“Right from my school days I am inspired by Mahakavi Bharathiyar.His majestic look , fiery eyes were an attraction to me.” says M A Surendranath, who sculpted the Chellamma Bharathi statue.
Son of artiste Mari Anand, Surendranath did his Masters in Fine Arts (Sculpture) in Government College of Fine Arts and M.Phil In Sculpture from Tamilnadu Music and Fine Arts University.
“I was thrilled and at the same time a bit overwhelmed when I got this assignment.”says Surendranath. Realising this is a lifetime opportunity, he decided to give his whole to this project. Initially he planned or six feet tall statue, but decided to make it 7.5” statue to symbolically represent the far-reaching vision of Bharathiyar.
“I just had one photo of Bharathi and Chellamma. That was my reference. I then researched and collected many photos of Bharathi with his friends, family etc. I also took reference from Bharathiyar movie for his costume style. While sculpting I noticed that Bharathiyar had knock knee and very sharp eyes. While sculpting Chellamma’s statue I could sense the fear in her eyes probably caused by her husband’s “revolutionary act” of lovingly putting his hands over her shoulder. I am very happy that I could bring it out in my sculpture “says a beaming Surendranath.
“For days together, we never got to see him as he was always in the studio working day and night, forgetting food, sleep. He was so immersed in this work” says the proud father Mari Anand, a friend of Sevalaya since its inception.
“I am really proud to be a part of this historic Project and am fortunate to have got this opportunity of sculpting the statue of Mahakavi with his wife Chellamma, the only statue of the poet with his wife. I thank Sevalaya Murali and my father Mari Anand who referred me to him” concludes the sculptor.
For more details: https://sevalaya.org/bharathi/
