The Hindu Business Line : Of courage and hope

Manohar builds his images with strokes of pen and ink on paper, generating a distinct sense of texture and perspective through a visual vocabulary of minute criss-crosses.

Awesome twosome: Mahema and Manohar Devadoss. - BIJOY GHOSH

Together they form a formidable team, an awesome twosome. A couple that inspires us not just by their courage and combined resourcefulness, but also by their togetherness. Meet Mahema and Manohar Devadoss, an elderly couple based in Chennai, who intrigue people with their work.

Manohar is near-blind, and cannot see things even a foot away from him. But he sketches with amazing accuracy, and his intricate sketches of monuments like the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai have evoked critical acclaim from senior artists.

Mahema remains confined to the wheelchair, and has to be cared for by others, consequent to quadriplegia brought on by a highway accident. But she has been doing a great marketing job — marketing the pen and ink sketches that her husband creates in greeting card format — the proceeds of which go to charity. Corporates like Ashok Leyland and the TVS group of companies buy greeting cards from this couple.

At the time of the accident, Mahema was just 32 years old and raring with life, with interests ranging from driving cross-country to fine arts. She was behind the wheel during the accident.

But Mahema is not the kind of person who gives up on life easily. "There was sorrow, yes, but never did she give in to depression. Mahema is a spirited person," says Manohar, adding, "Perhaps that's the magic behind her pulling on with life despite the havoc wrought by quadriplegia. You see... quadriplegics generally don't live long."

Equally impressive is Manohar's personal story of courage, of persevering and emerging successful despite the odds stacked against a visually-challenged artist... a visually-challenged painter at that.

Sketching was always a hobby for Manohar, and one of the factors that drew the couple together. "His letters to me were full of drawings," recalls Mahema.

What makes Manohar's work stand out is the fact that these sketches are awesome in perspective and detailed too. Manohar builds his images with strokes of pen and ink on paper, generating a distinct sense of texture and perspective through a visual vocabulary of minute criss-crosses. He has made about 800 such intricate sketches.

"I use trigonometry aids to figure out the perspective of the image," he explains. "I also use a hand lens, and I feel the monuments to understand their texture. I sometimes refer to photographs".

Manohar also enlists the help of a pocket telescope that Sankara Nethralaya gifted him. "Thankfully, I am good at perspective, which helps me figure out the right dimensions of the scene from the little details I can see," he says with candour. He is now working on a book on perspective for art students.

Another project close to Manohar's heart is a coffee-table book he is working on — Multiple Facets of My Madurai — a book that he calls his magnum opus. "It is a very personal account, and will reveal Madurai to the world from an insider's point of view." The book will encompass about 450 sketches and accompanying notes.

Despite his skills and technological support, sketching has become increasingly difficult for Manohar due to his degenerating eyesight, and his vision is now limited to a blurred area just the size of a one rupee coin.

His latest sketch — carved stone pillars in the Madurai Meenakshi temple complex — took four months to complete, even though he worked till 2 a.m. every night.

"At one point of time, I did consider giving up sketching," he says. But passion for the arts is a very powerful motivating factor, and along with Mahema, Manohar continues to sketch out a story of courage, enterprise and hope.

Mahema and Manohar Devadoss can be contacted at 044-24982484.

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