The sculptor with a vision

The artist with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as his muse.

Janarthan is an artist specialising in wall paintings and sculpture making, having Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Buddha as his muse. He found inspiration in them after his grandfather, an avid reader, urged him to read the books of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. His knowledge on justice, law and equality, expanded after this.

Through years of practice, he has sharpened his artform and now, the walls of his village are covered with his paintings. His learning process started when he used to accompany his father to his work and started building sculptures with the residue materials. His father, an artist himself, had explained him about how difficult it is to make a living out of it, when Janarthanan decided to an artist.

He was given the opportunity of creating a sculpture of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, which was completed with the help of his fellow villagers. In the process of achieving this milestone, he was subjected to discrimination and and political hurdles at the hands of the dominant caste people. Later on, he was denied permission to install the sculpture, the foundation of which was destroyed. The administrative officers - the sub-collector and police officers were a part of this. The magnificent sculpture is now present at the home of Janarthanan, without access to public display.

He makes a livelihood by committing to painting contracts, meagre wall designing jobs and designing shops. However, he struggles to make ends meet with his income and is unable to find stability.

It's his dream to fill a wall with images of Ambedkar, portraying the light in his vision. He finds inspiration and optimism in him, for his selflessness and strive for equality in this world.

For more information, refer to the embedded video.