Hi Everyone,

In a trip to Trivandrum a few years ago, we had the good luck to visit the art museum called the Sri Chitra Art Gallery. The gallery was setup to house the works of Raja Ravi Varma and his Kilimanoor Royal family. The gallery is right next to the Zoo in Trivandrum and is well maintained. It houses some of Raja Ravi Varma’s best paintings. You can read more about the art gallery here - Sri Chitra Art Gallery, Thiruvananthapuram (keralaculture.org).

As soon as you enter the gallery you will see a larger than life painting named Shakuntala. Shakuntala is an important character in the Mahabharata and is the topic of the ancient Sanskrit play named Abhijnanashakuntalam by Kalidasa. The print here does not do justice to the painting, as the real painting is taller than me. Its dimensions are 110 cm (43 in) × 181 cm (71 in).

Another beautiful painting displayed at the gallery is “The Milkmaid” by Raja Ravi Varma.

The gallery as I’ve mentioned houses works by many other artists, donated by various institutions. It also has many paintings by Raja Raja Varma, the youngest brother of Raja Ravi Varma who was a watercolorist and plein-air artist.

All in all a trip worth every second of time you spend there.

Happy arting,

Abhishek (art noob)