Osian's Auction Catalogue India The Passionate Detachment | February 2001

69 PHILOSOPHICAL FRAMEWORK 29 A.RAMACHANDRAN (b. 1935) The Manto Themes a. Portrait of Sadat Hussain Signed in Urdu l.l. & S/d in English, l.r. Colored Etchings, 1979 17.6 x 12.4 cm. (6.9 x 4.9”) b. Boo Signed in Urdu, l.l. & S/d in English, l.r. Colored Etchings, 1979 36.3 x 20.4 cm. (14.3 x 8.0”) c. Thanda Gosht Signed in Urdu, l.l. & S/d in English, l.r. Colored Etchings, 1979 37.0 x 20.4 cm. (14.6 x 8.0”) d. Kali Shalwar Signed in Urdu, l.l. Colored Etchings, 1979 25.4 x 20.4 cm. (10.0 x 8.0”) e. Ooper, Neeche & Darmian Signed in Urdu l.r. & S/d in English, l.l. Coloured Etchings, 1979 28.0 x 23.5 cm. (11.0 x 9.2”) f. Khol Do Signed in Urdu, l.l. & S/d in English, l.r. Coloured Etchings, 1979 27.2 x 20.4 cm. (10.7 x 8.0”) Rs. 150,000 - 200,000 $ 3,190 - 4,255 (Set of 6) “ Ramachandran’s art is animated by a deep sense of empathy with humanity… This artistic vision of Ramachandran and the art of short story bears a close affinity…in the etching based on Kali Shalwar the human hands convey the cunningness and jugglery of the absent character and his dominance over the two female bodies. In the etching based on Boo , Ramachandran has tried to find out those aspects of human experience which animate Manto’s stories. At one side is the open sky which reflects the grandeur and freedom in nature, under which the umbrella of human sensitivity is full open flies high with the clouds and at the other extreme is the suffocating atmosphere where human nature is shrunk like a closed umbrella. The sense of contrast is further intensified by the presence of a bottle of scent and the drain pipe erect against the sky, beyond the wall of the room.”(Shamim Hanfi, rpt. in Note to Portfolio on Manto Themes , Shaoor Publications 1980 ). a c b d