(July 23, 2024) “Art is like performing a penance. You pour your heart and soul into it, but whether the universe listens to you always remains a matter of chance,” says Hyderabad-based artist Kandi Narsimlu in an interview with Global Indian.The universe certainly listened to the 52-year-old artist. Born and brought up in the small village of Kaslabad, nestled near Siddipet in Telangana, he has weathered it all — the struggle that is perhaps concurrent with an artist’s trajectory — before emerging successful.
With his work gracing the Michelin-starred restaurant Chaat, in Hong Kong, as well as the Indian School of Business (ISB) and the Hyderabad International Airport, Narsimlu’s art has transcended boundaries and made him a truly global artist. For someone who painted the gadapas (threshold) of homes in his village for a meal, things have come to a full circle owing to his unique skill, passion, and dedication.
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Humble beginnings
Born into an agricultural family with no lineage of artistry, Narsimlu’s first introduction to design came when a group of sculptors from Tamil Nadu visited his village to build a temple. Inspired by their work, he started using the mud from the village river to make shivalingas and buffalo figurines.
On a visit to a nearby village, he chanced upon wall paintings for saree shops and slowly started to sketch. It started off by collecting newspapers and magazines and drawing illustrations of the then Telugu matinée idols, Chiranjeevi and Krishnam Raju. It was his science teacher in school, taken in by his natural flair for drawing, who prophesied that he would be an artist one day. In fact, as part of his practice he used to write people’s names on their cycles in exchange for two mirchi bhajjis and tea!
“I heard of conductors, doctors, and lawyers but was hearing the word ‘artist’ for the first time,” he recalls and adds. “Life in the village was very different. We had no power till I was 14 years old, and I used to wake up at 5 a.m. to help my father in his fields before heading to school, so my exposure was limited.”
As his father insisted that he help out in the fields after he passed his tenth standard, Narsimlu, whose heart was set on painting, ran away to Hyderabad with a princely sum of Rs 25 that his mother lent him! All to fulfil the only dream he had – to paint.
Kandi Narsimlu
Receiving formal training
In Hyderabad, Narsimlu worked as a signboard artist when life took a sudden turn. He states, “A lady walked into the store I was working at and was impressed by my work and asked me if I was an art student. When I told her that I just studied till tenth standard, she told me about the JNTU college for art, which changed the trajectory of my life.”
Having cleared the entrance in his first attempt, Narsimlu finished his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at his college. Life as a student was not easy; he had to earn his own fees and continued to do odd painting jobs to support himself. The syllabus, with its emphasis on the history of art from Michelangelo to Da Vinci, had little impact on the young student, who also faced other challenges, including understanding English, the medium of instruction.
However, it was here that the artist found his groove. When faced with the works of western artists who he could not relate to, he turned inward towards his life in his village for inspiration. He explains, “When I used to study, I only saw the images; the text went overboard as it was in English. When I had to paint, I thought I should work on topics I knew best—the charming bucolic life of village life in Telangana, which till date remains the cornerstone of my work.”
Photo credit: Laasya Art
Balancing art and life
After graduating from college, Kandi Narsimlu found a harsh reality awaiting him. In the early 2000s, the art market was still fragmented, and for a young struggling artist, work was hard to come by. In order to support his growing family, he took up odd jobs as a layout artist with Enadu Television and later on as an animator.
Even in those years, he never stopped painting, and today he reflects that it was all part of his growth. He shares, “There are fewer lines in animation, and that helped me refine my own work. Since then, I started using lines without breaks, which really helped as it resulted in leaner figures and cleaner paintings.”
Around 2008, the artist decided to quit his job and focus solely on his painting. The going was not easy, and he recalls being in tears after multiple galleries rejected his work, and he was simply unable to go beyond being a struggling artist. But fortune favors the brave, and his persistence finally paid off when he exhibited his first show, Rural Whispers, in 2011 at Hyderabad’s Alankrita gallery.
Rooted in rural India
Narsimlu’s work remains rooted in the Telangana milieu. His inspiration is his parents and vignettes of life from his village. Women in bright sarees with money bags tucked in at the waist, men with towels on their shoulders, and jewelry typical of village life—from nose rings, amulets, and waistbands—showcase a slice of the life of the past.
His studio is filled with artefacts from the past – the trunks of his grandparents, teak furniture found in villages that he restored and knick-knacks like pots used to draw water from a well that he repurposed as planters.
The artist explains, “Life in the village was rooted in reality. Women had safety pins in their mangalsutras as they used to work in fields and had to remove thorns from their feet when required. Men had towels, which were used to carry produce home or as turbans in the heat.”
He recalls selling his first painting for 8000 rupees at the show (today a work of his of similar size goes for a couple of lakhs), which announced his arrival on the art scene of the city.
Making it big
Over the years, Kandi Narsimlu’s work has been exhibited across the world, including at the Dubai Art Fair, the US, and Australia. When he was contacted for a commission to work at the Hong Kong restaurant Chaat, he even missed their emails, as he hardly logs in!
Artwork by Kandi Narsimlu at Chaat, Hong Kong
He smiles. “They wanted to display work that is quintessentially Indian and stumbled upon my work. On a series of nine textured wooden panels, I painted scenes from a typical Indian village: people dressed in traditional clothes in bright colors and engaged in their daily activities.”
Over the years, the artist’s work has evolved; the lines are clearer, the layering intense, and the form tighter. Today he is one of the most sought after artists in the city with his work highly sought after among collectors. For all his success he remains rooted and continues to visit his village for inspiration.
Currently working on his upcoming exhibition (to be showcased in Bengaluru in 2025), he continues to depict the changing rural lives. Cell phones have entered his canvasses as have modern clothing including shalwars for women and trousers for men.
After a lifetime of struggle, has Kandi Narsimlu finally arrived? He smiles and says, “Success is transitory. Twenty years down the line, when these scenes and ways of life are no longer seen in our villages, my work should be a repository of the past. That would be the ultimate tribute.”
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