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Line of work Artist Namboodiri‘s works are rooted in the soil

Twenty-one years after, M.K. Vasudevan Namboodiri, aka Artist Namboodiri, will hold an exhibition of his works in crayons.

“It is a rare collection of my works in browns and blacks on paper. By gently smudging and rubbing the lines I have got an interesting sepia tone and effect that enhance the images I have chosen to draw,” says the soft spoken artist.

Images of characters from Kathakali plays, women dressed in traditional clothes and rustic scenes dominate his latest works that remain faithful to his style that is grounded in spontaneity and simplicity.

“I don’t believe in mulling over my works. The lines just flow and I have to transfer them immediately on to paper. The spontaneity of thoughts and expression are captured in the thickness and the flow of the lines,” explains the artist.

He adds that it is this spontaneity that helped him participate in shows that saw him effortlessly fill canvases with characters from famous Kathakali plays even while a padam was being sung on stage.

“Even before a padam was over, I would have finished my painting in acrylics. My familiarity with the expressions and aharyas (costumes and make-up) of various Kathakali heroes and heroines would come to my aid while I was painting the canvas,” says the artist whose illustrations have visualised some of the best fiction in Malayalam.

“I enjoy drawing for stories that have a strong visual element. Writers such as M.T. Vasudevan Nair, Punathil Kunhuabdullah, V.K.N. and so on have immense descriptive skills that breathe life into characters and situations. My illustrations are aided by such descriptions. Of course, what I draw would be what I see in my mind. It may not always be what the writer had visualised when he was writing the story,” explains Namboodiri. The symbiotic relationship between lines of art and words seems to have been a fountainhead for Namboodiri’s artistic oeuvre.

His stint in Mathrubhumi saw him illustrate the works of writers such as Thakazhy Shivasankara Pillai, Kesavadev, M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Uroob, S. K. Pottekatt and V.K.N. Critics and ardent fans of his consider him to be a pioneer in the art of illustration. A trendsetter who liberated illustrations from the mould of academic art and made each line live. His art was and is rooted in the cultural soil of Kerala. An oeuvre that is shorn of artificiality.

“I have tried to experiment with abstracts and change my style. But the moment I take a brush, pen or pencil, I find that what is transferred on paper are people and scenes that we see around us,” he admits with child-like candour. It is this very same distinctive simplicity that has won him admirers from all over the world.

Namboodiri’s link with the world of rhyme and prose continues even today. “To celebrate the golden jubilee of M.T.’s ‘Naalukettu’ I was requested to draw the sketches of the characters in the novel. Since both MT and I hail from Malabar, I was able to do capture the essence of his characters in my lines. These works will be exhibited in Thrissur on January 10,” says Namboodiri.

M.T.’s works seem to awaken the Muse in the artist. “My illustrations for M.T.’s ‘Randaamuzham’ motivated me to try my hand at works in copper sheets. The energy and exuberance of the characters in ’Randaamuzham’ were depicted in copper sheets. I held exhibitions in Kochi and Kozhikode that were quite successful," he says modestly.

In fact, the one in Kochi , which revolved around the Mahabharatha, was a commissioned work for a Hong Kong-based art collector. Another ardent admirer is film star Mohanlal who has commissioned several of Namboodiri’s works.

“Lal has a collection of many of the original illustrations I drew for novels and stories,” says Namboodiri who seems to be relieved that his works have found a safe place in Mohanlal’s collection of works as he adds, “the works on paper were quite difficult to preserve.”

SARASWATHY NAGARAJAN

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