(117) Raja Ravi Varma Poem by premji premji

For me, it’s a moment of pride
To tell you that
I am from his village*…
The village of Prince Painter!

The lanes in front of his palace
Were forbidden for our ancestors
They were from lower caste
They called him ‘Prince Painter’
The priests in the nearby temples
Were from upper caste
They never allowed them inside
Simply calling them untouchables

To get some sandal paste or vermilion
Our ancestors used throw money
Over the temple walls
Money has supernatural powers
It is not untouchable
Even though thrown by an untouchable
The priests fought for the money thrown in
Threw out sandal paste in return!

Their Prince was annoyed so much
He painted Deities for them:
The poor and depressed
His lithographs of Gods
Adorned every household
He was our leader of renaissance
He was God incarnate!

He painted Gods with immortal grace
He was tormented for that in court
His pictures of Goddesses had
The face of ‘Sugandha’, a Parsi widow,
Model and lover of Prince painter
Hindu upper caste fanatics couldn’t stand
They wanted him behind the bars
God let him win the case
But his Sugandha consumed poison
Thinking that he might lose in court…
She bid Goodbye on his lap…
His jasmine left for ever
She was immortalized on pictures lot

Imagine the pain of our great Prince
Now the modern painters from India
Call him ‘Calendar Painter’
They accuse him ruined Indian painting scheme
They say his paintings results
Could easily be achieved by photography
But I bet, they can’t paint even a
Finger as painted by our Prince…
It’s mere jealousy
It’s only Indians can degrade another Great Indian!

My college mate was from his palace
He took me inside once
Showed me his studio
With not even a picture of
Our great prince…
It is in ruins
I wish sometimes
Our prince should have born outside

Recently a Sanyasin told me:
Her Brahmin relatives are
Busy removing paintings of our Prince
From their pooja-rooms…
How can they worship the face of a widow?
‘How do I imagine my Krishna
Without Ravi Varma? ’
She laments…

You are our Prince Painter
The Prince of have-nots!


Kilimanoor* His native village