CHENNAI : Madras through vintage pictures, DSLR captures, postcards and life-size portraits are a common sight. But writer-cum-artist, Pavithra Srinivasan’s series of intricate, nuanced portraits which are on display at the Madras Literary Society, capture the essence of Madras in a refreshingly different form — through miniature pen and ink sketches. She tells us more about her pet project ‘Madras Miniatures’.
Originally, it began as a project to illustrate her new book. “I was developing a series of books which had a lot of historical content about Chennai. It catered to children and young adults, so to make the book engaging, I decided to rope in an illustrator who would make the city ‘come alive’. Later, I decided to do it myself,” narrates the columnist.
Each portrait is less than the size of one’s hand and although some of the buildings/landmarks are familiar, there are several other hidden gems that Pavitra portrays in her artwork. For instance, the Moore Market building which was destroyed by fire in 1985, the statue of King George V, which is tucked away amid a congested parking space behind the flower bazaar police station, the Agarchand Mansion in Anna Salai, and the first 100-foot building in the city, are some scenes which give you a taste of the unknown parts of the city, from unusual angles.
“I started with scribbling and doodling on A4 size paper. I am horribly myopic and the image turned smaller and smaller. Then I thought, why not use it to showcase Chennai differently,” she says pointing to an intricately sketched miniature of Tipu Sultan’s Canon, outside museum theatre. “There are a lot of such objects and architectural splendours around the city. There are a couple of stained glass pieces that I did, many people thought it was part of a church. But it was actually from the High Court!” she smiles and tells that the High Court is one of her favourite structures to sketch.
Pavitra had initially sketched only 25 miniature pieces but now, she boasts a collection of 61 artworks. Predominantly, the miniatures follow a black and white tone. Pavithra elucidates, “The detailing is usually very rich in black and white. On the flip side, to achieve a similar finish in colour is very challenging. But I took it up and have done a few pieces, of landmark buildings like MLS, the High Court building in colour, with fineliners. I love the red brick finish of these buildings. I am fascinated by them,” she smiles.
The artist draws inspiration from first-hand experiences and through photographs of the city. “I usually visit every place and take photographs from multiple angles. Then, I choose the best angle and begin to sketch,” she explains.
The artworks are accompanied by historical nuggets. “Few landmarks and structures are easy to recognise while some are tucked away and hard for people to recognise. I collect a lot of historical information while writing historical fiction books for children. I realised that history is always interconnected… it’s a beautiful tapestry. I wanted to give the visitors a sense of our beautiful history and past,” she adds.
(The art exhibition will be open until June 15, 4pm at Madras Literary society, college road)