He’s driven a rickshaw, done masonry, worked as a cook and even ironed clothes to make money. But despite his struggle, Venkat Raman Singh Shyam never gave up his art and it is that art that painted him a bright future.
Singh, who was in the city to release his book and for an art show, says, “I started painting when I was eight, but only when I turned 16 did I take up art seriously, especially Gond art.”
Now, Singh has travelled across the world; thanks to his art. He has been part of numerous international shows, the last one being the Asia Pacific Triennial, Australia, 2015, and has had a lot of exposure, but there was a time he had no money for even a meal.
“At 16, I shifted to Bhopal to work with my uncle Jangarh Shyam, a famous Gond artist. Couple of artists and I would paint, but we never got the right exposure as my uncle was the face of Gond art. With no option left, I shifted base to Delhi and my real struggle began,” Singh says.
In Delhi, Singh worked as a cook at a cop’s home. “I cooked, cleaned, ironed and did everything for two years. After that, I rode a rickshaw for a while, then shifted to white washing walls, did masonry and even plumbing. Once, I had no money and had to iron clothes to get money for a tea,” he remembers. Back home, his parents had no idea about his struggles and when he returned, they got him married. “I left my wife at home and set out to Bhopal, where I worked as a signboard artist. Only after my uncle’s death could I get back to Gond art and earn fame,” he says.
Along with a few artists, he started hosting small shows and slowly began to attract crowd. He says, “The struggle was tough, but now, almost a decade later, we succeeded in taking Gond art across the world.”
