KOCHI: There is a saying, that you will never know if you are good at something until you try. Until 2018, Areekode-native Rabah M K aka Left didn’t even know that he could draw. Inspired by artists on Instagram, he picked up calligraphy and lettering, and started practising. “The two are different. Calligraphy is a single-stroke art and is quite meditative,” he says. It was during this time, while in college, that Calicut’s quirk for all things aesthetic presented itself before him through a portrait graffiti made by a street artist near Kuttichira Biryani Centre at the beach.
Rabah instantly knew what he wanted to do. He tracked down the artist wanting to know more, and today, he is one of the very few professional graffiti artists in the state. “I guess anyone could do it with enough practice,” he says in a humbling tone, before opening up about his journey down the road not taken.
It was from the street artist that Rabah realised how graffiti is all about identity. “He told me, if you draw or write just anything on the wall, it is just a mural. Graffiti becomes meaningful when you create an identity,” Rabah says. His love for calligraphy and letters formed the crux of this 21-year-old’s signature. Being a left-handed artist, ‘Left’ was an easy option for a pseudonym.
In the last one and a half years, Rabah has painted around 20 walls, and incorporates portable graffiti designs on guitars and skateboards. Traditionally, however, graffiti has had a bad reputation worldwide. It used to be a bat symbol for crime and vandalism, characteristic of hoods and shady neighborhoods. But over time, artists like Banksy and OSGEMEOS have managed to fetch approval, and create a cult for people who appreciate the rebellion and skill that comes with graffiti.
“When I started off, I used to be bullied a lot by people who didn’t really get what I was doing. I would tag my name on art, and most of them would pick on me for ‘marketing myself’,” Rabah recollects. He started off with wall paint, but now buys imported spray cans to make colourful writings and designs. “One bottle costs about Rs 500 to 600. And a single piece needs at least four to five colours. So you can imagine, it’s quite the expensive hobby,” he quips.
Though he did his graduation in Geology, Rabah has always had his eye on design. “I was going to write NIFT exams right after Class X. But I had to stay with my family, so I ended up studying Geology,” he says. But the artist wrote the entrance this year, and has landed a merit rank. For now, graffiti is giving him company while being quarantined at home. “There was one time, an artist friend of mine called me to join him on a trip, and we ended up spray painting the bus stand wall in a major town. I even travel to tag my name on random walls and corners. It is all about the traces you leave behind,” he concludes.