The Life of Raja Ravi Varma: years 1894-1906

Ravi Varma tried his best to get an art gallery established at Thiruvanthapuram, to promote the dormant art activity in the State. The outcome was that he was given a commission to paint two pictures for the State every year, at a remuneration of Rs.3000/- each.

The Art Gallery which we see today, came much after his time during the epoch making rule of the esteemed Sree Chithra Thirunal Rama Varma, the last Maharaja to sit on the Throne of Travancore. The first painting commissioned for the Art Gallery in the year 1896 was ‘Draupadi at the Court of Virat’.

Bala Saheb, the Prince of Audh, was another important admirer and his devotion for the artist was so deep, that he looked upon him almost as a God and kept Ravi Varma’s likeness in his prayer room. The paintings, the artist did for him now adorn the Bhavani Museum in Aundh.

The Udaipur Court showered appreciation on Ravi Varma the painter and Ravi Varma the man. A pearl necklace and ‘dresses of honour’ were given to him as parting gifts while his brother and his nephew who accompanied him received two sets of dresses of honour each. Moreover, they were paid a sum of Rs.5000/- for the portraits.

Ravi Varma presented a bust, and Raja Raja Varma a landscape he had done to the Maharana when they finally took leave of him. The brothers had made a real impact on the people there and a large crowd assembled to wish them Godspeed.

Entries in January 1899 from the Diary of C Raja Raja Varma from a village by name Karli, state that ‘Hamsa Damayanti’, one among Ravi Varma’s almost acclaimed works, which he was finishing for the Madras Fine Arts Exhibition took life and form there.

Raja Raja Varma mentions the pillar in that painting was by his hand. While Ravi Varma specialized in portraiture, Raja Raja Varma is seen to be partial to landscapes, at which he excelled.

Pressure from home assumed greater force by June 1901. Many momentous events had reshaped the destiny of Travancore, their echo being felt at a personal level by the brothers too.

Not only the Junior Rani (Ravi Varma’s sister-in-law) but all her children, four princes included, had succumbed to the inevitable mandate of death.

Aswathi Thirunal Marthanda Varma’s demise in 1901, also at the prime of his youth, particularly affected the brothers for whom he had been very dear. They were closely associated with him and were his friends and companions during the long, eventful tour of North India.

The senior Rani (also Ravi Varma’s sister-in-law), whose frail health could no longer bear this chain of calamities also expired, while Ravi Varma was far away from home. It would have been the working of some extrasensory perception that motivated Sree Moolam Thirunal Maharaja to adopt two little Thampuratties (girls from the Kshatriya aristocracy), aged four and five, from the Mavelikkara Palace, as daughters of the Travancore Royal House. This twin adoption in 1900 was of personal consequence to Ravi Varma, as they both were his grand-daughters, being the children of two of his daughters.

1904 was an important year, for his name appeared in the New Year Honors List of 1904. The Imperial Government advanced the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal to be awarded to Ravi Varma. The weight of the award as seen in those names remains inscribed in Raja Raja Varma’s diary.

“The honor bestowed on my brother came without our seeking. We never spoke to anyone about it nor have we worked for it… This is the first time an artist is honored in India’s history. The honors so far were given to officials and rich men who donated liberally to charitable causes. This honor will never fail the progress of Art in India… When I consider that, as the first Indian artist of worldwide reputation, the Government have recognized his love and devotion for Art, I have reason for great happiness being his inseparable companion, colleague and helper….”

In response to repeated invitations from Mysore to visit the royal court again, Ravi Varma went there, accompanied by the ever-faithful Raja Raja Varma.

The days spent there were luxurious in the truest sense. He was the recipient of all regard and respect extended to a highly honoured guest.

The brothers were treated to fine music during their working hours, and at night there were dance and drama performances (often directed by the young King himself who was an art enthusiast).

Of their stay in the Mysore Palace, Raja Raja Varma writes:“We paint, our souls immersed in music."

So enchanted by the music was he that Ravi Varma requited Bidaram Krishnappa and the renowned Veena artist Sheshanna, to teach him. He was consequently taught two songs and for this favour they were handsomely compensated with sovereigns and costly gifts by a grateful Ravi Varma. It is a little known fact that this great man could sing pleasingly.

He painted the royal family’s portraits and was further commissioned to execute a series of nine Puranic themes for a consolidated consideration of Rs.27,000/-. Ravi Varma threw himself into painting the nine Puranic pictures for the Mysore Palace, which he completed by 1905.

The nine pictures, with themes borrowed from the treasure-house of Indian religious lore, the Ramayana, the Mahabharatha and the Srimad Bhagavatha Mahapurana, portrayed great moments contained in them. They received great attention from all around.

The visual effect Ravi Varma was at times able to achieve, was almost three-dimensional with in-depth utilization of colour, as was on display in some among these splendid paintings done for Mysore. His technical genius manifests in his bigger canvas, with a number of characters and their most effective placement.

One among this Mysore series, ‘Viratas’ Court’, is an example to the point, and boasts of no less than twenty figures, but they are accommodated without any compromise on light and space between each of them.

On completing his mission, Ravi Varma left Mysore, only to be recalled by the Maharaja, who cherished great love and respect for the artist. He desired that Ravi Varma accompany the Prince of Wales (future King George V), who was expected in Mysore soon when he painted the Khedda Operations at Mysore.

On the afternoon of 2nd October 1906, to the chant of Vedic incantations and age-old prayers, Ravi Varma took leave of the world of myriad colours and forms, one which he had rejoiced in and had re-created with such distinguished expertise.

Subramaniam Bharathi, the renowned Tamil poet, sang beautiful lines in Ravi Varma’s honor. A few stanzas offer themselves to the reader:

And now to earthly glory
he has bade adieu
and to heaven risen
O Though, who hast so oft painted
The celestial nymphs,
Rambha, Urvasi and all the rest!

Hast thou to heaven gone
to compare thy handiwork
direct with the originals?
But ill will those damsels
Compare with your creations!

Alas! In the grand march of Time,
if authors of deathless works
are to die one day,
life on earth should then be
an illusion for sure,
Past words,
Past describing.