KOCHI: ‘A national hero abandoned on the streets’ - this is the ‘honour’ meted out to master painter Raja Ravi Varma who brought glory and fame to the country through his immortal paintings. Even as many cases of missing Ravi Varma’s paintings have come out, the authorities are still groping in the dark as to how many paintings the government originally had in its custody.
According to members of the Kilimanoor Palace Trust, they had handed over 75 paintings of Ravi Varma to the Sree Chithra Art Gallery. “Though we handed over 75 paintings, the information we received under the RTI Act reveals that there are only 50 paintings left at the art gallery,” said Adv Archana Narayanan, a member of the Kilimanoor Palace. However, authorities of the Sree Chithra Art Gallery have denied the allegation.
“We have no other document than a catalogue prepared in 1935 wherein the number of Ravi Varma paintings handed over by the Kilimanoor Palace is shown as 15. We have been preserving the paintings by Ravi Varma without any fault. We have 43 Ravi Varma paintings at the Sree Chithra Art Gallery, two at the Kozhikode Art Gallery and ten in our store,” said P Vijayakumari Amma, director of the Sree Chithra Art Gallery.
Meanwhile, the assistant director of the Archives Department, in a reply to a letter by the public information officer, Directorate of Museum and Zoo, said that there were no documents indicating the number of paintings handed over to the government by the Kilimanoor Palace.
He, however, said that there were records of the remuneration that was paid to Ravi Varma for four paintings. There were also reports that Ravi Varma’s paintings, a national treasure, were being auctioned in London.
“The authorities should clarify on how the paintings, considered to be a national treasure, went for private auction in London.
According to the Antiques and Arts Treasure Act, 1972, paintings by masters like Ravi Varma should not have been carried to other countries,” said Archana.
Meanwhile, members of the Kilimanoor Palace are planning to move the Court praying a CBI inquiry into the missing of Ravi Varma’s paintings. Biju Rama Varma, a member of the Kilimanoor Palace Trust, has already filed a complaint with the Superintendent of Police, Thiruvananthapuram, seeking an inquiry into the issue.
Whatever be the official version, an incident in which two of the paintings by the maestro were found abandoned on the veranda of the University College, Thiruvananthapuram, a few days ago points to the real state of affairs.