Artist preparing portrait using deceased man’s ashes

Malappuram: Artist Unni Varnashal is preparing a unique portrait at the moment. A picture that is synonymous with love, life and death. He is drawing the portrait of a deceased youngster using his ashes.

There is an eternal love story behind the portrait. Thrissur native Sajan and Palakkad native Soumya (not original names), belonging to two different religious groups, got married with the consent of their families. Soumya gave birth to two children. It was all a happy family. Sajan was a hardware engineer, while Soumya worked at a bank. 

However, tragedy struck their lives when a growth was detected inside Sajan’s brain. Despite surgeries and chemotherapies, Sajan’s life could not be saved, leaving Soumya heartbroken.

The couple had never subscribed to any religious beliefs. Sajan wanted his body to be burnt when he was dead. His wish was granted and his close kin handed over Sajan’s ashes to Soumya.

But Soumya very well knew that it would be unfair on Sajan, if she decides to immerse his ashes in a river as per the rituals. Sajan had never believed in such things.

After much consideration, Soumya decided to hand over the ashes of her husband to an artist who was willing to prepare a portrait of Sajan using it. It was not an easy task as several artists rejected the idea initially. The ‘challenge’ was eventually taken up by Unni Varnashala.

“I have never done something like this before. Maybe this is the first and final time I am getting such an opportunity in life. As an artist, the task is really challenging for me. At the moment I am only thinking about the painting and nothing else,” says Unni Varnashala.