Rajasekharan Parameswaran

Rajasekharan Parameswaran (born 1964), also known as Marthandam Rajasekharan, is an Indian art director and self-taught painter from Tamil Nadu. He holds two Guinness World Records. The first one, from 2008, is for the world's largest easel painting. The easel is 56.5' tall and 31' wide and holds a 25' tall and 50' wide portrait of Elamkulam Namboodiripad. In 2010, the painting was also included in the Limca Book of Records. His second Guinness World Record is for the largest Burr puzzle (known as 'edakoodam' in Malayalam), with each piece of the puzzle measuring 24' x 2' x 2', unveiled on 27 December 2017 at The Ravis Hotels and Resorts, Kollam, Kerala. This is the second successful attempt at setting this record.

Rajasekharan Parameswaran
Born1964 (age 56–57)
Kanyakumari District
OccupationPainter, art director
AwardsTwo Guinness World Records
Websitewww.rajasekharan.in

Parameswaran made his debut in film as art director with Naalu Pennungal (2007), for which he won the best art director state award.

Personal life

Born in 1964, Parameswaran lives in Kaliyikkavila, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. He is married to Valsamma and has two daughters.[1]

Career
Painting of former Chief Minister of Kerala, Elamkulam Namboodiripad, which made it into the Guinness World Records book for the largest easel painting.

Parameswaran worked as a statistics compiler, receptionist, medical representative, and a teacher before becoming an artist. He has no formal training in arts but has instead originated and developed his own style and taught himself pencil sketching and oil-painting. Parameswaran made his debut in films as assistant director with Adoor Gopalakrishnan's film Nizhalkuthu. His first film as art director was the 2007 Naalu Pennungal, directed by Adoor, for which he also won a state award. Parameswaran has since acted as art director for a number of other films including Oru Pennum Randaanum, Maestro's Memoirs, Mohiniyattam, Magizhchi, and Pinneyum.[1][2]

In 2008, Parameswaran received a Guinness World Record for creating the largest easel painting. It is a portrait of former chief minister of Kerala Elamkulam Namboodiripad, measuring 25' height and 50' width, and is held by a 56.5' high and 31' wide easel on National Highway 47 near Neyyattinkara, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.[2][3] Two years later, it was included in the Limca Book of Records.[4]

In 2017, Parameswaran built "The Largest Devil's Knot (Edakoodam)", a type of Burr puzzle. This is the second successful attempt at setting this record. 'Edakoodam' is a word familiar to most Malayalis, meaning 'a puzzle[5] which is difficult to solve'. However, not many people know of this curious toy which is somewhat similar to the Rubik's cube. Made up of six wooden blocks, the 'edakoodam', once dismantled, can be assembled to its original position only with proper mathematical skills.

In an arts contest organised by Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan, Parameswaran was first shortlisted within the top seventy-five artists and later chosen first among them by public vote. In 2010, he won the Bikhuram National Award for his painting of Mahatma Gandhi and the same year, for a painting of Fidel Castro, he won an online art contest organised by the ArtSlant International.[6][1]

In 2015, his works were featured at Elegance Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and included a portrait of Adhiletchumy Natrajan, titled Bliss. Bliss had previously been featured at the Vienna International Exhibition (2013).[7][8] One of his paintings, called Bhayanakam, was featured at Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, and sold, which he donated to a relief fund for people affected by Cyclone Thane, which struck the Indian subcontinent in 2011.[4]

Parameswaran has made portraits of Mother Teresa, Abdul Kalam, Richard Branson, and Najib Razak, among many others.[2][7]

Filmography
A self-portrait by Parameswaran.
YearFilmNotes
2002Nizhalkuthuassistant director
2005Maestro's Memoirsdocumentary based on the life of Ramankutty Nair
2006Mohiniyattamdocumentary based on Mohiniyattam
2007Naalu Pennungaldebut as art director, won best art director award
2008Oru Pennum Randaanumart director
2010Magizhchiart director
2013Kanyaka Talkiesart director
2016Pinneyumart director
2016Ayaal Sassiart director
2018Sukhantyamart director
2021Vazhakkuart director

Exhibitions

Parameswaran's paintings have been exhibited in multiple art exhibitions, including:

  • 2009 – Alshine Art Forum, group show, New Delhi
  • 2010 – International Contemporary art Festival, Daegu, Republic of Korea
  • Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, organised by Ananda Vikatan
  • 2015 – ART NOW The Artists Fair London[9]
  • 2015 – Memoirs Journey – at Elegance Club, Malaysia
  • 2016 – Oxford International Art Fair – representing Laksagi Art Gallery, Malaysia[10]
  • 2016 – Symposium of Oil Painting Exhibition – 2016, Batu Gajah, Malaysia.
  • 2017 – Oil Painting Demo of Abdul Kalam at Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology(IIST) Trivandrum, India.
  • 2018 – Oil painting Demo of Elamkulam Namboodiripad at "EMS-ntey Lokam" – national Seminar at Wandoor, Malappuram, Kerala.[11]
  • 2019 – Oil painting Demo of Lokanath Behera drawing-life-to-a-painting – Band stand, Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.[12]
  • 2019 – Chithra Sancharam-2019, the national level painting exhibition at Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery, Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram.
  • 2019 – Chithra Sancharam-II, the national level painting exhibition-2019 at Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery,Kozhicode.
  • 2019 – Solo Show-2019, 14 Oct to 30 Dec, Palaces of the Golden Horses , Jalan Kuda Emas, Mines Wellness City, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Malaysia
  • 2021 – OVIYAM Kerala Arts and Crafts Village, Kovalam, Trivandrum. January 20

References
  1. "...BIG is beautiful". The Hindu. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  2. "Painting a world record". The Hindu. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  3. "Largest Easel". Guinness World Records. 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  4. "Record of expressions". The New Indian Express. 21 July 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  5. Steni Simon. "A puzzle in an enigma in a record". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  6. "Rajasekharan Parameswaran: 6th 2010 Showcase Winner". artslant.com. 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  7. "'Memoirs Journey' art exhibition launch". Malaysia Tatler. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  8. Melizarani T. Selva (28 October 2015). "Everlasting portrayal in oil". The Star. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  9. Art Now, artists Fair London 2015. "Artists Fair London 2015".
  10. Oxford International Art Fair, Art Fair. "Oxford International Art Fair". Oxford International Art Fair. GAA.
  11. "ഇ എം എസിന് ശ്രദ്ധാഞ്ജലി അർപ്പിക്കാൻ മാർത്താണ്ഡം രാജശേഖരൻ പരമേശ്വരൻ വണ്ടൂരിലെത്തി" [E M AC Shradhanjali to offer Marthandam Rajasekharan Parameswaran andouillette]. emsseminar.info (in Malayalam). 28 June 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  12. http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2019/jun/24/drawing-life-to-a-painting-1994336.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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