TIRUPATI: Velayudham Srinivasulu Reddy from Srikalahasti town of Tirupati district has been awarded the prestigious Shilp Guru award for Kalamkari hand-painting. Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Minister of Textiles Piyush Goyal presented the award to Srinivasulu Reddy in New Delhi on Monday.
Srinivasulu Reddy has received the award for using Kalamkari in creating Ashta Dikpalakas and Navagrahas, Sri Chakram and Padmavyuham. For over four decades, he has been striving hard to keep the art of Kalamkari alive. The 57-year-old has trained over 120 students in his native town.
Sharing his experience with The New Indian Express, he expressed happiness for bagging the highest award in the field. “The award has put more responsibility on me to develop and promote Kalamkari art. Everyone has to encourage the art form and there is a need to protect our culture,” said Srinivasulu Reddy.
Born in a middle-class family, the awardee developed an interest in Kalamkari art as a child. He learnt the art from Guru Krishna Reddy and underwent training at L Krishnaiah centre. He then began using Kalamkari to depict mythological stories.
He has carved more than 2,000 noted paintings that were related to religion and nature. Moreover, the Tamil Nadu government, too, had presented an award to him in 2004. He received the National Merit award in 2010 and the Lepakshi award in 2014. Srinivasulu Reddy is the second person from Srikalahasti to receive the Shilp Guru award from Srikalahasti for Kalamkari painting.