Karuvattu Mana Vasudevan Namboothiri (born 13 September 1925), better known simply as Namboothiri, is an Indian painter and sculptor, known for his line art and copper relief works. He has done illustrations for many Malayalam writers such as Thakazhy Shivasankara Pillai,

Kesavadev P. Kesava Pillai (20 July 1904 – 1 July 1983), better known by his pen-name P. Kesavadev, was a novelist and social reformer of Kerala, India. He is remembered for his speeches, autobiographies, novels, dramas, short stories, and films. ''Oday ...

M. T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair (born 1933 July 15 ), popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-I ...

, Uroob,

S. K. Pottekkatt Sankarankutty Kunjiraman Pottekkatt (14 March 1913 – 6 August 1982) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature and a politician from Kerala, India. He was also a great traveller among the Keralites, who wrote many travelogues for the peopl ...

Edasseri Govindan Nair Edasseri Govindan Nair ( ml, ഇടശ്ശേരി ഗോവിന്ദൻ നായർ; 23 December 1906 – 16 October 1974) was an Indian poet and playwright of Malayalam literature. Known as one of the major poets of Malayalam, Edasseri ...

, and V.K.N. and is reported to be one of the most prolific literary illustrators in the world. He is a former chairman of the

Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Kerala Lalithakala Academy for Fine Arts is an autonomous body which was established in 1962 to promote art and artistic heritage, based at Thrissur in Kerala. Murali Cheeroth is the newly appointed chairman of Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi on 202 ...

. The Akademi awarded him the Raja Ravi Varma Award in 2003. He is also a recipient of the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Art Director The Kerala State Film Award The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have bee ...

Biography

Namboothiri was born on 13 September 1925 at Karuvattu Mana in

Ponnani Ponnani () is a municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the estuary of Bharatappuzha (Riv ...

, in

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . It is the most populous district of Kerala, which is home to around 13% of the to ...

of the south Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

to Parameshwaran Namboothiri and Sreedevi Antharjanam, as their eldest son. During his childhood, he was influenced by the sculptures at the Sukapuram temple near his house. "I had this urge to draw and mould sculptures after seeing these," says Namboothiri. In order to pursue education in art, he moved to

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, with financial assistance from Krishnan Namboodiri of

Varikkasseri Mana Varikkasseri Mana (Malayalam: വരിക്കാശേരി മന), alternatively known as Varikkumanchery Mana, is one of the oldest traditional aristocratic Namboothiri family houses (illam) in Kerala. Built in Kerala architectural style ...

, to join the

Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai The Government College of Fine Arts (initially known as the Madras School of Art) in Chennai is the oldest art institution in India. The institution was established in 1850 by surgeon Alexander Hunter as a private art school. In 1852, after be ...

where he had the opportunity to study under Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury, the founder principal of the institution and S. Dhanapal. It was during this period, he came into contact with

K. C. S. Paniker Kovalezhi Cheeramputhoor Sankara Paniker (31 May 1911 – 16 January 1977) was an Indian metaphysical and abstract painter from Malabar District. He interpreted the country's age-old metaphysical and spiritual knowledge in the 1960s, when India ...

who would exercise influence over the young artist. Namboothiri secured two diplomas, one in fine arts and the other in applied arts, from the Government College of Fine Arts in 1954 and after staying at

Cholamandal Artists' Village Cholamandal Artists' Village is an artists' commune in Chennai, India. Established in 1966, it is the largest artists' commune in India. The community is located in the southern coastal neighborhood of Injambakkam. Its artists are credited for t ...

of K. C. S. Paniker where he completed a six-year course in one year, he returned to Kerala to join Mathrubhumi weekly as a staff artist in 1960. He stayed with Mathrubhumi until 1982 during which period, he illustrated the literary works of most of the major writers in Malayalam including

Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (17 April 1912 – 10 April 1999), popularly known as Thakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature. He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 7 shor ...

, Uroob,

, and V.K.N. It was in Mathrubhumi, he published ''Naniyammayum Lokavum'', which became a popular pocket cartoon series. In 1982, he moved to

Kalakaumudi ''Kalakaumudi'' ( is an illustrated weekly news magazine published in Malayalam language from Kerala, India. It is printed in Thiruvananthapuram and distributed throughout Kerala by Kalakaumudi Publications Pvt. Ltd. ''Kalakaumudi'' was launc ...

weekly where he provided illustrations for some more time before shifting to

Samakalika Malayalam Vaarika ''Samakalika Malayalam Vaarika'' is a newsweekly and website published by The Express Publications Madurai (P) Ltd, publisher of The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper publi ...

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

. Namboothiri is married to Mrinalini and the couple has two sons, Parameshawaran and Vasudevan. The family lives in

Naduvattam Naduvattam is a Panchayat town in The Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on Coimbatore- Gundalpet National Highway NH 67 of the Nilgiri Ghat Roads. History In the 19th century, when the British Straits Settlemen ...

Near Edappal in Malappuram district.

Legacy

Kerala Lalithakala Academi Durbar Hall Ground

One of the first professional assignments done by Namboothiri was during his Chennai days, when he assisted K. C. S. Paniker to complete an oversize painting for the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

. One of the most prolific literary illustrators in the world, he turned to copper relief work after resigning from Mathrubhumi and soon organized an exhibition consisting of 12 relief works. Later, he did some of his most notable drawings at Kalakaumudi when he illustrated

Randamoozham ''Randamoozham'' ( en, The Second Turn) is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language mythological drama novel written by the Indian author M. T. Vasudevan Nair, widely credited as his masterpiece. The work won the Vayalar Award, given for the best lite ...

; he confessed later that these illustrations provided him satisfaction. Namboothiri's illustrations of his characters prompted

V. K. N. Vadakkke Koottala Narayanankutty Nair, commonly known as V.K.N. (7 April 1929 – 25 January 2004), was a prominent Malayalam writer, noted mainly for his highbrow satire. He wrote novels, short stories and political commentaries. His works are ...

to call the artist as the ''Paramashivan of line sketches'' (The

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

of Line Drawings). He is also a proponent of "

finger painting Fingerpaint is a kind of paint intended to be applied with the fingers; it typically comes in tubes and is used by small children, though it has occasionally been used by adults either to teach art to children, or for their own use. Finger ...

". Among the copper relief works, he has done a series based on various events from Mahabharata, titled ''Lohabharata'', and another based on Parayi Petta Panthirukulam. He has created a few large sculptures for Cholamandal which include ''Modern Family on a Scooter'' and ''Maithuna'' as well as a 500 ft long outdoor drawing featuring incidents from the Indian freedom movement. Namboothiri has served as the chairman of the

Kerala Lalitakala Academy Kerala Lalithakala Academy for Fine Arts is an autonomous body which was established in 1962 to promote art and artistic heritage, based at Thrissur in Kerala. Murali Cheeroth is the newly appointed chairman of Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi on 2022 ...

twice and it was during his tenure that the academy constructed and moved to an owned building in

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

. His contributions are also reported in the conversion of the Durbar Hall Ground in Kochi into an art gallery. He has embarked on a self appointed mission of pictorially documenting the cities of Kerala; the project, titled ''Nagarangal'' (The Cities), has been started with

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Honours

G. Aravindan Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmmak ...

, the award-winning film director and cartoonist, was a friend of Namboothiri and when Aravindan made his debut movie,

Uttarayanam ''Uttarayanam'' ( en, Throne of Capricorn) is a 1975 Malayalam-language film directed by G. Aravindan and written by Thikkodiyan. Aravindan debuted with this film. The film, which exposes opportunism and hypocrisy set against the backdrop of the ...

, he invited Namboothiri to work as the art director of the film. The film went on to receive five

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

in 1974 including the Award for Best Art Director for Namboothiri.

awarded Namboothiri the

Raja Ravi Varma Raja Ravi Varma ( ml, രാജാ രവിവർമ്മ; 29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist. He is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. His works are one of the best examples ...

Award in 2003 and he became the third recipient of the award which was instituted in 2001. The Kerala State Institute for Children's Literature awarded him the Bala Sahitya Award for best illustration for his work in ''Kuttikalude Ramayanam'' (

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

for children) in 2004. A documentary on the life of the artist, ''Namboodiri-Varayude Kulapathy'' (Namboodiri — The Emperor of Lines) has been made by Ask Movies. The 44-minute documentary film, directed by Binuraj Kalapeedhom, covers the artist's life from his childhood through his Chennai days to his eighties. ''Varayum Vaakkum'', (Lines and Words) is a book published by N. P. Vijayakrishnan, compiling Namboothiri's reminiscences and some of his drawings. ''Namboothiriyude Sthreekal'' (The Women of Namboothiri) is another book published by Vijayakrishan which has several of the artist's line drawings if women; the book also has a foreword by

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...

Bibliography

* ''

'' by

, illustrated by Namboothiri (Current Books). * ''Calicut: the City of Truth revisited'' by

M. G. S. Narayanan Muttayil Govindamenon Sankara Narayanan, commonly known as M. G. S. Narayanan (born 20 August 1932) is an Indian historian, academic and political commentator. He headed the Department of History at Calicut University (Kerala) from 1976 to 199 ...

, illustrations by Artist Namboodiri and Madanan, 2006 (

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a State ownership, state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to ...

). * ''Lore and Legends of Kerala'': Selections from

Kottarathil Sankunni Kottarathil Sankunni (born Vasudevan, 1855–1937) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Best known as the author of Aithihyamala, an eight-volume compilation of century-old legends about Kerala, Sankunni's writings cover prose and poetry ...

's Aithihyamala, translated from Malayalam by T. C. Narayan, illustrated by

C. N. Karunakaran C. N. Karunakaran (1940 – 14 December 2013) was an Indian painter, illustrator and art director from Kerala. He was the Chairman of the Kerala Lalitakala Academy and a recipient of several honours including the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Award ...

and Namboodiri, 2009 (

Malayala Manorama ''Malayala Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew; it was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1888, and currently has ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

). * ''Antharjanam: Memoirs of a Nambooodiri Woman'' by Devaki Nilayamgode, translated from Malayalam by Indira Menon and Radhika P. Menon, illustrations by Namboodiri, 2011 (

). * ''Sketches: the memoir of an artist'', by K.M. Vasudevan Namboodiri, foreword by M.T. Vasudevan Nair, translated from the Malayalam by Gita Krishnankutty, 2019 ( Penguin Books India).

Gallery

File:Metal relief by Artist Nampoothiri1.jpg, Metal relief 1 File:Metal relief by Artist Nampoothiri2.jpg, Metal relief 2 File:Metal relief by Artist Nampoothiri3.jpg, Metal relief 3 File:Metal relief by Artist Nampoothiri5.jpg, Metal relief 5 File:Metal relief by Artist Nampoothiri6.jpg, Metal relief 6

Notes

References

External links

K. M. Vasudevan Namboodiri
at Penguin India * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Namboothiri 20th-century Indian painters Indian cartoonists Indian children's book illustrators People from Malappuram district Living people 1925 births Artists from Kerala Indian male sculptors Indian contemporary sculptors 20th-century Indian sculptors Painters from Kerala Indian male painters Indian contemporary painters Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai alumni Malayali people Kerala State Film Award winners 20th-century Indian male artists 21st-century Indian male artists