C. K. Ramakrishnan Nair (1917 – 16 September 1994), popularly known as C.K. Ra, was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, writer, and teacher of

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

. An advocate of creative freedom, Ramakrishnan Nair was credited with bringing modernism in Kerala painting and heralded the 'Ra phase' in Kerala painting. He served as the superintendent of the Trivandrum School of Arts and later became the chairman of

Kerala Lalita Kala 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 2022 ...

Biography

C. K. Ra was born in

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of ...

to K. Ramavarma Koithampuran of ''Paliakara Kottaram'' and Sankaravelil Kunjukuttiyamma. He had his initial training at Ravi Varma School of Painting,

Mavelikara Mavelikkara is a taluk and municipality in the ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Located in the southern part of the district on the banks of the Achankovil River. Etymology The name Mavelikara ...

under Rama Varma, the younger son of

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 ...

. After completion of his studies in

Mavelikkara Mavelikkara is a taluk and municipality in the ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Located in the southern part of the district on the banks of the Achankovil River. Etymology The name Mavelikara ...

, C. K. Ra went to Bombay to work with the British Information Department. During his stint at Bombay, he created a series of paintings about the torments of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, including ''Peace after War'', ''Prelude to Revenge'', and ''Massacre''. When the war was over he left Bombay and took to teaching, first at a school in

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

and later at the Ravi Varma School of Painting, Mavelikara. C.K. Ra had a brief period of training in

Santiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

and became a disciple of

Jamini Roy Jamini Roy (Bengali: যামিনী রায়) (11 April 1887 – 24 April 1972) was an Indian painter. He was honoured by the Government of India the award of Padma Bhushan in 1954. He remains one of the most famous pupils of Abani ...

and

Nandalal Bose Nandalal Bose (3 December 1882 – 16 April 1966) was one of the pioneers of modern Indian art and a key figure of Contextual Modernism. A pupil of Abanindranath Tagore, Bose was known for his "Indian style" of painting. He became the principa ...

. When he returned to Kerala to work at the

College of Fine Arts Trivandrum The College of Fine Arts Kerala is a fine arts college located in Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram). History The college was founded in 1881 by Moolam Thirunal Sir Rama Varma, the Maharaja for the state of Travancore. The college was first known ...

it was the beginning of the 'Ra phase' in Kerala painting. Some of the memorable paintings of this period were ''Temple Fantasia'', ''Washing Hair'', and ''Delightful Pain'' work that aspire to transcend the practiced responses to color form and meaning. Among C.K. Ra's contemporaries who were based in Trivandrum include, his disciple Chirayinkil Sreekantan Nair, G. Rajendran, B.D. Dethan and N.Divakaran all of whom were the former students of the Trivandrum School of Arts and the self-taught painter and novelist

Malayattoor Ramakrishnan K. V. Ramakrishna Iyer, better known by his pen name, Malayattoor Ramakrishnan (27 May 1927 – 27 December 1997), was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, cartoonist, lawyer, judicial magistrate, and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of ...

. C.K. Ra also wrote on modernism in paintings.

References

1917 births 1994 deaths Malayali people Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts alumni Artists from Thiruvananthapuram 20th-century Indian painters Painters from Kerala People from Thiruvalla {{Kerala-stub