Masterpiece Merchandise

“For someone who died at the age of 58 years,it is remarkable that he made around 7,000 paintings,each a collector’s item,” says Parsram Mangharam,publisher of Raja Ravi Varma—The Painter Prince (Pragati,Rs 5,000),in the city with a collection of oleographs and reprints of the master’s work for exhibition and sale at the State Lalit Kala Akademi,Ekta Vihar,Aliganj.

It is opportunity for patrons to own their own copy of a masterpiece,in the form of portrait prints and postcards/greeting cards,priced from Rs 20 to Rs 250 each. For the uninitiated,it would be an experience to see breathtaking images out of Ramayan,Mahabharat or the Kalidas classic Abhigyan Shakuntala,while fans of the painter can own the magic frames.

The lifelike expression of the pictures Ravana Abducting Sita,and Shantanoo and Ganga’,besides others like Maharashtrian Lady or Mohini are on display in the form of oleographs,embellished with pearls and semi-precious stones. Photography is restricted,but why click when you can take home the classics in a handy form at an easy price!

“The largest collection of Varma’s paintings is at the museum of the palace of Travancore,where you can see as many as 64of them,Baroda palace coming next with 40,” says the publisher who is from the family of the JB Mangharam group.

“I used to coordinate with painter SM Pandit to create images for our packs of biscuits and toffees…our brand was famous for classic images of leaders and mythological characters,deities and festive scenes painted on the lid of the tin box,” says Mangharam,whose love for art led him to discovering Varma’s work.

“I hail from Gwalior but when I joined the Chitrakala Parishad of Karnataka,I first saw the exhaustive collection of Raja Marthand Varma of Travancore and when he came out with this book,I wrote the foreword,” says Mangharam.

(The exhibition is on till Feb 28,11 AM to 7:30 PM)