Profile of a master artist
Kanayi Kunhiraman has been Kerala’s Raja Shilpi (royal sculptor) for nearly half a century. His single minded devotion to art has earned him an enviable reputation as a master craftsman who has remained unrivalled in his genre. A multifaceted personality and a consummate artist, Kanayi Kunhiraman is a man of utmost simplicity, who believes in transparency and non-materialistic enterprise.
Kanayi was born on 25th July 1937 at Kuttamath in Kasargod District of Kerala. After completing his schooling, he passed the SSLC examination in 1957. By then he had already found his vocation. He ran away from home when he was barely seventeen because the elders strongly disapproved of his creative pursuits. He felt stifled in the conservative atmosphere of the traditional joint family, where the primary role of the youth was to obey unquestioningly the instructions of the elders, predominantly the patriarch.
Not one to tread the beaten path, Kanayi chose to study sculpture at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras. There he produced his first major sculpture in 1960 and called it ‘Tamilnadu woman’. In 1961 he worked as a part-time art teacher at the Ethiraj College for Women.
Kanayi received the Commonwealth Scholarship in 1965, which enabled him to join the Slade School of Arts in London, where he pursued his passion for sculpture. He spent three years in England, perfecting his artistic skills. During this phase, he traveled all over Europe and marveled at the works of Michelangelo, Rodin and other masters of art.
On his return to Kerala, Kanayi instantly attained both fame and notoriety when he sculpted the massive Malampuzha Yakshi in 1969. Located in Palakkad district, the evergreen Malampuzha Gardens presented the ideal setting for a masterpiece of such gigantic proportions. The nudity of the woman offended the conservative mindsets and awakened the curiosity of others. Some said it was disgusting. Some said it was fascinating. But one thing was certain – Kanyi Kunhiraman had come to stay.
And stay he did! For the next four decades, Kanayi produced an impressive array of art works - bronze casts, life size statues, statuettes, sculptures, paintings, sketches and even poems. Prominent among his works are the Sagarkanyaka (mermaid) at Shanghumugam Beach, Thiruvnanthapuram, the Mukkola Perumal trinity at GCDA, Kochi, the Conch at Veli Tourist Village, Thiruvananthapuram (which incidentally was designed, landscaped and built by Kanayi and has a huge variety of art works) and the Aiyyappa temple at Mullakkal in Alleppey district. The statues erected by Kanayi include those of EMS Namboothiripad at the gate of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sri Chitira Thirunal Maharaja, Pattom Phanu Pillai, Mannath Padmanabhan, Mammen Mapilla and Dr. Palpu. Bronze busts created by this great artist include that of Satish Dhawan at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, Vikram Sarabhai at VSSC, Trivandrum and Bangalore, Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B R Ambedkar.
In 1976, Kanayi joined the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvanthapuram as Professor and Head of the Department of Sculpture. In 1978 he was nominated as Chairman of the Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy. In 2001 he was again nominated for this post. In 2005 the Government of Kerala conferred on him the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma award for excellence in sculpture.
