At the Devaraja Smrithi Mandapam located opposite the Paravur municipality office in Kollam, a sculpture portrays several musical notes and instruments as originating from the Sankarabharana, or Lord Siva’s ornament.

The ornament, and the raga which symbolises it, is the root of all music, says Rahesh Kumar, the creator of this unique sculpture.

It is the possibility of expressing the intricacies of music through visual arts that inspired Mr. Rahesh while he was designing this sculpture over a year ago, as part of an effort to renovate the run-down Mandapam, a tribute to renowned music composer G. Devarajan.

However, the sculpture is just the tip of the iceberg, as he wishes to delve further into the expression of music through visual arts, says Mr. Rahesh. Just as colour and music can both convey emotions, they can also project each other, he says.

“Not just music and painting, but all art is deeply interlinked.”

Mr. Rahesh, who is a multi-faceted artist adept in painting, sculpting, singing, and playing musical instruments, including chenda, drums, flute and violin, has now taken to teaching himself classical music in order to aid his exploration of this linkage.

He has not received any formal training in these arts. His talents are just the outcome of the time his ancestors spent on them, he says. Right from a young age, he had a good sense of rhythm, and could identify ragas based on their feel.

The support of his peers during his college days at Kerala University helped him a lot.

Time, however, is a scarce commodity for Mr. Rahesh, who also has to fulfil his duties as Municipal Secretary at the Chengannur municipality.

Having a constraint on the time he can spend for art has in fact increased his passion for them, he says.

“Art need not be a career,” he says. “It can be something that enriches your career as well as your life.”

A native of Nemom, Mr. Rahesh has previously worked at the Paravur municipality, and as a lawyer before that.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Sreelakshmi Sivaraman / Thiruvananthapuram – January 31st, 2017