WRITERS & POETS BY ADIMOOLAM CALENDAR-2017

'Writers and Poets by Adimoolam'- 2017 Calendar. Features 12 portraits of influential writers in Tamil literature.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/Adimoolam%E2%80%99s-sketches-of-Tamil-writers-to-make-a-fine-calendar-for-2017/article16952461.ece

Adimoolam’s sketches of Tamil writers to make a fine calendar for 2017

The Tamil literary world of the late 1960s witnessed a momentous confluence of distinguished writers, visual artists and theatre personalities. When artistes K.M. Adimoolam and R.B. Baskaran became part of the editorial board of Ka Cha Ta Tha Pa Ra, a literary magazine, their association added a modern visual sensibility to literary works.

They not only designed the magazine but created modern letters for it. Now, selected portraits of Tamil writers by the late artist, who passed away in 2008, are being published as a calendar, which will be released on Wednesday. “The portraits were drawn by my father at various points of time upon requests from literary and popular magazines. He did not consciously work on them with a view to turning them into a collection. We have chosen 13 drawings that can be successful portraits,” said A.L. Aparajithan, artist and son of Adimoolam.

“Though we wanted to use Ashokamitran’s portrait, it could not be used because of non-availability of a complete picture,” he said.

The portrait of La.Sa Ramamirtham, drawn on 04-04-2004, adorns the frontage of the calendar titled ‘Writers and Poets’ by Adimoolam. Produced by K.M. Adimoolam Foundation for Arts, the calendar has featured U. Ve. Swaminatha Iyer, Subramania Bharati, Pudumaipithan, Mowni, Ka.Na.Su., T. Janakiraman, Nagulan, Ki. Rajanarayanan, Sundara Ramaswamy, D. Jayakantan, Sa. Kandasamy and Atmanam in the inside pages.

“Unfortunately, we were not able to get portraits of women writers by Adimoolam. Although there is a portrait of Azhagiya Nayagi Ammal, the author of Kavalai and mother of writer Ponneelan, it was used as the cover for the book and the layout spoiled its completeness,” said A.S. Panneerselvan, governing board member of the K.M. Adimoolam Foundation for Arts.

More thematic calendars

The foundation has plans to bring out five more thematic calendars in the future. The idea came from calendars based on the famous American abstract expressionist Mark Rothko’s paintings. “I brought a calendar from the U.S. and we hit upon the idea of producing calendars systematically, showcasing the works of Adimoolam,” said Mr. Panneerselvan.

Besides publishing footnotes on the writer featured on the pages, the calendar carries the birthdays of Tamil writers and of the dates of the launch of serious Tamil magazines. It is designed to be kept as a folio after the year is over, or converted into framed portraits. It has been printed on very high quality paper.

Adimoolam drew a lot of portraits of the father of the nation in the year Mahatma Gandhi’s centenary was celebrated, which could be the theme of a calendar in the future. Another anticipated series will feature his evocative portraits of maharajas, which were sketched in the year privy purses were abolished and portray them in bejewelled crowns and costumes without a face, reflecting the status of royalty in a democracy.

B.Kolappan