Thiruvananthapuram: Samarjit Singh Gaekwad of Baroda Royal will inaugurate Raja Ravi Varma International Foundation for Art and Culture (RIFAC) at Kilimanoor Palace, the birth place of the painter-king, on his 111 birth anniversary on October 2. Though, the then Baroda Maharaja was invited by the painter-king to take part in his 60th birth anniversary, it did not take place as Raja died before the event. It was in this context that the arrival of the descendant of the Baroda Maharaja assumes significance..
Trust President K Ravivarma said that RIFAC was being set up at one of the finest centres of art and history of the state, the Kilimanoor Palace, the birth place of Raja Ravi Varma.
The epic centre of all activities within the campus is the Ravi Varma studio, a work space constructed by the master artist himself. RIFAC will operate as a public charitable trust for taking up various activities mainly in, but not limited to, the field of art and culture.
The trust currently has nine trustees who are members of Kilimanoor Palace. Although many institutions, awards and exhibitions have been conducted in the name of Raja Ravi Varma, a single authentic entity which could serve as a definitive structure to commemorate the legacy of the great artist has been lacking for all these decades.
