Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Portrait of a politician as an artist

Photo: S. Gopakumar

Penchant for art: Veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran inaugurating R. Sankar commemoration meeting organised by the R. Sankar Foundation of Kerala in the city on Saturday. –

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It must have been long ago that veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran gave vent to his artistic talents last.

But he has shown once again that the streak is still live in his heart, may be as a small spark and that the spark can become a fire when the occasion presents itself.

The latest occasion was the R. Sankar commemoration organised by the R. Sankar Foundation of Kerala here on Saturday.

As the statue of R. Sankar commissioned by the Foundation for installation in the capital city was taking shape in the workshop of sculptor Sidhan at Manacaud, the function was held in its vicinity.

After taking a look at the statue, Mr. Karunakaran said that he was an artist and he wanted to suggest some changes in the statue. He showed the magnanimity to seek the sculptor’s permission for making them. Mr. Sidhan readily agreed and Mr. Karunakaran came out with them. He then reeled out his suggestions. The main ones were for making the face of the statue more imposing. The sculptor accepted them with grace.

The development may not have come as a surprise to persons like the former KPCC president Thennala Balakrishna Pillai, who was the chairman of the function. They must have seen a number of times in the past the fondness Mr. Karunakaran still has for the talent when invited to inaugurate a painting competition by painting a picture, a cartoon competition by drawing a cartoon or a poster competition by sketching an image.

In Mr. Karunakaran’s case, the portrait of an artist as a politician is familiar to the public. It is only during rare occasions like the commemoration function that they get to see his portrait of a politician as an artist.

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