This blog is created to celebrate Nehemiah the Artist. My Dad had a natural talent for drawing. Doodling on the red sands of Megnanapuram village in Tirunelveli, he landed in Chennai in 1950s to earn a living. He approached the School of Arts (now the Govt. College of Arts) and showed his paintings to the then Principal the famous Mr. Roy Chowdhary. The great man saw the potential of the artist in my Dad and encouraged him to write the final exam directly. My Dad, went just with a pencil and a whole lot of confidence and few hours later walked out with a Diploma in Fine Arts! Sounds like fantasy today, but that is what happened.
Armed with a Govt. Diploma, he joined the Animal Husbandry Dept. as an Artist cum Photographer in the Propaganda unit - a job he retained till his retirement in the early 90s. I vividly remember the larger than life size paintings of horses and Kangeyam bulls on the facades of the Veterinary Dept stall at the Annual Trade fair held at Island grounds, Chennai during Pongal
In his free time, he used to draw on any available object. He even drew on old gramophone records and adorned them with bible verses. Almost all our relatives homes will have their homes decorated by paintings inscribed with lovely Bible verses. He is a compulsive artist and almost drew non-stop. Even when he was hospitalized during 1980s he continued drawing on the medicine cabinets, on the lids of glucose tins. Dr. P V Mohandoss who treated him was amazed at the skills and famously commented" Nehemiah is my most active patient"....
In 2002, when my mother died, everything changed. He was so depressed and went into a shell. The loss of his beloved wife ...Amir, shook him and left him empty. During those days, he found solace in his paintings. In 2003 when we moved to Bangalore, he decided to stay back ..all alone. He kept up his passion for drawing by teaching art classes in schools and at his home to children.
Today, he lives his cloistered life as a hermit. Only his paintings give him the joy. Till recently, many kids used to flock to him to learn drawing - he loved teaching and interacting with them. He will draw cartoons for them and enthrall them. But this summer, usually peak season when kids throng his tiny one room flat - was empty.
This has saddened him very much. Lured by other attractions and with changing trends and hobbies, kids kept away, but my Dad took it to heart very personally. The presence of kids kept him occupied and in a happy frame of mind. Invariably, parents who accompanied the kids also would admire his paintings and some of them even buy them. But, when the kids stopped coming, the parents visits also stopped completely.
Through this blog I want to showcase his paintings - some of them very old and priceless. Of course, now with failing eyesight, he cannot create that perfection, but still he draws, if someone, especially a child requests him with passion.
Please support this blog, by visiting and sharing your comments, you can also buy these paintings at very reasonable prices. It is a small price, but the love, affection and the blessings that you'll derive out of it is priceless.
I could give you his phone number, but then he sometimes does not respond to calls from unknown numbers. You can contact me and I will put you in touch with him.
My no: 9500046868 or email: pnfromtn@gmail.com
Armed with a Govt. Diploma, he joined the Animal Husbandry Dept. as an Artist cum Photographer in the Propaganda unit - a job he retained till his retirement in the early 90s. I vividly remember the larger than life size paintings of horses and Kangeyam bulls on the facades of the Veterinary Dept stall at the Annual Trade fair held at Island grounds, Chennai during Pongal
In his free time, he used to draw on any available object. He even drew on old gramophone records and adorned them with bible verses. Almost all our relatives homes will have their homes decorated by paintings inscribed with lovely Bible verses. He is a compulsive artist and almost drew non-stop. Even when he was hospitalized during 1980s he continued drawing on the medicine cabinets, on the lids of glucose tins. Dr. P V Mohandoss who treated him was amazed at the skills and famously commented" Nehemiah is my most active patient"....
In 2002, when my mother died, everything changed. He was so depressed and went into a shell. The loss of his beloved wife ...Amir, shook him and left him empty. During those days, he found solace in his paintings. In 2003 when we moved to Bangalore, he decided to stay back ..all alone. He kept up his passion for drawing by teaching art classes in schools and at his home to children.
Today, he lives his cloistered life as a hermit. Only his paintings give him the joy. Till recently, many kids used to flock to him to learn drawing - he loved teaching and interacting with them. He will draw cartoons for them and enthrall them. But this summer, usually peak season when kids throng his tiny one room flat - was empty.
This has saddened him very much. Lured by other attractions and with changing trends and hobbies, kids kept away, but my Dad took it to heart very personally. The presence of kids kept him occupied and in a happy frame of mind. Invariably, parents who accompanied the kids also would admire his paintings and some of them even buy them. But, when the kids stopped coming, the parents visits also stopped completely.
Through this blog I want to showcase his paintings - some of them very old and priceless. Of course, now with failing eyesight, he cannot create that perfection, but still he draws, if someone, especially a child requests him with passion.
Please support this blog, by visiting and sharing your comments, you can also buy these paintings at very reasonable prices. It is a small price, but the love, affection and the blessings that you'll derive out of it is priceless.
I could give you his phone number, but then he sometimes does not respond to calls from unknown numbers. You can contact me and I will put you in touch with him.
My no: 9500046868 or email: pnfromtn@gmail.com
