Rukmini Varma (born 1940) is an Indian artist based in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
.
Life
She was born as Bharani Thirunal Rukmini Bayi, Fourth Princess of
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...
to Princess Uthram Thirunal Lalithamba Bayi and Sri Kerala Varma Koil Thampuran Avargal, she is a granddaughter of Maharani
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi
Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi CI (5 November 1895– 22 February 1985) was the monarch, though designated as the Regent due to British policy, of the Kingdom of Travancore in southern India between 1924 and 1931. She, along with her y ...
and belongs to the
Travancore Royal Family. Her great great grandfather was
Raja Ravi Varma
Raja Ravi Varma ( ml, രാജാ രവിവർമ്മ; 29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist. He is considered among the greatest painters in Indian art, the history of Indian art. His works are one of the bes ...
. Her father Kerala Varma is an artist specializing in charcoal and pencil sketches while her son Jay Varma is a colored pencil artist.
In the 1970s she was a member of the advisory council for the Chittrakala Parishat of
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
and is currently Chairperson of the Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation, Bangalore, which she founded in September 2015.
The Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation
/ref>
Rukmini Varma is a cousin of Shreekumar Varma
Shreekumar Varma is an Indian author, playwright, newspaper columnist and poet, known for the novels ''Lament of Mohini'' (Penguin, 2000), ''Maria's Room'' (HarperCollins, 2010) and ''Kipling's Daughter'' (AngloInk, 2018), the children's books, ' ...
. She was married to the late Devi Prasad Varma and has two sons, Venugopal Varma and Jaygopal Varma. Her brother Balagopal Varma is the current holder of the title of Elayaraja of Travancore.
See also
* Indian Art
Indian art consists of a variety of art forms, including painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile arts such as woven silk. Geographically, it spans the entire Indian subcontinent, including what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, N ...
* Travancore Royal Family
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varma, Rukmini
Indian female royalty
Indian women painters
Living people
1940 births
Artists from Bangalore
Painters from Karnataka
Travancore royal family
20th-century Indian painters
Women artists from Karnataka
Women from the Kingdom of Travancore
20th-century Indian women artists
People from the Kingdom of Travancore
20th-century Indian royalty
21st-century Indian women artists