Only close ones know of my medical condition, which I have been struggling with for the past 10 years. It was an accident, and my lower back (L4 and L5) got injured. Doctors said I could not lead a normal life, but here I am, almost leading a normal life after 10 years.
But on January 8th, following my workout, my back started aching suddenly. Maybe some position could have gone wrong, or I overdid something. Whatever… I'm still unsure about the trigger. The pain and bed rest are not new to me; whenever I sit for long hours, adopt a wrong position, or experience a slight jerk to my body, it used to take away my whole week, sometimes a couple of weeks, or even months to recover. But this pain literally scared me and reminded me of my earlier years in bed. Being stuck in bed for three weeks in a row was so depressing. But this time, a book came to my rescue while I am healing. Now that I have almost healed, I thought of sharing a piece of information I recently discovered while I was in bed.
Typically drawn to non-fictional books on science, history, arts, mythology, Tamil literature, I occasionally delve into novels as a palate cleanser, especially when I am in bed like this for days. This time I preferred something very light for my head so I was on the hunt for novels based in the 1950s-70s to gain insights into lifestyles, historical facts, and events of that period.
And I discovered "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese on my Kindle. After reading the first 9 chapters as a sample, I found it very interesting. Born into a half Syrian, half Catholic family myself, I could relate so much with the book. In my family, I've come across stories such as my great-grandmother getting married at the age of 9, my grandmother at 12. The narratives about life in Kerala before Independence, life experiences in the backwaters, and even incidents of someone in the family tragically drowning, along with tales of land fraud within the family, were incredibly relatable. These shared experiences drew me closer to the book, inspiring a desire to delve deeper into the time period spanning from 1900 to 1977. I decided to buy the book! And when it arrived, I was surprised by its size. It had a whopping 724 pages! This is the largest novel I have ever read.
So the reason for writing this blog is that I stumbled upon a delightful surprise in Chapter 26, and I wanted to share it with you 😍. The story, set in 1926, revolves around the lead character, Big Ammachi (Mariamma), taking her 3-year-old son Philipose to Parumala Church to pray to Mar Gregorios, the only saint of St. Thomas Christians and the first person of Indian origin to be canonised as saint. There, she encounters a big photo of Mar Gregorios (1848-1902) kept near his tomb and the author reveals that it is a photo of the actual painting of Mar Gregorios painted by Ravi Varma.
This finding in the book prompted me to research about this painting. To my surprise, I discovered that Ravi Varma actually painted the portrait of Mar Gregorios in 1905, and it is now preserved in the Attamangalam St. John's Jacobite Syrian Church at Kumarakom near Kottayam. The moment I came to know about this, I called my cousin Roshan, who happened to be in Kerala for his holidays. I wanted him to confirm the date and signature of the painting at the Attamangalam St. John’s church. He agreed to visit the church in a couple of days and soon he did and confirmed the date of the painting like he promised. Notably, the painting was completed in the same year (1905) when Ravi Varma lost his beloved brother Raja Raja Varma, his lifelong assistant, partner, and collaborator.
In the book 'Ravi Varma - Painter of Colonial India' by Rupika Chawla,
“The brothers were in Bombay when Raja Varma collapsed before they could leave for Mysore (for a business meet). He was then rushed to Madras, where he was operated on for a stomach tumor. Unfortunately, after a month, on January 4th, 1905, he passed away.’ Ravi Varma returned to Kilimanur, Kerala, after conducting Raja Varma’s last rites, grief-stricken and distraught”
So, Ravi Varma was in Kerala and the painting of Mar Gregorios was completed on 3rd October 1905 i. e. within 10 months after his brother’s passing. On a website http://www.syriacchristianity.info/StGG/PhotobyRaviVarma.htm, there is a mention of a touching letter that Ravi Varma wrote to Dr. M. I. Philip (who commissioned this painting), expressing the unusual experience he had while sketching the portrait.
While Ravi Varma was mourning his brother, he was suffering from diabetes too. A century ago, there was no medicine for this ailment, and it was considered a fatal illness. One can only imagine Ravi Varma’s state of mind at this point. Exactly a year later, on October 2, 1906, Ravi Varma passed away, marking the end of an era in Indian art.
(This photo looks like, this is Ravi Varma’s reference picture for the painting.)
The painting dated October 3, 1905, of Mar Gregorios confirms that this artwork stands as one among Ravi Varma’s last paintings. I learned about this painting solely from the novel “The Covenant of Water.” A big thanks to the author, Abraham Verghese. Also a big thanks to you for your time and patience for reading this!
P.S. Special thanks to Roshan for his effort and for sharing the videos and pictures of the painting and the church.