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Inspired by the divine K. Venkatachari Photos: K. Ananthan

K. Venkatachari, 76 years old, says he has reinterpreted the dashavataaram in his works.

It took him 10 months to complete the series. Brightly coloured, a combination of pastels and watercolour, the paintings are vibrant. Venkatachari prefers to call them ‘dynamic’.

A walk around the gallery with him becomes a story-telling session too as snippets from the Puranas are narrated.

Rama’s compassion, Balarama’s disillusionment, the chaos of Kalyuga (in this avataara, look closely and you will spot an aeroplane heading towards what can only be the WTC!), and so on.

Professor Venkatachari is a retired professor of English from the N.G.M College at Pollachi and he has also studied Temple Arts.

That is evident as temples and the gods form a significant part of his art. With special permission, he has sat in the sanctum sanctorum and drawn and painted the deities (Darbasayanam at Thirupullani is one of them).

“Like Wordsworth said, ‘Nature is the manifestation of God’, so I have observed and painted nature, too,” says Venkatachari.

The Valparai ghat road, sunset from his window, a solitary hut under a banyan tree that falls in his walking path, fields, forests, everything finds a place in his works. Along with beautiful watercolours of scenes from temples, Venkatachari has also rendered the Taj Mahal. “Though I have visited the Taj Mahal, these are all drawn from Raghu Rai’s photographs,” he says.

A few paintings compel you to stand a stare a bit more. One of them is of a corner of a room of a house the artist lived in 50 years ago. A bucket, some brooms and odds and ends occupy one corner, while a clothes line has a veshti hanging on it. An old-fashioned wooden door (you can almost hear it creak), completes the picture. There is something about that picture that makes you want to study it some more. A beggar sleeps with an empty bowl by his side. Also poignant.

Poetry and art are both close to the artist’s heart. And, he has expressed his love for literature by drawing portraits of English authors and poets from Geofferey Chaucer, Jane Austen, Francis Bacon and so on.

Though arthritis does play spoil sport sometimes, the artist says he still loves to paint. He plans to embark on a series of paintings on the Thirupavai, he says.

The artist’s works are on sale and display till December 16, between 10 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. They are priced between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 9,500. For details, call 0422-2574110.

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