Artist, sculptor and engineer - there's very little Ranjan Ramachandran can't do with his hands. 2018 is a special year for the creative colossus: he was chosen to make a model of the Gommateshwara Temple in Shravanabelagola to mark the Mahamasta-kabhisheka here in Bengaluru. His is a remarkable story, marked by the relentless pursuit of his passions. He talks to Ranjani Madhavan about growing up with Kuvempu's son, his life as an engineer and how he made his name in the art world .
At 56, Ranjan Ramachandran exudes an unmistakable air of vitality, pacing constantly to balance out a mind bursting with ideas. He awaits us at Lalbagh's Glass House, standing beside his 18-foot-tall creation, the International Mahamastakabhisheka -2018 logo. Bhagwan Bahubali towers up through the middle, his giant body cast in fibre-reinforced plastic and resin. Ramachandran has devoted himself to detail, made visible in the nuances of the idol's expressions, his large years and his curly hair. Water flows from the top, to represent continuous Abhisheka.
Held once in 12 years, the Mahamasta kabhisheka held at Shravanabelagola draws crowds from across the country, who throng the spot to bathe and annoint Bahubali's Gomateshwara statue. It is the glory of this scene that Ramachandran has attempted to recreate, in an initiative sponsored by the Mahamastakabhisheka committee. Built to scale, the model is a splendid replica of the hillock in Shravanabelagola, standing at 15-feet tall, 35-feet wide and 60-feet in length from front to back. "Above the hill, the idol measures 15 feet from the waist up," Ranjan explains. "In total, the idol is about 30 feet tall."
A project like this would take nearly a couple of months to complete. Not so, however, with Ramachandran and his dream team. Ramachandran led a team of over 100 artists, putting the installation together in a record time of 15 days. "The logo alone woudl normally take about 25 days to make," he remarks.
Ramachandran's creative restlessness began when he was a child, fashioning houses out of cardboard. "Even today, I make gift and fancy boxes for corporates and individuals. And no, I didn't learn this from anyone. It comes from within me, difficult as that might be to comprehend. Whatever I am asked for - silk thread earrings, paintings, or embroidery - I can do it all," he says, not without a touch of pride. He pauses to recount a childhood anecdote - the housewarming of his family's new three-storeyed home.
"There were a few elderly people invited and they couldn't walk up the stairs," he said. The young Ramachandran, evidently troubled by this, dedicated himself to the task. A month before the function was to be held, he crafted a thermocol replica of the structure. "You could detach each floor and see what the bedrooms and toilets look like. I had painted it entirely and I remember my aunts syaing, 'Oh, this is what your room like', with surprise in their voices. Imagination is everything, it just needs to be tapped," he smiles.
His story grows more remarkable as he proceeds. As a young boy, he would slip out to a neighbour's house to play with the young boy there, Tejaswi. His young companion, as it happened, is the son of the Rashtrakavi, Kuvempu! "I would play in his house between 1965 and 1970," he recalls. "Kuvempu would give me his short stories, about 10 pages each, with his autograph. I didn't realise the treasures I was being given because I was only a child then," he says. He regrets not preserving the signed books of Karnataka's most renowned Padma Vibhushan, whom he recalls as being jovial and well-spoken.
The opportunity for thanks presented itself in 2017, when Ramachandran was called upon to recreate Kuvempu's Samadhi (memorial) to mark the 50th year since Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa won the Jnanpith award. "The ambience and silence of the burial ground had to be created. We did the ambience so well, people felt they were at a real Samadhi. I don't know what Governor Vajubhai Vala's experiences were personally, but he put flowers on the Samadhi, which we all know was just a box," he remarks.
Raised in Harihar, Rama-chandran studied to become a Mechanical Engineer in Tumkur, after which he arrived in Bengaluru. His talents were spotted earlier on: As an engineer in Kirloskar, he invented India's first CNC machine (Computer Numerical Control), used for drilling, milling, glass cutting an dlots more.
He's also a man of many talents: Ramachandran deftly flicks his wrist, pulling a coin out of thin air. "I quit my job when I was young and learned magic under a teacher for an entire year. People also say I'm an excellent cook," he grins. "I only cook vegetarian food and people say they love to eat my masala dosas!"
The Gommateshwara installation was a three-step process, starting with a 5-foot thick mould made from thermocol. The impression is made from this and placed inside a clay mould before it is reinforced itno the fibre plastic.
Years of oustanding creative accomplishment have made him something of a local celebrity. This we understand when Hampa Nagarajaiah, the respected Kannada scholar and Karnataka Sahitya Academy award winner stops by to say hello. Speaking to Rama-chandran like an old friend, Nagarajaiah tells him that everyone think sof him as they stroll through the Glass House.
"Nagarajaiah gave me the motivation to do this," he says, as his friend retreats. "There are times when I lack both the money and the inclination - doubt is always debilitating."
Does he identify himself as an artist or a sculptor? "There's nothing I can't make," he retorts. "From bags and sweaters to customised head bands, kaleidoscopes, flower pots made of paper and large sets like Gommatesh- wara, I have worked with over 60 materials." Now, when he isn't busy tending to bulk design orders, he manufactures panel coolers for electronic machines.
Ramachandran does, however, steer clear of teaching art. "You can't teach it. Do children join an art class out of passion or compulsion? Many people aren't self-motivated and quit their classes - I call this pseudo passion. One needs to have a bug within them to explore this as a career. Michelangelo and Van Gogh didn't go to art college either. Shakespeare didn't even go to school!"
