Hailing from the Royal clan of "Nattukotai Chettiyars", popularly known as the "Nagarathars" and being native of the ever famous place called "Pillaiyarpatti" (for which Lord Ganesha has been a little extra kind to me, I suppose), I can effortlessly comprehend the attributes of Lord Ganesha to the “Lord of all Beginnings”, “Remover of Obstacles”, “Lord of Letters and Learnings” and of course the “Lord of Intellect and Wisdom”. As far as my virtual acquaintances are concerned, Pillaiyar Nonbu is a signature festival of our community, when mom makes delicacies like "paal paniyaram", "kandharappam", "kozhukattai" and "paayasam" (besides the historical significance and rationale behind the festival) and needless to say, the very inception of all family rituals and ceremonies is by invoking the blessings of the All-pervasive Lord Ganesha. And how can I forget the “unifying” festival of Ganesh Chathurthi, wherein colorful terracotta idols of Lord Ganesha, decked up with flower garlands and fancy umbrellas are taken in procession to be immersed into the sea, filling the air with slogans and praises, shouting “Ganapathi Bappa Moriya” (apart from the fact, that it is a National Holiday in the calendar!) .
My artistic career and accomplishments are no exception, as they also began with a magnificent portrait of Lord Ganesha in the form of Tanjore Art (kindly refer to my first post on Tanjore Paintings) and from there on till date, it has been a successful journey with rewarding experiences. This new artifact, “6 Leelas of Lord Ganesha” is a tribute to all artistic creations, as it is way beyond the over done pencil sketches, traditional paintings, modern art, fusion art, thread work, craft objects and even three dimensional show pieces.
The fact that Lord Ganesha is revered as a patron of art, by virtue of his iconographic elements, can be exemplified by the contemporary representations of his heroic and mischievous deeds, dancing and dramatic scenes or carvings on appealing shapes and symbols. This creation, “6 Leelas of Lord Ganesha” is inimitable, wherein Lord Ganesha is depicted as a musical maestro, exhibiting his versatility by playing 6 different musical instruments, like violin, mridangam, nadaswaram, veena, tabla and tamboora in 6 different incarnations, all captured in a single panorama. The antique lamps, golden bells, scintillating mirrors, embossed pillars with welcoming women deities on either sides, bowl of laddus (his desired offering as Prasad) and his vahana, the rat, all intensify the celebration and complete the paraphernalia.
Certainly, it demanded hours of work and pain-staking efforts, as every minute or mighty object (right from the ornaments to the crown, trunk, belly, hands, instruments, laddus, lamps, bells, women deities, rat, etc,) present in the 36*36 inches huge board, was molded out of ceramic powder (manually), pasted intact and painted with five different coatings of black, gold, bronze, copper and rust , in the order, to bring into existence , the antique creation, “6 Leelas of Lord Ganesha”, as featured in the photograph.
And once again, Lord Ganesha has been kind enough, for having blessed me with the patience, power and perseverance to craft such a supreme artifact in all its splendor and awe,revitalizing the saying, "All that begins well, ends well".
P.S. It has been almost a year, since I posted last & at this juncture, I certainly feel happy and worthy of both, the wait and the work!
