G D Arulraj - Gateway

This is a nice painting by Arulraj depicting a 'Gateway' or arch into a town.

The painting looks like it is still in a good condition and nicely framed as well.

Vinayak M Raikar - Ceramic Plate

Today I am discussing a different artist and a different medium.  Recently my wife purchased a ceramic plate from the internet with a beautiful painting on it and it was signed by V M Raikar.  It was produced by the Vitrum Studios of Bombay around 1965 and the painting was fired on a plate made by the Bengal Potteries.

She did some research and managed to contact Mr Raikar's son who lives in India and he was amazed when he saw the photo of the plate decorated by his father all those years ago (50 years).  He was able to report that his father was happy when he heard the story as it brought back many memories of his time working at Vitrum Studios in Bombay after his finished Art College.

You can find out more about Mr Raikar if your click on this link.Vinayak M Raikar

G D Paulraj - Sari seller

This is a nice water colour by G D Paulraj of a man selling saris in a market.

 This seems to be from a period when he painted more close ups and the people in the street are larger.  In many other paintings the people are smaller and a minor feature of the painting.

29 November 2014 - Heading for Pondicherry

As we were leaving the hotel in Tanjore the Sitar player from the evening before had arrived with a CD of his music that I had asked him about.  It was very kind for him to come in the next morning and let me buy a copy.

It was raining hard as soon as we left Tanjore, and the driver told us we were doing a short detour so we could visit another Chola Temple.  But we were on our own today no guide, this temple was unpainted but highly carved and very wet.

When we got to Pondicherry we were staying in a small 18 room hotel near the sea front called the Palais de Mahe, it was very pleasant with beautiful rooms and the walls were decorated in nice artwork.

I was unable to read the name of the artist but they great paintings.

G D Thyagaraj - Mosque and market

This is a bright market scene with a mosque in the background by Thyagaraj, nice painting.

 

G D Paulraj - Doing the Dhobi

This is a painting by G D Paulraj showing a lot of man and women cleaning clothes in the river with large mountains in the background.  I posted a similar one back in 2012 but this one I prefer.

 

28 November 2014 (Part 2) - Tanjore

Once we arrived in Tanjore we picked up our guide and went to visit the former palace buildings which were looking a little sad.  There were many very old bronze statues of considerable size considering their age.

 

From memory this was a large statue with a diameter of around three feet.

Watchtower structure at the palace.

 Very ornate paintings on the palace walls.

 Crows sitting on the palace roof.

Looks like the same deity as in the earlier bronze statue.

We then moved on and visited the 'Great Living Chola Temple in Tanjore'.   There were a lot of pilgrims visiting the temple which was highly carved but not painted.

We then visited a metal work shop and purchased some small heavy bronze statues to take back to the UK.

28 November 2014 - Trichy to Tanjore

Left Madurai in heavy rain, the first of our trip, our driver said it was a cyclone and was going to last around three days.  It got wetter the nearer the coast we got, one good point was it kept other people indoors and for a change we were on a good quality road all the way to Trichy (Tiruchirappalli) where we visited the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple which was being renovated and covered in bamboo scaffolding and green netting.

 On the road to Trichy, very wet today.

 Brave motorcyclist.

 Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple being renovated in Trichy.

 We ended up with wet, cold and muddy feet, we were glad we had taken a waterproof jacket!  I will add the Tanjore photos another day

27 November 2014 - Madurai

We went with our new guide 'Daisy' to visit the Tirumalai Naicker Palace with huge pillars, which was looking very tired in need of some attention.  Then on to visit and massive Hindu Temple, no cameras were allowed inside but you could take you mobile phones! We had to leave our cameras in a hired locker which cost us Rs/- 20.

The temple was massive and very impressive and very very busy with weddings.  Afterwards we crossed the road and visited a gift shop with a roof that overlooked the temple and took some photos.

 

G D Paulraj - Two cows at the market

Another great painting by Paul Raj, one of his many market scenes with lots of activity.  The colours still look fresh as well.

I wish I owned this one, it reminds me of my visit to India last November, hope you enjoy this one.

 

G D Paulraj - Village Tap

This painting recently sold on Ebay for £183.00 it started at £125.00 so it was a good price for a very nice painting.  I remember it changing hands about 18 months ago and I think I added to my blog at that time, but this is a better photo.

The colours look nice and fresh, I think the painting was unframed, shame I could not bid on it, retirement has curbed my spending.

26 November 2014 - Madurai

I thought I better finish off my report of my trip to India last year.  I seemed to forget about it.

We arrived in Madurai an old city in southern India and we stayed in the Heritage Hotel which had been the compound of a textile company and had been converted to a hotel.  We were staying in a shared villa which was split up into about six rooms but it was still very large.  The grounds were full of trees and we had to watch out for mosquitoes.

The pool was sunken and looked like a tank with steps on all four sides.  There was also a very old (400 years) Banyan tree next to the main hotel building which was very large and full of ants!!!

G D Pauraj - Street Market

Great painting today by Paulraj of a street market, unfortunately I do not know anything about the painting, but it seems be  a very nice one.

It is signed in the bottom right hand corner in his usual red paint and the painting has the typical intense shade and sun.

G D Paulraj - Cows Resting in the Shade

After an absence of many weeks I am back with a painting by G D Paulraj, there are a several teams bullocks resting under the shade of a large tree.  This seems to be a very nice painting.

 

G D Arulraj - Wild and Windy Day

This painting is by G D Arulraj showing a man leading some cattle in what appears to be a very windy day, I assume it is the monsoon season. From the Facebook tribute page.

The Adyar Club - Madras by G D Paulraj

I was recently contacted by a lady whose used to live in Madras and her parents were given a Christmas card in 1960 of the Adyar Club which later became the Madras Club in the mid 1960s.  It was painted by G D Paulraj and made into a print to be used on a Christmas card.  Thanks to Fran for sharing this with me.  She also sent me a photo of the Club taken in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

 

The Adyar Club - Christmas Card

The Adyar Club taken in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

26 November 2014 - Journey from Coimbatore to Madurai

Left Coimbatore at 9:00am for a 4.5 hour drive to Madurai.  We drove through some very small and poor villages on the way.  We saw quite a lot of wind turbines for the first time on our trip.  Below are a small selection of the photos I took on the way.

Woman carrying animal feed.

Woman tending her cattle at the side of the road.

Coconut grove.

Working in the fields.

Beans growing in the fields.

Carrying water.

Paddy fields.