'Highest form of art not drawing, it is music', Artist Namboothiri

Artist Namboothiri née Karuvattu Mana Vasudevan Namboothiri died aged 98. 80 long amazing years in drawing seems more like something out of bland fiction, but Namboothiri was an anomaly, and the things he did in oblong white papers are revered nonetheless. “Namboothiri never rests”, says many of his close acolytes. It rings true since anecdotes are copious about how this artist cared for his pen and watercolors like his blood relation. Albeit passing into the latter stage of age-related ailments, Namboothiri remained at work. It was his beloved space and he would not have traded the joy of being at work for anything.

Namboothiri fought all odds in life to reach the madras school of Arts during his tender years. Under the tutelage of drawing doyens K C S Panicker and Roy Chowdary, a novice Namboothiri took his initial steps into the art. However, he never emulated others' styles nor did he try to bring his own unique one in business. His line art was quotidian and minimalistic.

At a simple glance, a thought may pass into many minds that Namboothiri's drawings can be repeated by anyone. However, reality plays differently and a paltry few had tried and failed this attempt. Line art is simply his forte and trying to replicate it can only bring drudgery. His little lines carried the essence of Kerala with all glory. Well-known writers relied on Namboothiri for artworks for their books. M T Vasudevan's magnum opus 'Bheema' has been etched into people’s minds through Namboothiri's magnificence.

The artist in Namboothiri was not restricted to drawings. He tried a few other terrains and worked his magic when it came to sculpting. The mother and child sculpted in front of latex Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram and myriad other works are brains from this line art meister. Namboothiri shared a good association with Keralakaumudi too. When the paper had its initial edition in Kozhikode, it was Namboothiri who went to cover the Nehru trophy boat race and made smart line drawings of the event. All of that drawings appeared on the front page that day.

Namboothiri believed the highest form of art to be music. He was not a great singer but was indeed the best listener. Over the years, he acquired serious knowledge in Hindustani and Carnatic music amazing many. In an interview once, he talked about music and ended up revealing his lone wish: “ To become a musician if there happens a second life”

For Namboothiri, it was his drawings that talked rather than the artist himself. He was diffident and courtly and always adorned a ubiquitous modesty that awed many of his contemporaries. However, his courtly nature and fewer attempts to strike a conversation were no prelude to judging his class of work. Or else writer luminary VKN would never have called Namboothiri the "Paramashivan” of line art.