Rumale, painter inspired by Bengaluru trees, remembered

The legend, who also took part in the freedom struggle, is known for his city landscapes

The National Gallery of Modern Art on Tuesday paid tribute to painter Rumale Channabasavaiah.

September 10 marks 111th birth anniversary of the legend, many of whose paintings are inspired by the flowering trees of Bengaluru.

Some of his well-known works are, ‘Play of Light-High Court’, ‘K R Circle in Bloom’, and ‘Karighatta Hillock’. His watercolours attracted the attention of many national and international artists.

Ravikumar Kashi, artist and one of the panellists at an online event, recalls meeting Rumale, “During one of my trips to Lalbagh, I noticed an elderly man who had a spread of oil paints in front of him and was painting a landscape. I approached him and the kind man introduced himself as Rumale. When he noticed I was interested in painting, he invited me to his house in Rajajinagar, where a lot of his work was displayed." As a child, Kashi observes, he couldn’t appreciate the painting language Rumale spoke in as he does now.

Rumale was always keen to talk about art, says Kamalakshi, an artist who spent her younger days at Chitrakala Parishath when Rumale was one of the advisors.

“The first time I met him was at one of his exhibitions in the early ‘60s and I remember him talking so passionately about pure watercolours and the methods he used,” she says.

Rumale was also a freedom fighter and Gandhian. He was actively involved in the work of Seva Dal and took a hiatus from art for some time. He returned to painting in 1960. “He later joined politics and became an MLC. During that period, he continued to be very helpful towards the artist community,” she says.

Rumale was commissioned by the Karnataka government to paint at prominent locations. “He was a contributor both to modern art and the state,” explains Suresh Jayaram, artist and curator.

Rumale’s works can be found in various government offices and they are also displayed at the Rumale Art House in Rajajinagar, which remains temporarily closed due to the pandemic.

Student days

Born in Doddaballapur on September 10, 1910, Rumale studied painting at Kalamandira in Bengaluru and Chamarajendra Technical Institute in Mysuru. He is most well-known for his landscape paintings of Bengaluru.