Chennai :

Veteran neo-tantric artist K V Haridasan passed away on Sunday at a hospital in Bangalore, where he had been undergoing treatment for throat cancer for more than a month. He was 78.

His body has been brought to Chennai, and is being kept at his home in the Cholamandal Artists’ Village. “He had been undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bangalore where his son lives. He was very weak when I met him last. He died in the morning at around 7am,” said Gopinath P, senior artist and close friend of Haridasan.

A pioneer in neo-tantric form, Haridasan won many prestigious awards, including Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram and Lalit Kala award, for his Brahmasutra Series. A student of veteran artist K C S Panicker, Haridasan was always in search of Indian tradition through tantra symbols and yoga. This set him apart from others.

“He was the only artist from the south who developed his own style in neo-tantric in the 1960s and 70s. He never deviated from his style and of course had every reason to do that. He was a great artist and had a strong connection with our culture and tradition,” said Gopinath.

Born in 1937 in Keecheri, a remote village in Kannur district of Kerala, Haridasan did his diploma in painting at the School of Arts and Crafts, Madras during 1960-66. He had exhibited his Brahmasutra Series in many Indian cities and countries.

Exhibition of his neo-tantric works in New Delhi in 1970 was a turning point in Haridasan’s life. After the exhibition, he travelled to many countries with his work. Even though many changed their style, Haridasan never deviated from his neo-tantric metre till his death.

“I like him mainly because he never deviated from his style. It may not be a great quality when it comes to an artist, but in his case, it was different. His works attained a kind of rhythm and perfection due to his long association with the neo-tantric style. It is of great quality,” said Achuthan Kudallur, a senior abstract painter.

Haridasan is survived by his wife and a son. The cremation will take place at the Besant Nagar electric crematorium on Monday.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by M.T.Saju, TNN / October 27th, 2014