’s delectable drawings from his book
titled, Multiple Facets of My Madurai.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson
of the Father of our Nation, in his admirable foreword to this 2007 - ‘Manohar
Devadoss’s ‘ink-painting’ publication, calls it the ‘Manohar-Mahema-Madurai
miracle’!
Says Gandhi, in his Foreword to this, his 2007 book (republished in 2019) –
‘Madurai, Manohar and
Mahema’
are a threesome miracle. All three lose themselves in each other. All three
find themselves in each other. Together they form the subject, the skill and
the soul of this book.
Mahema read out to
Manohar
from books, articles and papers, things about Madurai. And as she did so,
Manohar’s own indelible memory of scenes and spaces formed the stunning images
that this volume holds.
Manohar’s pen draws
with ink,
now flowing thick as a tail-brush, and now as thin as an ant’s trail on talc.
As his nib moves, slowly, deliberately, cell by cell, point by point, in lines
as clean as Euclid’s and as fine as the veins on a peepal leaf, the light and
shade of that city’s life arise on the page.
A tilt of the pen
here, a pressure
on it there, now strong, now slight, a joinery here, an ellipsis there, a smear
here, the ponds filled with water, buffalos wallowing, ducks paddling, vendors
selling, elephants gamboling and hills sitting in sage reflection. Here is art
that makes photography seem ersatz and words a failed exercise in description.
Such is the ‘reality of representment’
that adorns each of the seventy two intricately detailed pen-and-ink drawings.
An added joy for art lovers is the fact that, each drawing is dated, and is
also accompanied by a lovely textual illustration to the left of the page, that
adds to the ecstatic feel of each of the drawings!
Moreover, these drawings spread over a lifetime,
start with the earliest one that was done in December 1983, to the latest one
in July 2010.
A passionate artist, Manohar
Devadoss speaks in the preface to this, his book on his artistic call -
And I’m sure you’re gonna be so moved
beyond measure by his great passion and commitment towards this, his artistic call!
Indeed! there’s no stopping you,
when there’s a voice nudging you from behind, that says, ‘Just go ahead!
Create!’
Says the legend – Padma Shri Manohar Devadoss -
As a teenager, I realized
that I had
a feel for rural scenes and architectural entities, a good comprehension of
perspective and a flair for ink drawings. Over the years, ink-on-paper became
my preferred medium, although it is not an easy one.
Tonal differences are
created
by changing the thicknesses of black lines and by varying the spaces between
the lines.
How to distill for
instance, the
mood and magic of a still fragrant early morning jasmine garden in black ink
without the use of color and depict the fine gradation of texture in every
surface?
I immensely enjoyed
addressing
such challenges in my artwork. Fortunately for me, these very challenges became
my assets in later years.
My vision declined, my color perception faded and my acuity
weakened. But I could still clearly see black and white.
With passing years. I
found it
harder and harder to draw and I had to spend longer and longer hours at my
easel…
However, my motivation to draw and the pleasure I derived from
the creative work never declined.
While capturing
statuary
in ink, my emphasis was on factual precision. So it was with lofty monuments too,
but I used my own input in creating the scenes at the ground level, as they really
were.
I created the artwork
on street
houses by drawing upon my knowledge of the structure of such buildings, by poring
over disparate visual sources, by sketching existing abodes and by using
trigonometry.
As for rural scenes by
and large, I
carefully composed them based on my deeply engraved memory and our existing
rustic landscapes, without compromising authenticity.
This book brings into
focus multiple
facets of my Madurai. Through its
artwork and the text, this portfolio is also an indirect plea for the civic
renewal of this town.
My hope is that its
citizens
will nurture, cherish and preserve its varied, rich Heritage even while looking
forward to its assured, vibrant future.
Bespeaks volumes to the ‘rootedness’
of this legend in his own social milieu, his time and his place, and how his
Madurai for him becomes a microcosm of the entire world!
How true proves Bella Lewitzky’s
renowned line, ‘To move freely you must be deeply rooted’!
Shri Devadoss, Manohar Devadoss is the
bestest exemplar to this credo, in his own inimitable ways!
And howww!!!
And now, for a kutty little dash and sprinkle from off his Madurai for us all excerpted from this, his book titled, Multiple
Facets of My Madurai!
[Immense appreciation to Aravind Eye
Hospitals, Madurai, for having published the seventh edition of this memorable
book.]
[And kudos to the JC Art Gallery,
Madurai, for making these treasure-troves from off a legend's exquisite
evocative sketchings, framed in their collectibles on display for the lay. Double delight
when you are informed that, each of the sketchings is embellished with a succinct
commentary in the legend's own voice, describing each of his works for us all!]
Indeed, pages from ages past, come alive with such 'reality of representment', in such real 'flesh and
blood' in the rich, evocative sketchings of Devadoss, Manohar Devadoss!
[PS: You may want to know about another legend, an exemplary artist and a Professor of English, from Madurai, J Vasanthan, in our 2014-blogpost HERE!]
Pen-and-ink drawing, completed in June
1986 - represents Meenakshi Kalyanam - Wedding of Meenakshi -carved in high
relief on a large, tall stone pillar in Pudu Mandapam (New Hall) built
three-and-a-half centuries ago - opposite the east gateway tower of the temple
complex. Meenakshi Kalyanam was a favourite theme for sculptors of yore.
Similar groupings of these deities can be seen in many other places in and
around Madurai.
The culmination of the Chithirai
Festival in the triumphant procession - on the morning of the day after the
wedding - of the two impressive thers (temple chariots), one for the bride and
the other for the bridegroom. The two gargantuan chariots pass through the four
Masi Streets.
Among the finest entities within the
mahal that is extant today is the Nataka Sala (the Drama Hall), north of the
Swarga Vilasam. An arcade runs on all four sides, about eight feet above this
depressed rectangular hall. The relatively short columns lining the arcade
support a complex of foliated arches, above which are ornate entablatures, high
corridors, topped by an arched roof seventy feet above the floor. The entire
surface between the arches and the roof is interspersed with yali-like figures.
Gundu Malli (globular jasmine) buds are
tight, hardy, fragrant and pearl-like. These buds from Madurai are considered
the best, not merely in Tamil Nadu, but in the entire country. Many believe
they are among the finest in the world. I have always been fond of jasmine.
When i completed this drawing in June 2003,
I experienced a special sense of fulfillment that I had been granted the
grace to create such a piece of artwork even with my severely impaired vision.
Approved by Pope Gregory XV, the
revitalized Madurai Catholic Mission built St. Mary's, a small church in the
early 1840s. Madras, as the state capital of Tamil Nadu, has many churches
ranging from the simple to elegant to quaint to the stately. And yet, this huge
metropolis, as far as I know, cannot boast of a single significant church
having twin spires with a beauty all its own, as St. Mary's Cathedral in
Madurai does!
 |
| And the legend's specially autographed copy for me! |
A million thanks to my little cousin paapa, for getting me a signed copy of Padma Shri Manohar Devadoss's book, and thereby making this post a reality!
