1 MINUTE CARICATURES: 1 Minute with the Ancient Men & Women of Kerala Kalapeetham, Kochi

When Kaladharan mentioned this meeting a month back, I never knew that the gathering that was to happen today would be so diligently devoted to old memories. There was the crowd listening to each veteran raking up an unsung anecdote or a devastating joke of those ancient times, that ran around in the inner circles but soon turned out to be dud due to overuse. The dames were there, fortunately, looking benign and as if none ever read some horribly heavy-worded art reviews some of their own kind churn out . But, most of them ignored a fat man sitting at the nook because perhaps the nook was mobbed by latecomer males pining for a seat, or paying attention to my side would be sure bet to bombarding with another latecomer strutting up to negotiate the curve to the hall at the end of the last flight of steps.

Yes, no other lady volunteered before me except two beautiful women, One was Lalitha, my wife's teacher of Art of Living sadhanas. And the other one was perching up the stairwell that thrust out to the hall from up. She, surprisingly,introduced herself as Anthropological student or something. No wonder she took up the challenge to observe the observer from too close. Thank you, madams :)

And I was balancing at the end of the plastic chair maintaining my torso at the same angle of the first two legs of the plastic chair, taking care not to shatter it. I had smashed one such to subatomic particles three years back and Kaladharan’s that month’s budget kissed dust. Everafter, I only used to stand and talk whenever at Orthic. Partly due to respect to this bearded man who helped with the hanging boards during my only caricature exhibition at my office 11 years back.

These men and women knew Kalapeetham, its Masters and Kaladharan much more than I. As one speaker said, each of them is a wonderful treasurehouse of unique experiences. I salute all of them alike because I always felt that the artists among them might be a wee bit slower in caricatures compared to this writer but then they must be infinitely surer of the depth and flow of the lines and curves they meditate on, on paper and stone and whatnot ! In spite of the fact that a cartoonist’s sensibility is different from a painter’s.

I always wondered how would I caricature Budha coming across my path, who left behind no trace of an impression. I keep on wondering how a painter visualizes colour and lines.

Please see the relics of my mind at Orthic. The camera repeatedly played truant in the absent light in my nook and I had to do a bit of clean up of caricatures displayed by my subjects, for clarity. I know, that is below the artistic belt. Please pardon.