K. Ramanujam

K. Ramanujam (1940 – June 3, 1973), one of the modern painters of Tamil Nadu, created an extraordinary body of work consisting of strange and dreamlike paintings, that set him apart from other artists. He let his genius shine through the unique dreamscape he created, despite his short life, misanthropic nature, stutter and mental disability.

Personal Life

K. Ramanujam never married.

Art Education

K. Ramanujam grew up with a passion for art and showed no interest in academic education. He dropped out of school and was sent to learn painting from Dhanapal. He then joined the Madras School of Art in 1958 and completed a 6-year diploma course in 1964. When Ramanujam's father died unexpectedly while he was studying at the painting school, Ramanujam faced a financial crisis. He lived by selling his paintings for a rupee or two to students who wanted them. After completing his degree, K. Ramanujam was awarded a three-year national scholarship of 250 rupees per month, which supported him financially. From 1958-1967, he was continuously painting from within the campus of the Art school for 9 years. Later he settled in the Cholamandalam Kalaikrama.

Personality

K. Ramanujam was known to have been eccentric and impulsive by nature. He had a passion for art and was indifferent to worldly life. K.C.S. Panikar took care of him. K. Ramanujam's friend N. Raghavan recalls an incident,

"Ramanujam used to leave drops of water on the qunk ink painting to add finishing touches. That was his style. When a painting for the National Art Museum was nearing completion, a fellow artist poured water on the painting and said, 'You are going to sprinkle water on it anyway. So I did it myself,' he said.

"Ramanuja couldn't bear this act. He chased the painter around Cholamandalam in a frenzy. The next morning, he had to send a finished painting for the competition of the National Art Gallery. So that very night, Ramanuja painted another painting and sent it. It was chosen as the best painting of the year. It is still in the gallery on display today.”

Artistic life and some works

While he was in College, K. Ramanujam's painting 'Kanavu' (dream) was featured in the then popular quarterly magazine 'Artrends' (October 1963 January 1964) and gained widespread attention. The fact that a student's work appeared only once in that journal is an estimate of Ramanuja's early skills.

While in college, he also began eating meat and using drugs. His orthodox family could not tolerate this and after some troubles at home Ramanujam stopped going home. He stayed at the college and later at Cholamandalam. Ramanuja's mannerisms, appearance and actions were a source of ridicule even among his friends. Art School Principal K.C.S. Panikar, teachers Dhanapal, Krishnarao, Santhanaraj, fellow students K.M. Adimoolam and P. Krishnamurthy were a great support to Ramanuja. Many of Ramanujan's works have been titled by Panikar. K. Ramanujam explained about his art pieces in Tamil to Panikar, who would then give suitable titles in English.