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Suresh
 "What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of a human being, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful and to remove the wrongs of the injured..."
I felt as if I had suddenly entered into a Chettinadu palace, when I entered the house of Suresh. You will agree with me when I take you on a tour of the house.
The house is situated at Kunnavakkam, a remote village 6 km east of Singaperumal Kovil, 50 km from Chennai. S Suresh (25), an engineering student, has single-handedly transformed his house into a wonderful work of art. A tall, lean youngster, Suresh speaks about his paintings with a lot of shyness, "I have been very fond of these types of paintings, right from my childhood."
 The teak door with a lot of sculptures welcomes everybody into the house. The hall has mosaic flooring and the four pillars in the corners have been painted beautifully. The windows are fine examples of Tanjore painting. Suresh has not left even clay pots, on which he has painted in Greek style. These beautiful Greek urns are by themselves a great tribute to his artistic temperament.
Suresh has tried out different types of paintings for different parts of the house. He has tried to do up each person's room to suit the temperament and taste of that family member.
 There are different styles of paintings on the roof of every room we enter. There are Thanjavur paintings in a room, Kerala style of paintings in another room, Tibetan paintings in yet another. Going through the various rooms of the house is like looking at a tastefully organised art exhibition. And to think all this is the handiwork of just one man…!
Suresh won many prizes and awards when he was studying in Ramakrishna Higher Secondary School in
Chengalpattu. He completed his engineering degree from Melmaruvathur Adiparasakthi Engineering College in
Melmaruvathur, near Chengalpattu.
 "I concentrated on education till I completed my engineering degree. The credit for unearthing my talent to the outside world goes to my brother Balaji and uncle
Mukundan," Suresh states. His family admired the pleasant and serene atmosphere of the village, and so they decided to construct a house at Kunnavakkam village.
Seeing Suresh's talent, while he was painting the pillars at home, his uncle Mukundan encouraged him to take his initiative further. "I learned a lot about traditional painting from the National Folk Support
Centre. The centre had been conducting many workshops for talented and interested people in Chennai and in other places of the country, by which we can gain more knowledge about traditional arts and paintings.
 "I learnt
Kurumba, Thanjavur, Kerala and many other painting techniques from experts in the
centre. I started painting in our house at Kunnavakam. I used Asian Paints and painted according to the taste of the occupants of the room. I don't repeat a painting in two rooms," Suresh explained about his paintings.
He took 10 months to paint all the rooms in his house. When we open the windows we get fresh air and a look at a serene environment. The young artist stated that he took more care when the doors and windows were carved. "Painting is an art which gives us a lot of satisfaction because we give life to our thoughts and the inner atma coordinates with our mind in this effort."
 His desire is to preserve ancient paintings, stated Suresh. The engineer requested the local potter to make special pots for his paintings.
Suresh's mother was a Kalakshetra student, so this proves the proverb that the tiger's cub will not be a cat. Suresh is presently involved in painting his uncle's house.
For more info, please contact:
S Suresh
63-C, Perumal Kovil Street,
Kunnavakkam Village,
Natham (post)
Chengalpattu-603 002.
Phone: 044-27421454
Cellphone: 09443149865
E-mail: garuda-kunsur@yahoo.co.in
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