Mysore :
Being an artist is one thing and being a versatile one is something else altogether. And showing versatility to such an extent that you end up seeing art in almost every single thing that you come across is something all the more exceptional. Now, who wouldn’t want to meet an artist so nifty? Come, we’ll introduce you to one.
Meet Radha Mallappa, a city based artist who sees art and artistry in almost any medium that she comes across. Having gotten into the world of creating thing artistic almost 30 years ago, she is one person who we can quite valiantly say has downrightly dedicated her life to fine arts. Give her anything from coconut shell to sand; stones and thread to sea shells; cotton, clay or glass; she can create an art piece out of it! Surprising isn’t it?
But for 51-year-old Radha, art is a thing as easy as a pie. She has created so many artworks that she has a museum of her own at her home at Bannimantap in city which is a storehouse of all her beautiful artworks. Called ‘Kalashree Bhandar,’ the museum is a place worth a visit for all the art lovers, as it houses art works created out of over 150 different mediums by Radha.
But how does she manage to create artworks of such diverse forms? “I spend about 8-10 hrs a day on this hobby of mine,” she replies. Ask her if she doesn’t find it difficult to juggle between housework and hobby and pat comes the reply, “I somehow manage. I cannot give upon my hobby at any cost. And I am glad I am equally encouraged by my husband and mother at home, who thoroughly cooperate.”
Some of the latest additions to her museum include a 10 ft tall model of the famous Taj Mahal and a 12 ft tall model of a Shiva Temple, both made out of sea shells. They are created out of over 20 different varieties of sea shells brought in from various places across the country as well as a few imported from places abroad.
What’s more, apart from being so artistic, the artist has also tried her hands in singing, Kannada poetry writing and is also an Ayurveda practitioner who has been successful in healing several people suffering from various ailments since many years now. And for all her efforts, Radha Mallappa has received several awards continuously ever since the year 2001. Some of them include the ‘Bharat Jyoti Award’ from the National Integration and Economic Council, ‘Kittur Rani Chennamma award,’ ‘Hoysala award,’ ‘Kala Sarawathi award,’ ‘Aryabhata,’ ‘Amoghavarsha,’ and ‘Sir M.Visvevaraya’ awards.
Radha is married to businessman Mallappa and resides at No 25, KSRTC Colony in Hanumantha Nagar, Mysore. — AN
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / December 18th, 2013