Important Notice

"What makes Vaikuntam's Telangana women stand apart? Their presence, for one. They emerged, full blown, on his canvases around the Eighties. Dark-skinned and voluptuous, these mature women beckon the eye with their lustrous skin, their bright saris, their profiles almost turned away, rendered either as bust or in three-quarter length. Their jewellery is distinctive - rows of bangles, armbands, glittering nose-rings, and elaborate ear ornaments.... "What makes Vaikuntam's Telangana women stand apart? Their presence, for one. They emerged, full blown, on his canvases around the Eighties. Dark-skinned and voluptuous, these mature women beckon the eye with their lustrous skin, their bright saris, their profiles almost turned away, rendered either as bust or in three-quarter length. Their jewellery is distinctive - rows of bangles, armbands, glittering nose-rings, and elaborate ear ornaments. Enhancing it all is the most graceful decoration for a rustic sundari or belle, flowers from the soil in perfectly-draped strands. The belle's make-up draws from rural dressage. Turmeric to evoke the gold of sunburnt skin, smeared across her broad forehead, often down her nose, up to the chin. A huge crimson circle of kumkum to centre the eye and soul. Bold eyes outlined with kajal or collyrium, a dark spot on the cheek to ward off the evil eye...In these huge canvases, Vaikuntam immortalizes his earthy icon for all time" (Aditi De, "The Village within the City: Encounters with the Large Canvases of Thota Vaikuntam", Rustic Ragas: Inner Melodies of Thota Vaikuntam, Timeless Books, New Delhi, 2008, p. 73, 77, 80).

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