Sathyabhama's Voyages into the world of line and colour

Renowned American poet Ted Hughes described artistic inspiration as a fox that unwittingly creeps into a writer's imagination and leaves footprints of art into their mind, the initial blank page. Similar is the artistic inspiration behind the works of 64 year old Sathyabhama. She is not concerned with the moral significance of art. She believes in art for its own sake. She draws and paints what comes into her mind without prior planning or thought.  K. Sathyabhama, from Pang, Malappuram, started her artistic journey during the covid days when there were no jobs and she had enough time  at her disposal. She first drew a picture of bitter gourds drying in the sun, a common sight in Kerala households. She received words of encouragement from her nephew Vishnu Priyan, a student of art, who is also her biggest cheerleader. Next, she drew the picture of two peacocks and experimented with paints as well.

Sathyabhama has held three solo exhibitions and one group exhibition of her paintings till now: 'Therika' at Lalitha Kala Akademi Art Gallery Kozhikode in April 2022, 'Satyabhama's Art Exhibition' at Thalassery Arts Society Gallery in December 2022, 'Pontha Kaaduketti' at Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi Art Gallery Thrissur in October 2023, and also the group exhibition 'Interland' conducted by Varagreen Art Community at Lalitha Kala Akademi Kozhikode in April 2022.The titles 'Therika' and 'Pontha Kaaduketti' are closely related to Sathyabhama's life. Therika is the local name of the gadget that is placed on top of a head-loader to relieve them of some of the stress caused by the heavy weights. It is made of banana fiber. Pontha Kaaduketti is a local expression. It literally means immense undergrowth of the shrubs. This represents the undergrowth of creativity as well.

 'Sometimes, I  stay up late to complete my drawings. I can never sleep leaving a drawing incomplete. Especially during the initial days. Now,  I sometimes stop working on a drawing but will definitely complete it after some time. I will mostly finish it in a day. However, I like to have a calm environment when I am drawing. I cannot concentrate with people hovering or talking near me. I am not looking at something and copying. I draw from imagination. It requires attentiveness.' When asked about her favourite medium of drawing she said, 'Anything I feel like picking up at that moment, I use it for drawing. Sometimes pencil, sometimes pen. If I feel like painting, I do, and if not, I don't. As of now, however, I like to paint without giving pencil outlines. Straight onto paper, with paint.'

Although she does both painting and sculpting, the former remains her favourite. Her sculptures originate from her own daily life and surroundings, for instance, an elephant at a temple festival, turmeric pieces and bitter gourd slices drying in the sun, a crow, and more. She  faces difficulties throughout the process of sculpting since there are only very limited resources at her home for the same. She uses the cooking hearth in the kitchen for the creation of her sculptures, which is quite an inconvenience. Sathyabhama never drew as a child. She has only memories of work and family from her childhood and never had the privilege of thinking about anything else. She was born in Tirur into a family of 11; with 8 siblings, her father and mother. She started working as a house-help for a teacher-couple near her home at the age of 10. At the age of 15, she started helping her mother do chores for nearby houses and families.

She never had the chance to attend school. She was married a few years later but the marriage was short- lived. She came back home and started working manual jobs including head-loading, agricultural and  road construction works. She went back to the role of a house help when she reached 40. She has incorporated her work experiences into her art as well. Sathyabhama manifests the curiosity and zest of a 10 year old. This reflects in her art . She has a thorough positive attitude towards life and a noble outlook towards her past, present as well as future. She has immense satisfaction with the new world and its people, especially the youth of today. She is now looking forward to two of her upcoming exhibitions this year, at Mattancherry OED Art Gallery and at Ponnani Charcoal Art Gallery.