G D Paulraj - Classic Cart Convoy

Today I am adding a 'Kodaikanal Classic Cart Convoy' the photo was sent to me by Robert whose parents first went to India in 1923.  He believes the painting was bought while they were in Kodaikanal where he went to school in the late 1940's.  The family spent the hot season in the Palni mountains in Kodaikanal.

He returned to go to college in the USA around 1950 and he thinks he has a photo that he took of Paulraj painting the view from 'Coaker's Walk' overlooking the plains 7,000 feet below.  Robert thank you for sharing this beautiful painting, if you should find the photo of Paul Raj I would love to see that as well.

It is in fantastic shape with very little fading of the colours and it is a classic cart convoy with a different twist.  In the background you can see a temple on a hill, does anyone know if such a scene exists in the Kodai region?

Hope you all enjoy this painting and thanks to Robert again for sharing it with us all.

G D Thyagaraj - Resting Under the Trees

Another painting by Thyagaraj 'Resting under the tree' it has kept the colours well over so many years.

This is a nice painting which I like a lot.

G D Thyagaraj - Busy Street with Temple

This is a photo of the second Thyagaraj painting sent to me by Rob.  It dates from the late 1950s.  It shows a very busy street scene with what appears to be a small shrine or temple.  Anyone know if this is a real place?  We do know that Thyagaraj lived and worked in Jaipur for many years could it be based on a scene in Jaipur.

Unfortunately the colours appear a light off this could be because of the settings of the camera or maybe it has just faded over time.

Once again thanks to Rob for sharing this photo.  Hope you like it.

G D Thyagaraj - Steps leading to Water

Another painting by G D Thyagaraj, this was one sent to me by Rob who found my blog and it turns out that his parents own two paintings by Thyagaraj which they obtained when they were in India in the 1950s.  This one shows some steps leading down to some water and there are four women by the waters edge doing some chores.

 Thanks to Rob for sharing these paintings, much appreciated.

G D Arulraj - Drawing Water

This is a painting by G D Arulraj depicting a similar scene to the last posting by Thyagaraj, this also shows a farmer using his cattle to raise water from the river in this case to irrigate his crops I expect.

Of the two this is my favourite, It is a pleasant painting, it is interesting to compare the two brothers works side by side.

G D Thyagaraj - Drawing Water

This is one of Thyagaraj's agricultural scenes showing a farmer drawing water from a well with the aid of two cows and a steep ramp.  I have never actually seen this particular system in operation.

I am also aware that his brother Arul painted the same scene in his own way, I will make that my next posting.

G D Paulraj - Fishseller

Today's painting is by G D Paulraj the style is less common being a study of one person as opposed to his more common street scenes.  This depicts a lady selling fish, it seems to have retained the colours very well after all these years.

The painting is currently up for auction at Live Auctioneers in case you would like to bid on it on 02/12/12 lot number 3213 starting at $80.00.

G D Thyagaraj - Jaipur Street scene

This is a street scene believed to be of Jaipur where Thyagaraj lived for most of his life.  He has managed to add in some temples, camels and cows as well. Quite a nice composition.

G D Thyagaraj - Loading the hay carts

This photo of a Thyagaraj painting was sent to me by a lady who was recently given this painting in Australia.  It is from his series of agricultural paintings, it depicts two women passing large heavy bails of hay to the men who are on the top of the hay which has already been loaded.  Looks like heavy work.

The painting is unframed at present they always look far better once they have a nice frame.  Many thanks for sharing this painting.

G D Paulraj - Ox Cart through the Banyan Trees

I have been sent this photo of a painting by Paul Raj by a lady whose parents bought in when they visited India in the 1950's.  It is one of the better quality paintings by Paul from his 'big tree' era.  I think they were in Delhi and they got it from an art gallery not from Paul Raj himself.

It is a very nice painting and I like it a lot, it is not dis-similar to a couple of the Paul Raj paintings I own myself.  Many thanks to the family for letting me add this to my blog.

G D Paulraj - Busy street by a temple

This is the 4th painting owned by the same lady by G D Paulraj, a very nice painting of a busy street near a temple.

Once again the colours are really fresh, it must have been kept away from bright sunlight.  A really attractive painting.

K C S Paniker - Boat Scene

K C S Paniker was a contemporary of G D Paulaj, Paniker was born in 1911 and died in 1977 and studied in Madras and went onto to be Principal at the college where he studied.  A painting by Paniker has just sold on Ebay for $600 which is quite cheap considering a few years ago one of his more modern paintings sold for $43,000 in the USA.  The painting which just sold today is very bright and was painted in 1948 according to the signature.  More information on him can be found at the following link.

I would be interested to know if anyone can identify the scene or the location was in real or imaginery?  There appears to be a lot of people in boats and some kind of jetty or pier?

The signature is interesting as it seems that Paniker dated his paintings, very helpful to the collector, I wish more artists would do this.  The painting which sold in the USA for $43,000 is below and as you will see this is a quite different style.

I prefer his earlier work but what do I know?  Hope you like this painting. Shame it was not me who bought it.

G D Paulraj - Fruit Market

Yet another great painting by Paul, this ones shows a number of outdoor market stalls selling fruit.  In the centre is an old man selling baskets.

It is a super painting with crisp colours, a very nice painting.  It belongs to the small person how owns the previous two I have posted.

G D Paulraj - Milling the Corn

Another water colour by G D Paulraj which is a little unusual in that it is painted straight on. His street scenes will always be at an angle to give some perspective.  It is a nice painting not too complicated.

Two women are doing the milling and the grandfather is playing with a small child on the bed.  The shadow of the tree is good against the wall of the house.

G D Paulraj - Dust and Light

This is a painting by G D Paulraj which is one of four owned by a lady who has shared them on Facebook, it is called Dust and light.  It is one of Paul's classic cart convoy scenes.

Nice painting it has retained the colours well.

G D Thyagaraj - Carts going through the city gate

This is a painting by G D Thyagaraj which is familiar yet different.  Clearly Thyaga painted it several times but with different carts going through it.  This ones shows some carts being pulled by cows.

You can see three gates in total and a cart convoy leaving the city.

G D Paulraj - Night Meal

This painting is for sale on Ebay at the moment (September 2012) if you are interested it is starting at a low price so you may be able to bag yourself a bargain.  The seller was located in San Diego, California, USA.  It is by G D Paulraj from the time he was living in Madras and is one of his higher quality paintings.

The colours of the saris of the ladies cooking the meal are very bright.  The cows are great as well.

From the label you can see that it sold for Rs. 300/-.  It sold on 8 September 2012 for $375.00 or £233.98 a total of 23 bids.

G D Paulraj - Evening on the Street

This is a great painting of a busy street at early evening.  You can see the lights on in the shops and houses.  Also the light is reflecting off the puddles of water at the side of the road.

 You can see some minarets off a temple further down the street and a man has his umbrella open as it must be starting to rain.

Buying Masks in Nepal 1971

I have just been looking through an old journal I kept in 1971 when the family did a big tour of India and I have found a photograph of my father buying some carved wooden masks in Nepal. 

While gardening the other day I noticed one of the masks hanging from our apple tree.  It has been hanging on the tree as we had noticed in an attack of wood worm.  It was therefore taken out of the house as we did not want the wood worm to spread.  It has been there for around 15 years and in that time it has been covered by lichen and other forms of slow growing organisms and looks even more frighteneing than it did in 1971.

We have now moved it from the apple tree to our back gate, I think it is the lower left mask in the first photo.  Another Indian Influence!!!!

G D Arulraj - Carts outside of the office

This is a nice watercolour by G D Arulraj the photo was sent to me by a gentleman in the USA.  It was originally given to his grandparents in Laguna HIlls, California around 1962.  They were artists and it is possible they knew Arul and this is how the obtained the painting.

It is a little unusual as it seems to show some industrial chimneys in the background spewing out some smoke.  I have not seen one like this before.  It shows a nice group of cattle with carts waiting outside of  an office as if they are waiting for their next task.  Thanks Tom for sending me the photo.

G D Thyagaraj - Temple through the trees

Been away for a couple of weeks so need to post some more paintings.  Would like to add some photos from my break but not relevant to 'Indian Influences'!  Today is yet another from Thyagaraj showing a temple through the leaves of a golden tree.

G D Thyagaraj - Working in the paddy fields

Yet another by Thyagaraj this one shows a group of women working in the paddy field next to a house in the village.

Quite a colourful painting, we have had some very big storms last week here in the UK with a lot of flooding, a bit unusual for June!  It seemed like the monsoon with lots of thunder and lightning as well.

G D Thyagaraj - Evening Meal

Yet another in the series by G D Thyagaraj this one shows a number of cart drivers preparing what might be their evening meal after a long journey.  Again the coloured are a bit washed out with the sunlight and the age of the painting.

Sunlight is not a problem in the UK at the moment, we seem to have had nothing but rain for most of the year.  It is meant to be mid summer but temperatures are only around 15C!!!!

G D Thyagaraj - Cattle on the road

Yet another cattle scene by Thyagaraj of cattle being driven down the road either from or to the grazing land.  Lots of dust is being kicked up as they walk along.

I think the colours have faded some what since it was painted.

G D Thyagaraj - Five Cart Convoy

Another by Thyagaraj showing his typical cart convoy, this one has five carts fading into the distance.

One of the cows has a bit of a long neck, seen this before with his paintings!!!

G D Thyagaraj - Cows amongst the trees

Another watercolour by G D Thyagaraj 'Cows amongst the trees' a reasonable composition, I quite like this painting.

This is from a time when Thyagaraj had mastered painting trees.  Hope you like this one.

Update: this painting sold in December 2013 on Ebay for £51.00

G D Thyagaraj - Temple Street Scene

This is by G D Thyagaraj depicting a busy street with a Temple in the background, this is quite a common theme for Thyagaraj.  Colours seemed to have been change by the camera and time.

Quite a pleasant painting.

G D Paulraj - Fetching Water up the hill

Painting by G D Paulraj showing some ladies carrying water up a hill through the trees.

The mount seems to have suffered some water damage over the years, but still an interesting painting.

G D Paulraj - Dhobies at Work

I have been contacted by a lady whose friend is wanting to sell the following Paulraj painting.  I have asked for some more background information and if possible a higher quality photo.  Once I have some more information I will add it to the blog.

The painting appears to be behind glass as there is some reflection on the painting.  If you are interested just email me and I will send on your email address.

G D Arulraj - Mountains

This is a painting by G D Arulraj depicting snow covered mountains.

This is a nice crisp fresh looking painting.

G D Arulraj - Street Scene with Arched Tower

This is a watercolour by Arulraj showing one of his typical street scenes.  There is a building jutting out into the street a bit like a tower with an arched window.

Quite a colourful painting with some purple in the distance.  A typical lady carrying a basket walking along the street.

G D Arulraj - Village Street

Another painting tracked down by Kashinath this one is by G D Arulraj, this one shows a village street.

Kashinath says that his next exhibition will take place in Kochi in Kerala in October of this year.  I like this painting it is nice and bright having retained it's colours.

Sailing to India

Just turned up some old documents at home.  The first is a certificate I was given in 1957 when I first sailed to India on the Caledonia which first came into service with the Anchor line in 1948.  It was just after the Suez crisis and the canal was blocked with sunken boats so we had to sail to india via South Africa.  In the process we crossed the equator and a ceremony was performed and anyone who had not crossed the equator before was given a certificate to mark the occasion.

The second image is grabbed from a family cine film showing our luggage being taken off   another boat in Southampton.  It was loaded into nets and them dumped onto the deck for moving into our cabins or storage if it was not needed on the voyage.

I will look to see if I have a postcard of the vessel put away somewhere.  I have been directed to a postcard of the ship see below.

G D Thyagaraj - Drying the Fish

Watercolour by G D Thyagaraj found by Kashinath.  It seems to show the women placing baskets of fish on some sort of drying table?  Any one have any other ideas?

Thanks again Kashinath for sharing this painting.

G D Paulraj - Rough Seas

This is an oil painting by G D Paulraj sowing two fishermen battling "Rough Seas'.  It was sent to me by Kashinath who says it can be found in the Kerala Museum in Kochi.

It is a very moody painting with quite strong colours. Thanks Kashinath.

Fort - Me and the Driver

This one is taken in colour in 1967, I do not have many colour photos from that time.  It captures a good spirit between the Sikh driver (whose name I have forgotten) and myself.  We had visited a fort (could this be in Delhi?) earlier he had taken us to his Sikh temple and got me kitted out with a turban, a comb, a dagger and a steel bangle which I appear to be wearing in the photograph as well.

Calcutta 1967 - Basket Sellers

I have just been looking through and old family photograph album and have scanned a few photos to add to the blog.  The first shows my mother in 1967 talking to two women in a Calcutta street, maybe a mother and daughter who are carrying some large baskets on their heads.  Thought it was a great photo.

G D Paulraj - Group of street sellers

This is the third painting sent to me by Elisabeth and this is also by Paulraj but in oil.  We know Paul painted in oils but we see very few compared with his watercolours.

The face profiles of the woman in the red sari and the one in the blue sari are very similar.  Maybe this could be based on his wife, we know he did have sketches of her?  Thanks again Elisabeth.

G D Paulraj - Catching up on the news

This photo of a G D Paulraj was sent to me by Elisabeth in the USA, it was purchased by her father many years ago.

It is a nice bright street scene with some lovely trees.  Thanks again Elisabeth. The title is my creation.

G D Paulraj - Street Scene

This is a photo of a Paulraj watercolour provided to me by Elisabeth from the USA who lived in India for many years when her father lived there.  It is one of his nice street scenes if just a little dark.  I tried to edit out the flash reflection in the centre of the photo.

My appreciation to Elisabeth for sharing this painting.  She asked if I had heard of the Indian author  R K Narayan I had not so I have just purchased a couple of his books off Ebay.  Being 'The Man-eater of Malgudi' and 'Tales from Magudi' to see what they are like.

G D Arulraj - At Rest

I have just been sent a few photos from Kashinath that he has found on his travels around India.  This one is by Arulraj called At Rest.

It is a very bright painting I assume painted before Arul went to the USA.  Lots of big mountains in the background, is this south India?  Hope you like it.  Thank you once again Kashinath.

The Shaking Towers Ahmedabad - 1971

I was viewing some old cine films taken in India when I was a boy and I came across a scene where my sister and I were visiting Ahmedabad (might have been around 1971 and we were taken to what is known as the shaking towers by our guide. The towers were not too tall but it was very scary when you reached the top and went out onto the platform as there was no hand rail of any kind.  I have managed to capture a couple of stills but they are very low quality as the cine film was only 8mm film.  The first photo shows the pair of towers.

I was at the top of the left hand tower.  My parents did not go up one of them was taking the cine film.  I will try and add a small cine clip later.  I understand that the towers were damaged recently in and earthquake and one is missing some of the upper floors. Is this correct the information on the internet seems to be a bit muddled? I do not know if they are to be restored or not?

G D Paulraj - Bringing Home the Catch

This painting is currently for sale on Ebay in California, USA.  The seller has agreed that I may add a photo of the painting.  The item number is 180856586554 and the auction ends on 11 April 2012 so you will need to be quick if you wish to bid on the painting.

The painting shows two fishermen dragging their boat to the high water line after returning from a fishing trip.  What is unusual about this painting is that there is quite a lot of detail on the fisherman as well (muscles).  The starting price is $150 US dollars which converts to around £96.15 based on the current exchange rate of $1.56 = £1.00. Price dropped to $100.00 and it sold on 27 April 2012.

Apparently on the reverse is an incomplete painting of a young girl which is also very interesting as well.

Two for the price of one.  Thanks to the seller deez-dem-and-doze for allowing me to add the painting to this blog.