The Warriers of Kilimanur: Artists in Ravi Varma’s Shadow
A few years ago, I wrote about Kilimanur R. Madhava Warrier, a scholarly musician and composer closely associated with the Kilimanur royal house. It was C.R. Kerala Varma (Sanyasi Tampuran), the then patriarch of the royal house, who provided valuable insights into his family and its long-standing ties with the local Warrier community. Several male members of the royal family, in fact, married women from nearby Wariyams, and their children maintained close bonds with the Kilimanur palace.
Madhava Warrier was fortunate to have lived at the Kilimanur palace during its golden age, coinciding with the lifetime of the legendary artist Raja Ravi Varma. Warrier’s musical aptitude was recognised early by the royals, who arranged his training under Mullamoodu Bhagavathar R. Samba Bhagavathar. He later found influential mentors within the royal household itself—Goda Varma, the younger brother of Ravi Varma, and his cousin Ittammar Ravi Varma, both respected musicians and composers in their own right. As the custodian of this musical legacy, Madhava Warrier initiated several members of the Kilimanur royal house into the world of music.
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| An elderly Madhava Warrier with his disciples from the Kilimanur royal house. Private collection. |
However, following the untimely demise of the artist C. Raja Raja Varma, who had served as assistant and private secretary to his elder brother, the young Madhava Warrier briefly assumed a different role and accompanied Ravi Varma on his travels. The artist, known for selecting models from among his family members and close associates, once asked Warrier to pose for a painting. Little did Warrier know that he was being cast as Sree Krishna in Sree Krishna as Envoy, painted for the Mysore royal collection.
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| Ravi Varma. Sree Krishna as Envoy, oil on canvas. Mysore royal collection |
A lesser-known detail is that Madhava Warrier was also the nephew of two accomplished artists closely associated with Ravi Varma’s studio—Kilimanur Sekhara Warrier and his brother Madhavan Warrier. Unfortunately, only fragmentary information survives regarding their lives and artistic contributions, making it difficult for historians to reconstruct their careers and fully appreciate their place within the Ravi Varma atelier.
My upcoming book, titled 'The Forgotten Atelier,' seeks, for the first time, to document the histories of these lesser-known contemporaries of Ravi Varma.
Why is it essential to document artists such as Sekhara Warrier and Madhava Warrier? One reason lies in the present state of the art market, which is rife with misattributions and outright forgeries attributed to Ravi Varma. Some paintings—executed with remarkable technical finesse—are, in fact, likely the works of the Warriers, artists who came remarkably close to achieving the mastery of their celebrated mentor. Systematic documentation of their lives and works will help contextualise such paintings and correct mistaken attributions.
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| K. Sekhara Warrier, Lady (detail), c.1880. Kerala Museum, Kochi. |
Equally important is the fact that these artists were exceptionally talented in their own right. Their stories, long overshadowed by the brilliance of Ravi Varma, deserve to be told and preserved as integral chapters in the history of modern Indian art.
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