No professional painting sticks, costly pencils or advanced acrylic colours. All he had were coal sticks to draw and natural vegetable extracts to colour. Brought up in a remote village in Thanjavur, Palanivel’s dream was to become a professional artist. Little did he know that his work will be recognised all over the country and he will become a Guinness record holder for doing what he does best – painting.
The 49-year-old Mugappair resident is now a teacher and has trained over 5,000 students so far. In an interview to News Today, Palanivel shares his journey from a little boy with a head full of dreams to becoming a recognised artist with the Abdul Kalam award for his works.
“As a young boy, I remember how I used to save all the coal sticks and use them for my paintings. I grew up in a beautiful place. Wherever you turn, you will get an inspiration to draw. All these induced the artist in me,” Palanivel starts his story with josh.
“My teacher, Subramanian, recognised my talent and encouraged me to pursue higher education in the field of fine arts and I am thankful to him. Through his guidance, I studied at Kumbakkonam College of Fine Arts. Later, as my wife worked in Chennai, I moved with her to the city and we settled in Muggapair. We have been residing here for over 23 years. In 1998, I joined as an art teacher in Velammal,” says the artist.
Palanivel has represented a number of social issues through his works and has also created a number of records, with the support of his students. His Limca Book of Records includes – Erecting a 43-feet Vinayakar statue made of recyclable items, sketching of an eye-mask painting by 3000 students at a stretch to stress importance of eye donation. It is notable that this record has not yet been broken. Another record includes creating awareness on global warming by painting over a huge glass by 3,000 students.
With the theme of ‘Save Tortoise’ the artist and his students also did a sand art of a giant tortoise. He and his students also hold a Guinness record for drawing a 1,02,000 square feet rangoli, stressing on global warming, once again. Apart from these Palanivel also exhibits his paintings in art galleries across Chennai. Currently, his paintings are showcased at Lalit Kala Akademi.
Palanivel says, “Of all, M F Hussain is my favourite artist. Also, the works of Manian Selvam, popularly known as Ma Se, are close to my heart. I would say he is the best watercolour artist in India.”
“I was recognised with the Abdul Kalam Award on the former President’s first death anniversary. It was the proudest moment of my life. I also received the ‘Best Teacher Award’ from a neighbourhood NGO,” states the proud artist.
He explains, “Schools and parents play a crucial role in developing the art interest of a child. It’s high time schools gave importance to developing art, sports and other interests in their students apart from academics. In particular, the art paves the way for student’s creativity. They deliver them from being addictive to social media and other stuff.”
“My future plan and dream are to encourage students to take up art as their career, to eradicate people’s thought of considering art as a ‘costly’ hobby and to raise awareness about this field and to showcase social causes through my works,” he concludes.
Palanivel can be reached at 97102 49060.