A. Ramachandran Biography 
A. Ramachandran is a renowned painter from Attingal, Kerala. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour in the year 2005 for his contributions to Indian art. In 2002, he received Fellowship of the Lalit Kala Akademi. Many books have been published and many documentaries have been made on this talented artist from Thiruvananthapuram. Ramachandran: Art of the Muralist and Ramachandran, Icons of the Raw Earth – were written and published by Rupika Chawla during 1990’s. World of the Lotus Pond was a documentary feature made on his works by K. Vikram Singh. A Ramachandran: A Retrospective by R. Siva Kumar, Ramachandrante Kala by P. Surendran and The Art of A Ramachandran by Ella Dutta are other noted published books on this artist. He is married to artist Tan Yuan Chameli. Currently he lives in Delhi.
Ramachandran was born in the year 1935. His full name is Achutan Ramchandran Nair, popularly known as A. Ramachandran. He was interested in arts since early childhood. He took Master's degree in Malayalam literature in 1957. He completed art education from Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan in the year 1961. For the next three years, he did his doctoral thesis on Kerala mural painting. In 1965 he joined Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi as a lecturer in art education. Later he became a professor and worked there till he took voluntary retirement in 1992.
In 1991, he was appointed honorary chairman of Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, and in 2005 became Professor Emeritus at Jamia Millia Islamia University. His earlier paintings reflected the angst of urban life. By 1980’s, his works noticed a change. A tribal community in Rajasthan with its vibrant ethos gripped his imagination. He was deeply influenced by mural paintings of Kerala temples at the same time. The first in this new style was ‘Yayati’. Later he has given significant contributions in the field of mural paintings.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 10, 2014
