Residing in West Bangalore from so many years how would
anyone think that just next to your neighborhood there is an interesting art
house where in the paintings of this artist speak about the various shades of
Namma(Means "Our" in English) Bengaluru. In this blog, I will be taking you on an art gallery tour of Rumale
Art House which is situated in the quaint residential area of Rajajinagar,
Bangalore.
I got a chance to visit this art gallery along with my
friend cum travel blogger @thelightbaggage(Arun Bharadwaj) who is preparing a
documentary on museums and art galleries of Bangalore. So, thanks to him for
taking me along and introducing me to the world of art.
If you are planning to visit this, you will need to contact Sanjay Kabe to book an
appointment since he will take easily about an hour or so
to tell us about Rumale and then a tour around the gallery.
At the entrance of the art gallery, you will find a bust of Rumale,
and his name engraved both in English and Kannada.
Then Sanjay took us to the main spiritual room and explained
us the life history of Rumale Channabasavaiah and his spiritual Guru’s. This
room is mainly dedicated to focus on his spiritual side with paintings of his
guru’s, ShivLinga idol installed on a tall pedestal.
Rumale was a legislator, social activist and art was his
favorite passion. He has played a key role during our freedom movement. He was
a very humble and noble person. He had contacts with people at higher
government posts. But he never took any of these contacts to his advantage. In fact,
he was not even aware that this site in Rajajinagar was allocated to him.
Sanjay Kabe’s father was Rumale’s best friend. Sanjay and his sister grew up
watching him paint. In fact, he made them sit and created a painting of them as
well. You can find them in the gallery.
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| Sanjay Kabe |
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| Sanjay's Sister |
We next moved to the main hall where you can find wide variety of paintings right from various colorful trees blooming during different season of the year in the backdrop of some prominent heritage buildings of Bangalore like Karanataka High Court, Vidhana Soudha and K.R.Circle. And also some famous tourist spots like Kudalasangama, Pampa Sarovar and Lepakshi. Rumale’s works can be found in various government offices too. Sanjay told us that Rumale believed in painting on the spot to capture the real time experience. Hence, he would carry his painting kit with him to the spot that inspired him and paint straight from nature. Also, you will not find caption under any painting because Rumale believed that the painting would speak for itself.  |
| Yellow Blossom |
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| Vrishabhavati River - Bangalore University Campus |
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| Old Church |
You will also find beautiful painting of Brahmakamal Flower. It seems he has sat for 5 consecutive nights to complete the painting since this flower blooms only in the night. That was the level of dedication and his passion towards art. Hence Rumale is also known to some as ‘Van Gogh’ of Karnataka. You will understand the reason at the end of this blog. I had a hard time to pick the pictures to post here. I have just picked few of them to showcase his work to our readers. But if you are genuinely interested to see more of his work, then please plan to visit this art house. It is a completely enriching experience for art lovers.
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| Brahmakamal Flower |
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| Creeper hanging from Rumale Art House |
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| High Court, Bangalore |
His last work done on January 27, 1988, was in the RBI in Sadashivnagar. The next day, he had gone to Lal Bagh to study a flower in bloom. After visiting, while Rumale was boarding an auto to get back home his auto was hit by a speeding bus. He succumbed to the injuries later in the hospital. You can find his last painting also in the art gallery.
Totally worth the visit for art enthusiasts. One can easily spend 1-2 hours just admiring the beauty of each masterpiece on the wall and Sanjay’s hospitality is overwhelming.
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