The Hindu : Kerala News : Listen to the rhythm of art

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Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala

Listen to the rhythm of art

Alluring: Kuzhalmannam Ramakrishnan with one of his works.

The first exhibition of paintings by Kuzhalmannam Ramakrishnan, a Guinness record holder for his marathon 101-hour mridangam play, held at Chembai Memorial Government Music College recently brought out his intimacy with his ancestral village of Kuzhalmannam and the natural settings of the area in rural Palakkad.

These paintings are his work of more than 10 years. As a school student, he started painting, but could not pursue it as he had Mridangam concerts as his main vocation.His oil paintings and murals from an early age bear the impressions of rural life in this agricultural district. The Kuzhalmannam-Kotai belt where he grew up is rich in paddy cultivation with enough water from the Malampuzha irrigation project.

Mr. Ramakrishnan says that his paintings flow from the childhood memories of his village and the present-day environment where modernity has erased some of the old landscapes.

His painting, Vrindavana Saranya, is based on a prayer in the local temple where all are paying attention to devotional songs. The painting, titled Sangeethame Jeevitham, has the theme of singing for life with full devotion to music.

Yagnam depicts his 101-hour marathon Mridangam play. The painting on Chembai music festival at Guruvayur reflects his devotion to Lord Guruvayurappan where he has been playing Mridangam during Ekadashi for the last two decades, Mr. Ramakrishnan said.

G. Prabhakaran

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