CHENNAI: Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar was way ahead of his times even 2,000 years ago. Predicting the shrinking size of human attention span, he cleverly packed pearls of wisdom on almost every virtue of life in his magnum opus Thirukkural in just 1,330 couplets, leaving its immortality and universality unquestionable. Even today, its timelessness is cherished and celebrated by the present generation through various artistic expressions. Contributing her part in popularising the kurals and their profound meanings to a larger audience, through an ongoing art series on Instagram, is Puducherry-based visual artist R Sowmya Iyal.
Painting philosophies
The novel idea to give a visual representation to all the couplets from the literary work was born during her five-year stint as a freelancer. “I used to draw illustrations for textual poems and stories. I studied many papers on reimagining poems into paintings. I wanted to explore the concept with our own Tamil literature. Thirukkural seemed like the right muse,” shares the electronics media graduate, who has specialised in visual art, animation, and illustration. She worked as a guest faculty for visual communication at Pondicherry University, and is looking for opportunities to pursue a full-time PhD.
The series that began as an experiment on January 1, 2020, currently has artworks for 846 couplets so far. Explaining how the project transformed her life, Sowmya shares, “This project came as a much-needed escape from reality during the lockdown when everyone was going through something in life. It’s been a great learning experience since I commenced the series. Exploring the poet’s works offered me solutions to all my problems. I stopped procrastinating work and stayed focussed. It altered my approach to life. Every kural is relevant and speaks to you on so many levels. Had I learned it from childhood, it would’ve prepared me to handle life better. Many followers have been taking inspiration from my work to read the masterpiece.” Sowmya aims to complete all the 1,330 couplets by August 2023.
The greatness in verses
For the last two years, Sowmya has been dedicating an hour or two to the art series every morning. She wakes up, recites a kural, understands its meaning, and reimagines it visually. “I use surrealism and metaphorical realism in my works. Metaphors are used to depict human emotions and convey the message with the right interpretation. We have allegories such as mudhalai kanneer and paambu kaadhu in Tamil. Thirukkural also handles such metaphors.
Some kurals may seem abstract and take time to replicate as artworks. I use symbols and appropriate colours to convey the meaning. Thirukkural has stood the test of time for the wide range of topics it addresses; from the dynamics of human relationships and emotions to moral values. When presented visually, even kurals with in-depth meaning become easier to consume, and leave a lasting impact,” she suggests.
Every post has the Tamil version of a couplet, the English version, the transliterated version, and the meaning. The artwork, in a reel format, has Sowmya’s nine-year-old daughter reciting the kural in the background. “Even before I wake up, she memorises the kural for the day and recites it to me. I’m happy that she’s picked it up so fast. I hope this work helps people introspect and implement it in their everyday life. I want viewers to be part of the artwork,” she notes.
After completion, Sowmya wants to compile her artworks into a book; she also wants to have an exhibition. “I’ve been seriously looking to do my thesis on Thirukkural, only to be turned down by many. I would be grateful to find research scholars who are experts in this area and can guide me,” she requests.
For details, visit iyal_artinsta or mail to sowmi3d@gmail.com