International centre for arts & culture comes up at Ravi Varma's birthplace

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An international foundation for art and culture (RIFAC), set up to commemorate legendary artist Raja Ravi Varma's 111th death anniversary, was launched at the Kilimanoor palace, his birth place, on Monday. The official proceedings of the foundation set up by Ravi Varma's family members were inaugurated by H.H. Samarjithsinh Gaekwad, the Maharaja of Baroda. Samarananjali, the commemoration programme, was inaugurated by culture minister A.K. Balan. "The painter among princes and the prince among painters made the art popular that was once confined to the walls of palaces and places of worship," the minister said.

The lithographic press started by Raja Ravi Varma in Bombay revolutionised the art form which gave the deprived an opportunity to worship God inside their own houses with the pictures reproduced by the artist, he added. The government has sanctioned a Rs. 9.29- crore project by the Lalithakala Akademi to start a modern art gallery in the name of Raja Ravi Varma which will also have an open studio for artists, he said.

Mr A. Sampath, MP, inaugurated a painting exhibition by the descendants of Raja Ravi Varma. He also presented the first RIFAC award to a talented artist Swapna Augustine, who paints using her legs in the absence of arms. Dr. M.S. Valiathan, one of the patrons of RIFAC, delivered the keynote address. The dignitaries also made floral offerings at the memorial of Raja Ravi Varma.

Baroda royal keeps date with painter king 

When the Maharaja of Baroda, H.H. Samarjithsinh Gaekwad, visited the 'Puthen Malika' or the new mansion at the Kilimanoor palace on Monday, it was the fulfilment of an old royal promise. His visit took the descendants of Raja Ravi Varma back in time to the days of the legendary artist and his unfulfilled dream. Ravi Varma had expressed his desire to invite the then Maharaja of Baroda Sayajirao Gaekwad to celebrate his own 'Shashtipoorthi' (60th birthday) and started the construction of the Puthen Malika for the Maharaja to stay in the palace.

"Ravi Varma constructed the new mansion near his famous art studio which is the major attraction of the palace. It was built for the Maharaja of Baroda to stay while celebrating his Shashtipoorthi. However, he died at the age of 58 in 1906 without fulfilling his dream. But the dream came true when the present maharaja visited the mansion today," Dr. R. Ravi Varma, chairman of theinternational foundation for art and culture (RIFAC) and one of the descendants of Ravi Varma, told DC.

The maharaja recollected that the building resembled the one they had in the Baroda palace compound. "It is similar to the one we have in Baroda and even his studio was close to the building like here," he said. "He had special access and privilege in the palace so that he could paint seeing the faces of women and even when they were in different costumes. The royal family of Baroda had close association with Raja Ravi Varma so that people used to visit my father to authenticate these paintings. He was so familiar with the strokes and nuances of the artist," he said.

In 1881, then Maharaja of Baroda, Sayajirao Gaekwad appointed Raja Ravi Varma at his Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Baroda, currently Vadodara, to make paintings. During his stay in Baroda, Ravi Varma made several paintings that depicted episodes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana apart from the paintings and portraits of the members of the Baroda royal family. He stayed there for nearly 14 years. Raja Ravi Varma had also set up a lithographic press in Bombay in 1894 with the help of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad, which revolutionised the art form making it a popular one.