The loneliness named Mahathma Gandhi

‘Gandhi: Loneliness of the Great’, the show of A. Ramachandran’s recent drawings on Gandhi, at Vadhera Art Gallery, New Delhi, unravels a new face of the tranquil human being with compassion

P Sudhakaran

There are two images that recur in the creative oeuvre of A Ramachandran – Lotus Pond and Mahathma Gandhi. While the lotus, a prominent image in Asian art, started appearing in his work after he visited Rajasthan in the mid-70s, his engagement with the image of Gandhi began even before that, precisely in 1969, when he made the preparatory sketches for the Gandhi Darshan mural, ‘Gandhi and the 20th Century Cult of Violence’, to commemorate the birth centenary of the great leader.

Gandhi, Ink and watercolour on paper

Ever since that Gandhi has appeared quite often in his works, especially drawings, and in 1980, he even designed stamps to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Gandhi’s Dandi March. Later, in 2012 and 2016, he did two monumental bronze sculptures too.

His latest suite of drawings, under the title, ‘Gandhi: Loneliness of the Great’, being shown at Vadhera Art Gallery, New Delhi, once again explores the persona of the great leader who gave form and structure to India’s freedom movement. There are a total of 20 pen, brush and ink drawings, which Ramachandran did during his two-month sojourn in Mumbai between December 2019 and January 2020, and every drawing here is a strong reminder of his message of peace.

Here we see a man in isolation, not the leader who fought for freedom, and the treatment is also different.

“Here, Ramachandran focuses on the postures and expressions that point not only to Gandhi’s greatness, but also to his very human qualities – his loneliness, his humility, his infinite compassion, his grit and courage, his sorrowing sense of loss for what he encounters around him, particularly the death of his wife, Kasturba,” writes art historian Ella Dutta in the catalogue.

A. Ramachandran 

While we are quite familiar with the images of Gandhi, here Ramachandran gives it a new mood. It is not the leader who brought us freedom, but as a tranquil human being with compassion. Even in the studies using fine lines that capture the facial expressions of Mahathma Gandhi in all its vibrancy, this tranquility is there.

Gandhi, Ink and watercolour on paper

In this series, Ramachandran has employed a new method in some of the drawings, using ink and water colour. On pen and ink lines he touches a slightly moistened brush to get a new effect that is highly expressive. The lines almost merge with the paper in such a way that it exudes life in its organic flavour. This is a new technique that he has introduced in this series, which gives a new tone to the drawings without background. The other drawings have very powerful strokes. In both styles he focuses on the image only, while the paper itself becomes the background, the invisible landscape.

These works have gone a long way from the study for the Gandhi Darshan mural did in 1969. There we see a leader with sturdy steps while here it is the serenity that we experienced in his recent sculpture, ‘Monumental Gandhi’ that comes to the fore.

Ramachandran was drawn to the personality of Gandhi, as his teacher in school used to talk at length about the ideas of that great leader. “Tagore and Gandhi made an impact on my life. They are the most significant icons who have left an impression on my mind and are the compasses of all my moral values,” he says.

‘Dandi March’ linocut by Nandalal Bose

Later, when he reached Santiniketan, he got the chance to see the ‘Dandi March’ linocut by Nandalal Bose. Also, there was a huge bas-relief sculpture modeled on this linocut, by his mentor Ramkinkar Baij.

“Gandhi’s austerely strong and noble personality is captured in bold lines that express the quintessence of his spirit. No other artist has thus far been able to create a more authentic representation of the great political leader,” says Ramachandran.

Another one was a sculpture of Gandhi by Ramkinkar Baij, which also influenced him a lot.

“The image of Gandhi determinedly walking alone through riot-torn Noakhali in 1946 has remained etched in my memory,” he recollects. That is the reason why he comes back to Gandhi, says Ramachandran, adding. “Gandhi is the solitary political image that haunts me even today.”

Ramachandran’s sculpture ‘Monumental Gandhi’

However, when he created the sculpture, the approach was totally different and it was highly spiritual and political at the same time. The Gandhi with folded hands is almost like a sage. On the pedestal of the sculpture is inscribed Einstein’s famous tribute to Gandhi, ‘Generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth’. As we go around this standing sculpture, we see on the back of the sculpture is written ‘Hey Ram’, and above that is a bullet hole, which changes the total politics of the sculpture.

Details from Ramachandran’s sculpture ‘Monumental Gandhi’

Yes, this is not the Gandhi we call the father of the nation and extol as the Mahathma, says art historian R Sivakumar who curated Ramachandran’s earlier show ‘The Mahathma and the Lotus Pond.

“Although we know of his death by an assassin’s bullet we are a little surprised by the bullet hole and ‘Hey Ram’ because his face and the folded hands do not prepare us for an association with death. But it helps us to recognize that Ramachandran’s sculpture is a monument to the martyred Gandhi,” he says.

It is that Gandhi with the folded hands who comes to life in this new series. “The appeal of Ramachandran’s drawings shown here is that they refocus our gaze on Gandhi, the man, and on him as a great leader. These images make us think once more of the many moods of Gandhi – laughing, pensive, sorrowing, kind, conversational. They also draw our attention to the way he projected his body language,” adds Ella Dutta. 

Gandhi, Ink of paper

Looking at the drawing of Gandhi walking away with his back to the viewer, she asks, “Is Gandhi abandoning us or is he showing us a way forward?” And that question reflects the essence of these drawings that remind us of a man who walked upon this Earth.