R.G. Singh - Maverick behind Ramsons Kala Pratishtana

Speaking as the Chief Guest at the inauguration of an art exhibition. 16 May 2011

R.G. Singh (b. 1967) is the second son of  D. Ram Singh and R. Kaladevi. D. Ram Singh was a pioneer in the manufacturing and retailing of handicrafts since the last five decades in Mysore.

Captivated by the magic of traditional paintings, old sepia photographs of the city of Mysore and beautiful artefacts, RG became a collector while still a teenager. 

RG grew up looking at the classical Mysore Style of Painting that hung in his ancestral home. His interest in them kindled when he saw more of them at Jaganmohan Art Gallery. This led him to embark on a mission to collect these paintings. He rummaged the antiquities stores in Mysore and bought aged, old classic paintings. In fact it was while he was still in college that he bought his very first Mysore School of painting from a photo-frame shop in the city with his pocket money. From that day onwards, he built an enviable collection of Mysore Style Paintings. Further, RG commissions artists to create masterpieces and thus nurturing the style.  

It was this passion for art that led RG to take on the role of Honorary Secretary of the Ramsons Kala Pratishtana, a trust established by his father. Under the aegis of  Ramsons Kala Pratishtana Trust, RG was instrumental in reviving the ancient doll display tradition of Karnataka as well as traditional board games of India by hosting exhibitions that have today become iconic annual ‘must-see’ programmes on everyone’s itinerary, be it the tourist or the Mysorean alike.

He, along with Raghu Dharmendra and Dr. Dileep K.C.R. Gowda, has conducted extensive research in the field of traditional board games of since the year 2000. As part of Kreedaa Kaushalya, RG and his team mates have taught how to play traditional Indian board games to more than a thousand adults and children at various camps and workshops as resource persons since 2007.

L-R: Dr. C.R. Dileep Kumar Gowda, Raghu Dharmendra, Smt. Prema Simha and RG Singh at Kalale

RG has organised following special thematic exhibitions...

1. Durge Durgatihaari - an exhibition of Mysore paintings depicting Durga in her avatars - 1999
2. Exhibition of Mysore Paintings of artist K.S. Shreehari - 2001
3. Kala Sampark - an exhibition of crafts of Karnataka - 2002
4. Veda Kala - an exhibition of paintings of G.L.N. Simha interpreting Vedic Suktas - 2002
5. Exhibition of Mysore Paintings of artist B.P. Ramakrishna - 2002
6. Ganapaa - an exhibition of Ganesha images - 2005
7. Mysore Masters - an exhibition of paintings of bygone artists (1830-2009) of Mysore - 2009. Works of distinguished artists who adorned the royal court of Mysore, worked in Mysore and accomplished artists who had a Mysore connection were included in this mammoth show
8. Divya Varna - an exhibition of paintings of G.L.N. Simha - 2011
9. Puttaraju Works Ravi Varma - an exhibition of inlay marquetry panels - 2011. A year-long project in which 37 select paintings of master artist Raja Ravi Varma were rendered in the art of inlay-marquetry unique to Mysore by master artist R. Puttaraju which culminated in a successful exhibition
10. Baaro Krishnayya - an exhibition of Krishna in art - 2012
11. Kalaa Dhaaraa - a 78-day expo of contemporary/traditional art of about 90 artists of Karnataka - Feb to Apr 2014
12. Bombe Mane - a unique annual exhibition of dolls highlighting the doll tradition of India - 2005 to current year
13. Kreedaa Kaushalya - annual exhibition of handcrafted board games and commissioned paintings on games - 2007 to current year
14. Deepa Soundarya - annual exhibition of lamps in various media from across India - 2008 to current year

RG conducted following activities under the aegis of RKP.

• 1995 to 1999 - National level Shilpashree award presentation
• 1995 to 2006 - Rotary Ramsons Kala Pratishtana award presentation
• 2007 to 2017 - Ramsons Kala Pratishtana award presentation in association with Karnataka Shilpakala Academy
• 2005 - a twelve day traditional bronze casting workshop in association with Karnataka Shilpakala Academy
• 2012 - Varnamrita - a seven day painting camp for ten artists in association with Artists Forum of Udupi
• 2006 to 2018 - A six-page calendar of commissioned artworks with a special theme highlighting the cultural aspects of Karnataka is being released every year which has gained immense popularity

RG has commissioned art works from several artists (both contemporary and traditional) for the art repository of RKP. Art works of following artists are in the collection of RKP.

Mukta Venkatesh, M.J. Shuddodhana, G.L.N. Simha, B.K.S. Varma, Vijay Hagargundgi, N. Kamalesh, Raghupati Bhat, M.S. Nirmal Kumar, G.Y. Hublikar, Chandranath Acharya, B.P. Ramakrishna, J.M.S. Mani, Ramesh Rao, Bhaskar Rao, K.S. Shreehari, Prabha Mallesh, Manish Verma, K.V. Kale, Srinivas Reddy, Kamal Ahmed, Sridhar Rao, M. Girija, Giridhar Goud, Ramesh Selluturai, F.V. Chikmath, Manjunath Mane, B.B. Raghavendra, Purushotham Adve, G. Subramanian, Jagadish Kamble, M.V. Kambar, Sunil Mathad, Balu Sadalge, Sindhu Kamath, M.R. Pavanje, R.G. Hegde, Ganesh Somayaji, S.S. Shimpi, etc.

RG has also published, through Ramsons Kala Pratishtana, several monographs like, ‘Mysore Masters,’ ‘Puttaraju works Ravi Varma’ apart from a pictorial journal, 'Mysore Palace – Celebrating a century' published in 2012 and 'Indian Traditional Boardgames A Guide to the Art of Play'.

RG has given talks and lectures on art and heritage at events like the International Art Symposium organised by Sri Guru Vidyapeetha of Kalburgi (Gulbarga) and at Rotary Clubs, the Suttur Mutt (Suttur), INTACH (at New Delhi and Bengaluru), IGNCA (Bengaluru), NGMA (Bengaluru), Central Lalitkala Akademi (New Delhi), 19th International Board Game Studies Colloquium (Nuremberg, Germany), VAG Forum, Karnataka Lalitakala Academy, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath Vermilion House (Bengaluru) and Amethyst (Chennai).

His skills as an orator were honed in school and college (during his graduate days) when he was actively involved as a member of the Rotaract Club and he has also held the post of District Rotaract Representative of Rotary International District 3180 (1994-1995). It was also during his school and college days that he became a philatelist and his collection of stamps on Rotary International is enviable. 

 RG has given several multi-media presentations on following subjects:

• Rotary on Stamps
• Pearls
• Kreedaa Kaushalya - Indian Traditional Board Games
• Vijay Hagargundgi - Surapura Miniaturist
• Mysore Palace - Celebrating a Century
• Mantra Mukura - Art of GLN Simha
• Traditional Dolls of Karnataka
• Mysuru Paintings in Kuldip Singh Collection
• Traditional Mysuru Style Paintings
• Art and Life of F.M. Soofi

RG has established a museum of his collection of Mysore style paintings in memory of his father - Ramsingh Museum of Mysore Paintings. This is the first ever private museum of Mysore paintings. 

RG's mother collected miniature dolls and toys from across the globe. RG used a part of her collection and along with the special display dioramas of Bombe Mane exhibitions, established the first doll exhibition south of Vindhyas which commemorates the memory of his mother - Kaladevi Doll Museum.

RG prefers to relax with a book. His choice veers towards non-fiction and authors like Khushwant Singh, Mark Tully, R.K. Narayan, S.K. Ramachandra Rao and William Dalrymple.

He, has co-authored two books. First is 'Indian Traditional Boardgames - A Guide to the Art of Play' which was released at the 19th International Board Game Studies Colloquium at Nuremberg, Germany in April 2016 and the second was 'Thanjavurs Gilded Gods' (Dr. Anna Dallapiccola and Sri Kuldip Singh were the other co-authors) which was published by Marg Publications in the year 2018.



RG attributes his foray in the world of art, as a connoisseur, to the atmosphere of art created by his father D. Ram Singh and mentoring by his late uncle M.B. Singh.

Galaxy of Musicians

Ambling through the rooms and hallways of the Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery, housed in the handsome Indo-saracenic building of Jaganmohan Palace, fills one with the beauty of 20th century artworks from across India.

Artworks of Gaganendranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, S.L. Haldankar, Nicholas Roerich, K. Keshavaiah, M. Ramanarasiah, G.L.N. Simha and many more stalwart artists grace the hallowed walls. Consuming the visual ambrosia as one reaches the second floor hall, the huge oil on canvases of Raja Ravi Varma overwhelms with its drama. Among the ten or twelve canvases of this artist par excellence, the 'Galaxy of Musicians' is unique.

The composition reminds one of a group portrait. It strongly resembles a photograph of a group of female students of Maharani’s College contemporaneous with the painting. What differentiates the painting from the photograph, though, is the fact that eleven ladies in two rows, have been dressed in variety of costumes each representing different regions of India like Malabar, Tamil, Maratha, Lucknow, Parsi, English, Rajasthani, etc. Four of them are playing stringed instruments like a Saraswati Veena, violin, sitar and a sarangi, the Parsi lady is holding up a hand fan, the Lucknow girl looks like she is performing a thumri on kathak while others gaze out or towards the onlooker.

It seems like the artist’s favourite muses from across the length and breadth of the sub-continent have assembled within a frame decking up in their finest drapes and jewels. The essence of India through its feminine beauty has been depicted here, one might presume.

Probably Raja Ravi Varma was the first artist to symbolise Bharatmata in a composite portrait like this. He might have titled it as ‘Galaxy of Musicians’, but in reality he brought all the regions of India symbolically as the beautiful maidens and made them sing a common song of a single nationhood, a united and free India.

Search Futile

Are you in my heart

or in my mind?

A happy little reverie

that's playing on rewind.

Where are you

pray reveal, be kind...

There's nothing on outside

Let me dive in and find.

Precious much is lost

in the daily grind.

Few slivers of your smile

is all that's left behind.

Unrequited Love

 She loved me,

    I didn't.

I love you,

    you don't.

You love him,

    he doesn't.

On and on and on

    grows the shackle

of broken hearts

    forged by

shattered dreams.

Your Eyes

Your eyes

kindred the darkest recess

of my mind...

Something awoke 

that was dead and gone...

Something stirred,

sputtered, crackled!

After eons of cold solitude

I jumped alive.

What If Love Vanished From the Humanity

Have you ever wondered, what if ‘Love’ vanishes from the world and what happens then? There will be no love between a mother or father and the child, between siblings, between friends, between bloody absolutely anybody!

Nobody will fall in love. There will be no ‘lovers’ at all.

We will have admiration, respect, devotion, gratitude, fear and awe towards God but not love. Without love towards God, our devotion will be without soul. Humanity will lose its innocence. Love is the fuel of the soul and without this fuel the soul will seize to work and human beings will be like walking and talking machines.

Victor Hugo has quoted, "Life is a flower of which love is the honey." If there is no love, the flower is devoid of its sweet nectar and becomes just a good looking outer shell of colour and texture. Similarly, the human beings will be soulless, stone hearted creatures yielding to nobody.

Image courtesy: www.webmd.com

The loveless world will be a gloomy place to live in. Nobody will care for anybody. The lack of empathy and care will result in widespread exploitation, distress and negativity.

Love is the glue that binds two hearts together. In the lack of this glue, each person will be lonely. There would be no sense of camaraderie, warmth and belonging. Families will not exist. Friendships will be a thing of the past. Partnerships will no longer be forged. Everyone will be lost. Each one will be alone.

Loneliness

"Loneliness might not seem like a medical problem, but it can impact overall health, as well as brain health. Stress from feeling disconnected and alone can result in depression, anxiety and even cardiovascular troubles like high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease." - Brenda Kelley Kim

Image courtesy: https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/you-are-not-alone-2/

Just imagine the situation where everyone in the world is afflicted with loneliness and are depressed. It is indeed a scary scenario. It will be much worse than the current situation of COVID 19 pandemic that is sweeping the globe.

Worldwide depression is a bloody nightmare. If the doctors are also afflicted by this, who will treat others? There will be large scale suicides among the public. The violence will breakout everywhere. People will be on edge at all times. Domestic violence, murders, rapes, physical abuse, fights, road rage, all kinds of conflicts will erupt everywhere.

If the world leaders and their advisors are also stricken with a loveless, empathy-less and careless mind then it will not be long before someone among them will trigger a nuclear warfare. This, I am afraid, will lead humanity into total destruction of the world as we know it. It will be total annihilation of mankind along with the majority of the animal and the plant world.

‘Love’ may seem insignificant because it is just an intangible feeling. But the lack of it will sound the death knell to our very being. So it is in our best interest that love takes over the world and conquers all negativity.

Design Element - Bubris

Bubris

Tipu Sultan had a fascination for tigers which is evident in the repeated tiger motif in his swords, guns, throne, royal seats, royal flags, standards, etc.

War turban of Tipu Sultan. Notice the gold inlaid metallic plate (forehead guard) decorated with six bubris.
The top of this metallic plate is crowned by four bubris.

One particular design motif derived from the tiger stripes recurs significantly in his dresses, upholstery, documents, architectural ornaments, etc. The way he has used these motifs is so uncanny to the modern ways of brand building in the capitalist world.

Tipu's canon with tiger head. Notice the bubris or tiger stripes. 

This motif is a simplified tiger stripe somewhat similar to the letter 'S'. It has got a unique name as well - 'Bubris'. This word is always used together with the word 'Tiger'. So it is 'Tiger Bubris'.

Tipu Sultan on his throne. Notice the tiger heads and bubris in the borders.

I was wondering since many years, since I came across the word and its meaning, as to the origin of the word. The problem was that I was pronouncing it as 'boobrees'. One day I was drinking coffee in the typical South Indian style with a stainless steel tumbler and its accompanying container which is called as 'Dabree'. I am fascinated with words which sound strange. So I was playing with the word 'Dabree' in my head when suddenly there popped the word 'Bubri' which was similar in sound.

It was an eureka moment. My confusion about the word got cleared in a second when I pronounced the word as 'Babree'.

Tipu Sultan seated on an elephant. Mural depicting the battle of Polilur. Mural at the Dariya Daulat Baug palace, Srirangapatna, Mysuru. Notice the bubris design on the parasol, the border of the Tipu's seat and the white bubris on the red border of the cloth on the back of the elephant.

In colloquial Hindi and Urdu, the tiger is called as 'Sher' (Sher is a persian word for lion). A strong and powerful male tiger in his prime is called as 'Babbar Sher'. So you can now see the connection clearly. Babbaree means 'of Babbar' (of tiger). Further, Babbaree has been anglicised as Bubri (singular) or Bubris (plural or collective).

So the final word is this - Bubris means the design motif of a tiger.

This is my hypothesis regarding the lexicological derivation of the word 'Bubris'.

Further, this design element did not die with Tipu Sultan in 1799. It has continued till today but shorn off its importance. Even today the Dasara elephants of Mysuru are covered with beautifully embroidered clothes on their backs which invariably have borders populated with bubris.

Bubris had captured the imagination of Mysureans so much that it endured few wars, a regime change and the merging of Mysore into the Dominions of India. It has remained as a silent testimony to the era of Tipu Sultan in the history of Mysore.