Legacy of the rural woman

Dr Mangalagiri Chandramouli depicts women’s history through colour

Dr Mangalagiri Chandramouli is showcasing his second exhibition at Pegasus Art Gallery, which conveys his unending support for the feminist struggle and his love of all things in nature. Most of his paintings are of people in profile and are mostly done using acrylic paints.Dr Chandramouli, who comes from Atmakur in the district of Nellore, is a retired civil surgeon with a specialisation in ophthalmology. He has been witness to the sufferings of the rural women and wished to portray that through this valuable medium, “Ever since my childhood, I always had an interest in art and also inclinations to highlight the problems such as this kind of inequality. You see, in Ramayana, Sita was put to a test by Rama and, in the Mahabharata, Draupadi was disrobed by Duryodhana. Women face a number of hurdles in day-to-day life and they form part of my themes.”

This was especially clear during his seven years serving in Araku Valley in Visakhapatnam, where he saw the need for a discourse in a not-so-progressive society. “Even the most skilled doctors are not able to spend more than a year there; but I was there for seven! There, I also saw the beauty of nature, and that’s why you can see so many landscape paintings in this collection. I first started as a landscape artist.” Alongside the powerful feminist-themed paintings, expect rich autumnal toned landscape pieces.