KOCHI: Basked in sun, drenched in rain, sometimes with crow droppings on its bronze head, sometimes with a faded garland around its neck, it stands there all day, all night. Ever thrown a casual glance at the statues as you turn the steering wheel at the traffic circle? Ever wondered who spend months sculpting them?Avin Thatteseri deserves the credit atleast for a handful of solemn Gandhis and smiling Swathi Thirunals in Kerala. His recent 12 feet tall Kumaransan statue is all set to be installed in Trivandrum.Rain patters relentlessly on the asbetos car shed as he speaks about art and literature sitting in his room. “I am now working on a 14 feet abstract scuplture which will be made from fibre glass,” he says. Abstract is a fancy term. With every eye it churns a new meaning, but of what good would art be, if everything comes with a footnote!“It takes almost a year to make a life size statue,” says Avin who then counts using his fingers the statues he has erected in Kerala. “A Gandhi statue in Kacheripady, a Pazhashi statue in Kannur, the Sahodaran Aiyyapan statue near Vytila, T M Varghesese statue in Kesavadaspuram...” the list goes on and on.The floral curtains flutter aside exposing the clay modeled statue placed next to the window sill. “Strong and the weak. That’s the name of this work. And it’s my wish to make a life size version of this one in Kochi,” he adds. This isn’t his only wish. With two unpublished works in his drawer, he is awaiting a publisher.It was Da Vinci Code that prompted Avin to write a novel, “I couldn’t agree with what I was reading, and I wanted a different take on it.And my novel is about how a prostitute falls in love with the revolutionary Jesus!,” he says. If you thought Avin’s talents arelimited to sculpting, painting and writing, maybe we should explain how every day he steals time from his hectic schedule and sneaks to the violin case in his room.“Every art-work has a theme, if it doesnt it isnt art,” he adds and the power goes off. By the light of a candle he shows me his painting titled ‘City in the night’. A woman leaning on the pavement with her child sleeping on her lap. A dog in hurry wooing past the street and the city-lights as the backdrop. In 1900 an Italian artist was commisoned to adorn the walls and ceilings of the Santa Cruz Basilica Church in Fort Kochi. Avin’s grandfather, Devsya Thambaan, was one of the two painters who assisted him. Avin’s son Rajesh, seated next to him assists him with his sculptures. He is the fourth generation carrying forward the legacy. Even as we talk, Avin’s 6-year-old grandson Deepak, leaps in and out of the room with a pencil in his hand. He too has a flair for colours and clays!
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