Rukmini Varma: A Princess Returns

A personal tragedy made Raja Ravi Varma’s great, great granddaughter, celebrated artist Rukmini Varma shun the world for three decades. At 76, she’s now facing the world again with her timeless art and a new purpose.

It’s not everyday that you meet a princess who is down to earth and warm – the 200 year old royal heritage she comes from, sitting lightly on her shoulders. Rukmini Varma, 76, born Princess Bharani Thirunal Rukmini Bayi Varma in the Travancore Royal Family, is also the great great granddaughter of Raja Ravi Varma, one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. The grandchild of Travancore’s last queen, Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, Rukmini grew up in Satelmond Palace in Thiruvananthapuram, with all the privileges and trappings that royal life brings. She was also lucky enough to be her grandmother’s favourite. “She always kept me by her side. She was trained to rule and from childhood was trained to conduct herself. You don’t see people with her kind of dignity, charm and regality anymore. She was a big influence on me.”

Art of Magnificence

What about her great, great grandfather’s influence? Glimpses of that artistic lineage show through in her work but Rukmini’s art is very much her own interpretation. She is inspired by her favourite artist, the baroque genius Peter Paul Rubens, in a style that is her own; rich, jewel-hued and classical. The critics have called it Romantic Representative Realism, Rukmini defines it for us simply as romance of the past. ‘Opulence & Eternity’ form the theme of her upcoming show at Gallery G, Bangalore, where her paintings will see the light of the day after 35 years.

This comes after her last show, a sensational one at Jehangir Art Gallery in 1981, when her artwork caused a stir because of the nudes depicted in them, at least on first view. “The initial reaction to it did irritate me,” says Rukmini who had never looked at her work as something that would cause sensationalism. She was inspired by skin tones and the play of light on them and her work depicted that, even if her mythological characters were semi-clad. It won her appreciation from art legends – MF Husain, KH Ara among them and put her paintings on the walls of collectors from across the world. Before Mumbai, she had exhibited in London, in a show opened by Lord Mountbatten and travelled with her work to places like Germany, apart from other Indian cities. Her work was much appreciated and her beauty compared to that of an ‘Ajanta sculpture.’ Princess Rukmini seemed to have the world at her feet.

But fate had other plans in store and life for Rukmini came to a halt with the death of her younger son. “The tragedy finished me off and it was the end of the world for me,” she says, with a catch in her throat. Rukmini retreated into a spiritual shell, taking refuge in her home, taking care of her parents (her father is 101 now) and stepping out only to visit temples. “I did not even go out into the garden of my house. My meditation was my life,” she says. Did she paint? Yes, there were some but more from a “deeply spiritual perspective.” The tragedy was unbearable enough for her to give up all connection with life if not for her late mother, Lalithamba Bayi, whom she describes affectionately as a livewire and who ensured her daughter kept her spirits up. “She told me you can’t give up on life. She loved people, she was social. You couldn’t walk down Commercial Street with her without being stopped by various people, all wishing to greet her!”

A New Lease

It was only when Gitanjali Maini of Gallery G started visiting Rukmini in connection to the Raja Ravi Varma Foundation that she found out about her work. “Gitanjali changed my whole life,” Rukmini says, eyes lighting up in delight, “my whole perspective underwent a change.” Many of Rukmini’s works, which are part of the Opulence & Eternity exhibition were lying unfinished and with Gitanjali’s encouragement and support, she finished them over a six month period. All the works in the exhibition have already been sold out to collectors the world over.

In her art, Rukmini dabbles with the romance of a past that is rich, opulent yet as diverse culturally as it could be, spanning Egyptian to Hoysala kingdoms. Her queens in the series include her grandmother Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and each embody a grandeur that is ethereal and divine, the richness of the gems and jewellery they adorn a contrast with the luminosity of the skin tones, always the core of Rukmini’s work. The highlight of the exhibition is a majestic twelve-foot-tall painting of emperor Vishnuvardhan and his queen, the legendary dancer, Shantala.

Interestingly, Rukmini’s art has always been inspired by visions. She has seen images from ancient civilisations in her mind’s eye, right from childhood. “As I grew up, these became clearer. They were de-stressing for me and symbolised prosperity, wellbeing and good health,” she says. By the time Rukmini started painting these visions in oils, she was around 25, married and a mother. It comes as a surprise to know that art was not always her first option, even though she displayed almost 40 paintings in one of her first shows at Grindlays Bank in Bangalore, in the 1970s. “Art was something I had always been doing, since I was surrounded by it. My father wanted me to pursue academics. I loved science and wanted to be a doctor. Embracing a profession would have been wonderful coming from my background…” she says, a tad ruefully, adding that she’s lucky her parents always had a modern outlook, a contrast with the rest of the family.

“My parents were forward thinking; when they moved our family to Bangalore, it caused a tremendous sensation because it was so daring an act. But we loved it because we got to go to school, mix with other children, whereas in the palace it was always supervised, with a retinue of servants. To be able to come away from the close confines of the palace and the palace politics was something none of us ever regretted.”

A Life In Phases

It is possibly because of the normalcy of the upbringing her parents gave her that Rukmini exudes a simplicity and warmth we don’t always associate with royalty. There is also a quiet sense of humour. Here’s a person who can laugh at herself and wonders why people have been curious to know so much about her life in the past few days. “I’m the most boring person in the world!”

It is hard to reconcile this serene woman with someone who made waves in the world of art in the 70s and 80s and was the belle of the ball, with her talent and beauty. Not every person can reach the heights of their work and then give it all up like Rukmini did but she chooses to accept life as it comes. “I don’t know how to assess and analyse my life. It was very different to start with and then I had my meditative phase and now this…I’m still trying to find a connection.”

At 76, this senior artist is far from done. She still paints and hopes to exhibit her “deeply spiritual paintings” someday. While she doesn’t regret the years of reclusiveness (“I’m like my grandmother, quite reclusive; my sisters have got parts of my mother”), the positive response to her work in her late seventies and after so many years has been overwhelming and energising. It is perhaps in some ways, the legacy she carries coming a full circle. “Art is all about communication; You bring something for people to relate to. That is what my great grandfather did so well and perhaps this is exactly what he would have wanted me to do.”