As Tagore has rightly put it: ” Art is the response of Man’s creative soul to the call of the real” and it’s really difficult to find a real artist who follows the real form of art in the contemporary society. In this scenario we have Swarna Raja, a pioneer of Tanjore Art.
Born in Madurai, Swarna Raja had an aesthetic mind since her childhood. The splendour of Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple with its elaborate sculptures and gopuras detailing the historical legends and myths had been deeply imprinted on her mind. This was deepened by her intrigue in designing, which was a result of her attachment towards the textile industry where her parents had worked. All this culminated in her self realization of her interest towards Tanjore painting which ended up in the establishment of “Academy of Traditional Art” .
The birth of an artist
A deep intrigue in Tanjore Paintings along with a lamenting heart that concerned the deterioration of this indigenous art form made Swarna realise the need to preserve and propagate it in its pristine form. She firmly adhered to traditional art while the whole world shifted their focus on to modern one. In a highly technologically driven society that gets industrialized at each split of seconds, her intention was to regain and restore this historical art form in its pristine form. However the journey was not as easy as we think today.
Preserving the Tanjore Art: The journey
Tanjore paintings are magnificent panel paintings that are traditionally painted on wooden boards and primarily features scenarios of Hindu mythology. Their sparkling depictions along with beads, stones and distinctive shapes make them stand in a separate place in the epoch of arts.
The most crucial challenge faced by Swarna was the selection of colours for the painting. The authenticity and accuracy of the paintings were a result of their remarkable bright colours that have to be purely natural. This made her embark on a long journey in search of these natural jewels. It was at the pinnacle of these journeys and challenges that Swarna and her institution stands today.
The achievements of the stroke of a genius
Apart from being a Tanjore Artist , Swarna herself is studying and propagating numerous art forms that have been on the verge of existence. At the time when the entire world was behind modernity, Swarna spent her time and efforts in search for methods to preserve the traditional art form of India. In order to increase the popular appeal of this art form, she worked with Titan and designed a watch dial that featured a Tanjore image.
The Academy of Traditional Art has to its credit a large number of students across the globe from various age categories. Apart from viewing The Academy as a source of earning revenue, Swarna also have some novel social ideas behind this endeavour. Women, for example, constitute 98% of her total students.
The Academy of Traditional Art
Academy Of Traditional Art is a Technology-based Traditional Art Tutoring Platform. ‘One stop Platform to learn All Traditional Art’ is its true essence. ATA helps the Art learners to learn at their convenient time, day, and Place.
The key objective is to make the Traditional Art available to a large section of the audience beyond any boundaries.
The Academy has five courses on its board: 3 levels of Tanjore Painting, Tanjore painting with special focus for children and a level 1 course on Kerala Mural Art.
Selected among Top 100 by IIM Bangalore NSRCEL, this idea is incubated at IIM Bangalore and s supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Goldman Sachs.
Apart from being an entrepreneurial concept, Academy of Traditional Arts is the culmination of a long journey of a truly passionate and sincere woman . The efforts of Swarna Raja is truly getting recognized and in the contemporary society where art and history fades away, The Academy of Traditional Arts have a long journey to go.
