Many are the biographies written on Raja Ravi Varma. Indeed, such is the charisma of this multi-faceted personality that many more works on him could still be written in the future, each from a different perspective.
Rukmini Varma’s ‘Hidden Truth’ Raja Ravi Varma: The Inside Story was officially unveiled on 29th April 2018 at the Foundation Headquarters on Lavelle Road.
As the Chairperson of the Foundation and being the great great granddaughter of the great artist himself, Mrs Varma has based the book upon what she has learned about Ravi Varma from her grandmother — the last Maharani of Travancore — Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, who knew much about his personal experiences that others did not.
The many instances of his life recounted to the author by her grandmother, who was Raja Ravi Varma's eldest granddaughter, and other pieces of information regarding his character and persona gleaned from uncles and members of his family who were alive at that time, facts no one but the elders of the family knew of, made for a fascinating study of his journey as a painter par excellence!
The book was launched by eminent filmmaker Ms Parvathi Menon and Mr Venugopal Varma, son of Rukmini Varma. There was also a long and detailed conversation on the book, her reasons behind writing it and why she felt the time was right to have it published, that was moderated by Mrs Varma’s granddaughter Gowrie, who is a lawyer and filmmaker by profession.
Being the marquee event hosted by the Foundation to commemorate the 170th birth anniversary of Raja Ravi Varma, more than 120 people attended the event and 125 copies of the book were sold on its very first day.
The book is also available for purchase at select book stores across the country and on all leading online platforms - amazon.com, amazon.in, amazon.co.uk, flipkart.com, kobo.com, infybeam.com, Amazon Kindle, Google Play and iBooks.
Click here to view invitation.
The Press coverage of this event can be found on The Hindu, May 15th, The New Indian Express, May 15th, The Hindu, May 16th & The Hindu, May 20th; and is also available below.
- Deccan Chronicle - April 27, 2018 on Page 6
- The Times of India - April 29, 2018 on Page 5
- Malayalam Manorama - May 3, 2018 on Page 2
- Ee Nadu - May 3, 2018 on Page 3
- New Indian Express - Indulge - May 4, 2018 on Page 4
- New Indian Express - May 15, 2018 on Page 22
- The Hindu - May 16, 2018 on Page 5
- The Hindu - May 20, 2018 on Page 4
More press coverage can be viewed below: