Mold of ardor

For Chandru, also known as Chandrasekaran, art is like life that never ends. Even after retiring, the former principal of the Government College of Fine Arts in Chennai still has an unquenchable love.

Chandru, a multi-talented individual with skills in painting, sculpture, and design, is well-known in the Indian art and art history communities. Originating from Thoothukudi, his artwork has been shown in a number of government buildings in India, including the Ambedkar monument at the Madras High Court, the Gandhi statue at the Madurai bench, and another one at the Ahmedabad High Court. It has also been shown in several museums in Germany, London, the United States, and Japan. Notably, the Birla Museum in Kolkata has also shown his works.

Chandru with his father’s sculptor.
Chandru with his father’s sculptor.By V Karthikalagu in photo
“In 2010, I stepped down from my role as principal. For me, the three decades that I spent as a student, instructor, and finally college administrator were all wonderful experiences. Numerous pupils of mine have gained recognition for their unique artwork. Nevertheless, I was never one to abandon my artistic endeavors. I did consider moving away from Chennai to a more isolated location where I could devote more attention to my studies and sculpture. We chose to relocate here after my wife and I attended an art camp in Ambasamudram a few years ago,” he remembers. Many art students from all across the state come to his house to study with him. Notably, prominent figures like Pa Ranjith and Thangar Bachan used to frequent his study circle in Chennai.

Two of his most recent creations are the 20-foot Nilgiri tahr sculpture that the Tamil Nadu government is building for the Porunai museum and the Paampadam (Thandati) sculpture that is on display in front of the Tirunelveli Trade Center.

As part of his efforts to create an open museum at his home, along the banks of Thamirabarani, on the outskirts of Ambasamudram, with 600 clay busts of social reformers, scholars, poets, and writers, Chandru is currently working on his 51st sculpture, which depicts the late communist leader N Sankaraiah.

Until now, he has finished the busts of Sundar Ramasamy, Thoppil Mohammed Meeran, Bharathiar, Nammalvar, Rettamalai Srinivasan, Ki Rajanarayanan, Annamalai Reddiar, Pramil, Abraham Pandithar, Tho Paramasivan, John Pennycuick, and Vilathikulam Nallappaswamy.

He often receives sponsorship for his clay busts; some of his pupils have even sponsored him, and the donors’ names are inscribed on the busts.

In addition, Chandru has written other books on topics close to his heart. Among his famous works are the modern art critique book Seppadi Thappadi, the study papers and articles Oviyam Endroru Mozhi, and the short story collection Avan, Evan, Uvan.

Regarding honors, Chandru won the national stall designing competition at the Kalamela festival in New Delhi in 1993. Additionally, the Indian team under his leadership took home the second place trophy in the Sapparo snow sculpture festival in Japan in 1996.

Additionally, in 1997, his team won first place in the pavilion design competition at the South Asian Tourism and Trade Festival in Colombo.