KOZHIKODE: Listening to music and completing a painting seem to be a bit different. But artist Athira Sajith says that she completed the series of murals, ‘Ananthasayanam,' by listening to the Swathi Thirunal keerthanas sung by K S Chithra.
“Each of my strokes is born out of the lines that I heard during the work. A portion of the love of Swathi Thirunal for Ananthapadmanabhan can be spotted in my work ‘Ananthasayanam,' recently done for DC Books for its compilation - ‘18 Puranangal - Lokam Namikkunna Nammude Paithrukam, Nammude Kathakal',” she says.
As a latecomer to the field of art, Athira says her creative life started after marriage and having two children, Meenakshi and Mahadevan. Never trained in childhood or college days in any form of art, be it painting, writing or dance, she is now actively involved in holding her painting exhibitions, choreographing and planning her dream project of combining art and music to develop a common platform for uniting skilled artists and those who love art, though not artists.
“From childhood, I had an interest in art, dancing and poetry. Due to inhibition, the talents lay dormant till my marriage. Soon after graduation, I got married and only after my children were born, I decided to take up art seriously. Meditation gave me inner strength to reinvent the talents and the immense support from my husband Sajith led to the person I am today,” says Athira, who is currently holding an exhibition of her works here, along with Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam. A similar exhibition was held in Thrissur.
Hailing from Kazhakoottam in Thiruvananthapuram, she has travelled to many places as part of her husband (a geophysicist at ONGC)’s official duties. After Assam and Gujarat, the shift to Chennai was crucial in her career. The land found out the talent in the artist and gave her friends who could move with her and guide her to art and dance. Of late she did graduation in fine arts and took basic lessons in murals from Prince Thonnakkal.
“Experiencing the object helps in portraying it deeply. When we personally see and touch a leaf, we can understand its emotions. Later when we sketch and paint it on canvas, the strokes will explain the leaf's emotions,” she says.
The paintings include ‘Swargarohanam' from Vishnu Purana, ‘Krishna Leela' from Brahma Vaivartha Purana, ‘Sagara Manthan' from Kurma Purana, ‘Varahavatar' from Varaha Purana, ‘Vamanavatar' from Vamana Purana, ‘Matsyavatar' from Matsya Purana, ‘Bhageerathi' from Naradiya Purana, ‘Bhagavatam' from Bhagavata Purana, ‘Skanda Mahatmyam' from Skanda Purana, ‘Suryopasana' from Bhavishya Purana, ‘Mahishasura Mardhini' from Markandeya Purana, ‘Agnideva' from Agni Purana, ‘Moksha Kanda' from Garuda Purana, ‘Naimisharanyam,' the place where puranas originated, ‘Srishti Sthiti Samhara' from Linga Puranam, ‘Srishti, the Creation' from Brahmanda Purana, ‘Jagannatha' from Brahma Purana and ‘Shivoham' from Vayu Purana.
Her 19 paintings, drawn for the book, are on display at the Lalithakala Academy Art Gallery until August 3. The exhibition was inaugurated by writer Khadeeja Mumthas on Thursday.