K RAMANUJAM (1941 – 1973)
K Ramanujam was born in 1941, Triplicane, Chennai (Madras), into an orthodox Iyengar family. In spite of his physical and learning disabilities, Ramanujam was recognized as a promising art student at the Government College of Art and Craft, Chennai. Encouraged by his teacher KCS Paniker, he joined the Cholamandal Artists’ Village, Chennai. Fascinated with Ramanujam’s works, the Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa commissioned the artist to create three large murals for the Hotel Connemara in Chennai. The artist received the National Scholarship from the Ministry of Education in 1962 and participated in the Commonwealth Arts Festival, London in 1965. He took part in the National Exhibitions of Art organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi and in numerous other group shows in Copenhagen, Oslo, Vienna, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. The artist passed away in 1973.