P.R. Thippeswamy (11 August 1922 – 7 April 2000) was an artist and folklorist of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. He was popularly known as PRT. He was instrumental in establishment of the "

Folklore Museum A folk museum is a museum that deals with folk culture and heritage. Such museums cover local life in rural communities. A folk museum typically displays historical objects that were used as part of the people's everyday lives. Examples of such ...

" in

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

in 1968. He was also the first curator of the museum. The

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

museum contains Representative collection of arts and crafts from all over Karnataka. P.R.Thippeswamy brought material from all over

to increase the collection. One of the displays in the museum is the "

Ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. ...

" prepared locally by the great grandfather of the late P.R.Thippeswamy at Dodderi village of

Chitradurga Chitradurga is a city and the headquarters of Chitradurga district, which is located on the valley of the Vedavati river in the central part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Chitradurga is a place with historical significance and a major tou ...

District 200 years ago.

Family

He was born on 11 August 1922. He hailed from Harthikote village of

Hiriyur Hiriyur is a city and a taluk headquarter located in Chitradurga district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Hiriyur is renowned for having the oldest dam in Karnataka, built on the Vedavathi River, and named Mari Kanive. Hiriyur is situated a ...

taluk in

district. His father was Patel Rudrappa and mother Lakshmamma and grand father is Patel Thippaiah. His father and grand father serves as Patel (Village Headman) of the village "Harthikote" and got popularity in the surrounding villages for their justice and moral. They also served as the members of District board. Actually Thippeswamy was supposed to become the Patel as he was being the first son of the family. Since he got diverted towards Arts and left the village for his higher studies, his younger brother Shivarudrappa become the Patel of the village. Thippeswamy died on 7 April 2000, in Mysore.

Artist

He was an artist, he carved a niche for himself with his mastery of

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...

. Great poet, Raashtra Kavi

Kuvempu Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He wa ...

got inspired by his paintings which captures the nature beauty of his native village

Kuppalli Kuppalli, also known as Kuppali, is a small village in Thirthahalli taluk of Shimoga district in the state of Karnataka in India. It is famous for being the childhood home of the renowned Kannada poet Kuvempu. Kuvempu The celebrated Kannada po ...

and wrote a poem by inspiring those paintings. Those 6–7 paintings are still available in Kuvempu's house "Udaya Ravi" in Mysore. Being an artist, Mr Thippeswamy had a clear vision about how and where to search for the most important and significant representations of the world of

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

to be displayed in the museum. He travelled throughout

to collect them for the museum. He was instrumental in establishment of the "

" in

in 1968. He was also responsible for setting up "

Manjusha Museum Manjusha Museum is in the town of Dharmasthala in Karnataka state, India. It houses antiques, paintings, artifacts, temple chariots, and vintage cars collected from temples across Karnataka. The museum is south of the Dharmasthala Temple. Coll ...

" in

Dharmasthala Dharmasthala() (earlier known as Kuduma) is an Indian temple town on the banks of the Nethravathi River in the taluk of Belthangady of the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, India. The town is known for its centuries-old Dharmastha ...

. His watercolours of 'Gagan Mahal' and '

Krishna Deva Raya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529 and the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, he presided over t ...

's are displayed prominently in the museum in

Awards

Thippeswamy was also a poet and

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

. He was also served as chairman of "Karnataka Lalitha Kala Academy" and won the

Kannada Rajyotsava Karnataka Rajyotsava, also known as Karnataka State Day or Kannada Day with the NRI community, is a public holiday celebrated annually on 1 November in the Indian state of Karnataka. It commemorates the merger in 1956 of the Kannada-speaking r ...

and K.Venkatappa award in 1999 and many more. A commemorative volume on his life and achievements called "Harathi Jyothji" which was edited by Prof. Pramesha was released in 2007 by former education minister of Karnataka Mr H.Vishwanath. P R Thippeswamy Foundation trust has been formed in the year 2013 by his relatives, friends and fans. The trust organizes "PRT Kalasambhrama" a 3 days function on 12, 13 and 14 August 2014 in association with Kannada and Culture Department and Karnataka Lalithakala and Janapada Academy and Sri Kalaniketana School of Arts in Mysore. CM Siddaramaiah presented an award which is named after PRT (P R Thippeswamy Kala Prashasthi) to Senior artist A.S. Patil from

Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is headquarters of eponymous Kalaburagi district and Kalaburagi division, Kalaburagi city is governed by a Municipal Corporation, It is called a Sufi c ...

at the valedictory of the "PRT Kalasambhrama". In the same event a souvenir called "Kayaka Yogi" edited by writer Manasa was released by

Mysore University The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university is recognised by t ...

Vice Chancellor Prof. K.S. Rangappa and a documentary film directed by Artist David released by Co-operation Minister H.S. Mahadeva Prasad. pwd minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa preside over the function. Revenue minister V. Srinivasa Prasad, Dejagow, Sutturu Sri and many others are participated in the 3 days kalasambrama. 25 artists are participated in the work shop.

Literary works

Some of his notable works include "Shilpi Sankula", "Kalakosha", "Kalavida Kanda France", "Horatgara Kenchappa", "Beledu Banda Bharatiya Chitrakale" etc. Because of his multiple talents he was known as " Chaturmukha

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

"(four faced brahma). He has many followers and admirers of his works, especially the paintings. Many associations and fan clunks regularly organise seminars and exhibitions of his paintings. There has been a demand to build a memorial in

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

in recognition of his works.

References

External links

Drawings

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P.R. Thippeswamy Balaga (Facebook Account

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PRT Kala Sambhrama
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thippeswamy, P. R. 1922 births 2000 deaths Painters from Karnataka Indian folklorists Indian watercolourists People from Chitradurga district Indian male painters 20th-century Indian painters People from Chitradurga 20th-century Indian male artists