The Man Who Painted the Royal Corridor
Last week, the renowned Indian
classical musician Prince Rama Varma shared a four-episode series of short
videos featuring the paintings adorning the walls of the corridor connecting
the Valiyakottaram—the sprawling palace complex in the historic Fort area of
Thiruvananthapuram—with the Padmanabha Swamy Temple. This corridor, which
begins on the western side of the famous Kuthiramalika constructed by Rajah
Swathi Tirunal Rama Varma, served as a private passage for members of the royal
family to access the temple with ease.
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The passage leading to Padmanabha Swamy temple. Image courtesy: Uma S. Maheswari. |
In these videos, Rama Varma focuses on the artworks—scenes from the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata—which cover the entire wall and are compartmentalised into several panels with painted borders. The videos proved to be a treat for viewers, as the passage is usually off-limits to ordinary worshippers at the temple. However, unknown to many is the fact that these paintings (which have undergone retouching several times) were originally executed by O. Velayudhan Achari, alias O.V. Achari, a fine artist and sculptor of yesteryears.
O.V. Achari (1890–1979) was born into
a family that claimed a deep bond with the Padmanabha Swamy Temple. His
ancestors hailed from Tirunelveli, where they were members of a craft guild
associated with the famous Nellaiappar Siva Temple. They settled in Thiruvananthapuram
following an invitation from Rajah Anizham Tirunal Martanda Varma for the
reconstruction of the Padmanabha Swamy Temple in the 18th century. The family
was granted land known as “Pazhamchottu Vilakam,” part of the virutti lands
bestowed upon families who rendered valuable service to the temple or the
royals.
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O. Velayudhan Achari. |
By the early twentieth century, the
descendants of these Tirunelveli craftsmen had made a mark in Travancore. Among
them were carpenters, ivory craftsmen, occultists, and painters. O.V. Achari
began his career as an ivory carver at the School of Industrial Arts (Fine Arts
College) and later served as a Fine Arts expert in schools. He excelled as a
sculptor and was the founder of the Travancore Ivory Carvers’ Cooperative
Alliance. Among his contemporaries and friends were renowned artists such as
K.R. Ravi Varma and Rama Varma, nephew and son of Raja Ravi Varma. It was on
the instructions of K.R. Ravi Varma that Achari crafted a bust of Raja Ravi
Varma, which still occupies a place of importance in the Sri Chitra Art Gallery.
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Raja Ravi Varma's bust at Sri Chitra Art Gallery. |
Achari’s wife hailed from
Vaniyanmoola, from a family that held the right to offer the painted Onavillu
(Pallivillu) to the Padmanabha Swamy Temple. Members of the Vaniyanmoola family
still recall with gratitude that the master artist undertook the task of
painting the Onavillu and remodelled the figures into the forms seen today.
O.V. Achari is also credited with
modelling the exemplar for the idol of Sastha at the Sabarimala Temple. He
created a clay figure that later served as the model for the panchaloha casting
by Chengannur Neelakanta Panicker. The clay figure made by Achari was based on
a photograph of an idol of Lord Sastha worshipped at the palace. The
photograph had been taken by Uthradom Tirunal Martanda Varma, then Elayaraja,
on the instructions of his mother, Sethu Parvathy Bayi.
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An old photograph of the Sastha idol worshipped in the palace. |
For a long time, the moulds made by
O.V. Achari was housed in the Travancore Ivory Carvers’ Cooperative Alliance
Limited building at Pazhavangady. Later, during the reconstruction of the
building, this mould—along with numerous others made by craftsmen of the older
generation—was used to fill the foundation. Thus, a remarkable piece of history
still rests beneath the building.
Sharat Sunder Rajeev.
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