Ilankovan
 Ilankovan was born in a very ordinary agricultural family in Ammapalayam. From a very early age, he showed keen interest in studies as well as extra-curricular activities. He was very much involved in games and sports and participated in all competitions held in his school and won prizes. The whole family was very happy about the achievements of young Ilankovan and encouraged him in all activities. After completing his school
education in Ammapalayam, he came to Chennai to pursue higher education.
He joined the pre-university class in
Vivekananda College and completed it successfully. As he was very active and smart, he wanted to do something different. So he joined the
Air
Force. He showed interest in learning aerobic activities and surprised his superiors too. He was well-trained in
swimming and diving also. When the
Air Force planned to have a celebration in Amritsar, in the Punjab, Ilankovan was included in the list of performers.
He was asked to make a dive in the swimming pool from a great height. He invited his elder brother Thyakasekaran, elder sisters Krishnaveni and Indirani and younger sister Arivukkodi to Amritsar to witness his great venture. They were all discussing the programme throughout the night. The next day was a black letter day for
lIankovan.
He was hopeful that he would perform exceedingly well and would get the appreciation and admiration of not only his family but also all the onlookers. But what happened was contrary to his expectation. He started his dive very courageously, making different types of somersaults and getting the applause of the audience. But within a few seconds everything changed. There was a small miscalculation in his movements which caused great damage to Ilankovan. When he fell into the swimming pool after the dive, he could not come out of the pool.
He had severely hit himself at the back of his head and began to sink. People around were struck with
shock and fear and when they saw his plight some of them jumped into the pool and pulled him out. The bad dive had broken his nervous system as his neck bone was badly injured. He could not move any part of his body. He became immobile and was confined to the bed.
His department took great care of him and tried to revive him. Treatment was offered to him at the military hospitals at Amritsar, Delhi, Lucknow, and Pune. In spite of getting good treatment in these hospitals for two long years, there was no improvement in his body movements.
 Ilankovan's mother and other relatives were feeling very bad for his condition without knowing what they could do. He was in a sad state not only because of his bad health but also due to his economic condition. As he had not completed the minimum five years of service in the Air Force, he was not eligible for any pension or compensation. He became penniless and had to depend on his elders for everything.
With no money and a physical disability, Ilankovan felt desperate. He used to lie like a log for hours together till somebody moved him so that he would not get bedsore. Three people were needed to make him sit or bathe him as he was a grown up man. As he lost the movement of his limbs, he was badly in need of somebody's help for everything. He could not survive without somebody around him.
The once active Ilankovan could not digest his present condition. Lying on his bed for hours together, Ilankovan thought about his future, what course of action he had to take to revive himself. He remembered that once he had read in a newspaper about someone had tried to draw and paint with the help of his mouth when his hands and legs were of no use.
During his school days, Ilankovan had developed a dislike for painting and
drawing as he was a man of great action doing running and swimming. As he had no choice with his senseless hands and legs, Ilankovan thought of drawing as his best choice at that moment. As he lay immobile and no other organ of his body could make any movement, he decided to make a try with his mouth.
It is not easy to draw with the help of his mouth. To keep the pencil or brush in the mouth firmly for a long time is not an easy task, that too when he had no taste for painting and when his whole nervous system was down and his face was shaky and he was unable to use his hands and body. Ilankovan could not dream of becoming a painter but he made it out of sheer hard work and strong willpower.
He was longing to be somebody in this world and he was about to achieve it. Whether it was due to fate or ill-luck, he could not attain glory and became disabled. But he did not want to remain a useless person and wanted to prove his strength. So, he started practising painting. It took nearly six months to balance the brush between his lips and teeth. Sometimes it hurt him very badly and his lips and mouth became sore.
At times the brush would slip into his mouth or fall out of his mouth. At last he succeeded in his efforts and slowly started painting. Then also he found it difficult as he could not hold the painting pad. He got it fixed on a plank and sitting before the painting pad, he would take time to balance his shaky face. Sometimes it would be shaking continuously but Ilankovan tried to concentrate on his work. If not the whole picture, he painted it part by part to get practice.
Gradually, he became capable of revealing various aspects of life in his paintings. He chose various occupations of people and expressed the same through his brush. Then he took the theme of festivals and fairs. India is noted for innumerable festivals.
Hindus especially celebrate one or two festivals every month.
Sending greeting cards for Pongal,
Deepavali,
Christmas, Ayuda Pooja, New Year, etc., has become a common affair in modern times. Ilankovan studied this culture of the people and paintd beautiful paintings depicting the significance of various festivals. Slowly many people came to know of the talent of Ilankovan and purchased his cards in large numbers. It is heartening to note that his paintings attracted the attention of the Air Force men who came in search of him to buy his cards. It reached the foreign market also and there was a great demand for Ilankovan's paintings in foreign countries too.
Many organisations also admired the work of this disabled painter and favoured his cards. It was a pleasant shock to Ilankovan when he started receiving invitations from artists' organisations from foreign countries to join as member. The International Artists Forum in Germany enrolled him as its member.
 From then onwards, lis paintings have a place in all exhibitions. There was more demand for his paintings in the international market. He conducted an exhibition of his paintings at Pune for a week. As he found the response of the people encouraging, he held exhibitions in Delhi, Mumbai and other metropolitan cities. He was invited to hold one such exhibition in Taiwan which got him international fame.
He spent nearly 22 years in north India but decided to spend his later years in his native village. He returned to Ammapalayam four years ago. He remains single with his
mother who takes care of him as a baby. With his savings, he was able to construct a beautiful house and live peacefully with his mother. He is very happy that his exhibition was inaugurated by K Srikkanth, the great cricket hero of Tamil Nadu, at the Trade Centre in Chennai in 2001 and got the appreciation and admiration of the public.
Having crossed 50, Ilankovan has decided to do as much as possible for the poor and needy. He helps
poor students to continue their education and encourages those who have interest in the art of painting. He gives regular coaching to youngsters who approach him with an interest to learn the art. He was keen to help the younger generation who are the future makers of
modern India. Is it not necessary that everyone trains one's own mind like Ilankovan to make his/her own mark in spite of physical disability?
Shanmugam can be contacted
@:
No: 54 Kamaraj Road,
Ramakrishna Nagar,
Alwar Thirunagar,
Chennai- 600 087.
Phone: 248 60 221
E-mail: shanmugam@azagi.com
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The Great Award
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