What P.J. Antony absorbed in words and K.G. George captured in frames is reborn in Bonny Thomas’ dexterous strokes inside the dimlit urban chic interiors of Cafe Papaya. The artist guides his finger through the frames hung on the gallery wall, introducing ferryman Paili, milkmaid Kunjamma, ogler Paramu, the postman, drunkard Varkey, bangle seller Cheriyan and snack vendor Mariya among the others. Thomas did 70 illustrations for the complete collection of actor/author/lyricist P.J. Antony. Of this, 23 have found their way to the pastel-hued walls of Cafe Papaya, a bulk of which conjure up the pristine charm of Kolangal, the early 80s movie of George, an adapted version of Antony’s Oru Gramathinte Athmavu.
It took two weeks of intense perusal-cum-drawing for Bonny Thomas to etch a monochromatic tale for the life-time craft of the author — a four volume series of 31 plays, nine one-act plays, 28 short stories, two novels plus film songs. This fortnight played out as a single day for Thomas, the artist virtually blind to the tango of light and darkness outside his workshop.
“There was urgency on the part of publishers while I was assigned the task. They were keen to release the work at the earliest. I sat through day and night until the job was wrapped up,” he said as though it was a routine affair for him. Having the quality of a deep sea fish, living under the pressure of deadlines during his five-year stint as a cartoonist with a prominent media house, challenges could perhaps appear like a walk in the park for Bonny.
Behind the strokes, lies a childhood tale, a personal connect he had with P.J. Antony. Bonny’s father, an art connoisseur of Ponjikkara in Ernakulam who was at the forefront of organising stages for Antony whenever he arrived on the island. A young Bonny, but holds little memory of meeting the actor than the time he saw him in the movie Ambala Pravu as a seventh grader. The assignment that came to him many decades later was a matter of sheer coincidence. The fortuitous things did not end here. His choice of the venue, Cafe Papaya, too conjured up a connection. Its owner Aashiq Abu had enacted the role of P.J. Antony for the movie Iyobinte Pusthakam.
Next, the research coordinator of Kochi-Muziris Biennale plans a national-level show. Walk in to the gallery till August 19.
