 Courage in art--and life
Mr S Muthiah has paid a moving tribute in his Madras Miscellany in The Hindu Metroplus of 21 November to the genius and courage of Manohar Devadoss, the near totally blind pen artist whose superbly crafted cards will soon hit the market. To quote Mr Muthiah, "Mahema and Manohar Devadoss every year bring out a set of greeting cards featuring heritage buildings meticulously drawn in pen and ink by Manohar. He makes it a point to ensure that a couple of drawings are featured each year among the cards, whose sale proceeds are distributed among various Madras charities. This year Mano could manage only one new drawing, but the other five, though drawn by him earlier, have never been featured in his cards."
Declining vision as a result of a condition called retinitis pigmentosa has made it increasingly difficult for Manohar Devadoss to continue performing his art over the years. Needing a +30 eyeglass this year to do the drawing of Guindy Engineering College, and not finding a glass of such power anywhere in the world, Devadoss solved the problem by fitting two lenses together in an ingenious manner.
 The saga of Manohar Devadoss and his brave wife who became a quadriplegic following an accident has been told in his autobiographical works, Greenwell Years, Dreams, Seasons & Promises and A Poem to Courage, each of them leavened by Manohar's storytelling skills, humour and wonderful illustrations. Anyone who gets around in the artistic and literary circles of Chennai, would surely have seen the couple at numerous events, Mahema in her wheelchair, helped by Manohar. I have had the pleasure of interacting with them on a few occasions, the first time at an M S Subbulakshmi concert a few years ago at Sankara Nethralaya. Subbulakshmi and husband Sadasivam were great supporters of the Nethralaya hospitals and that brought them into close contact with Manohar and
Mahema.
The last time I met the couple was at the MS residence on her last birthday. As we waited to meet Subbulakshmi and receive her blessings, I mentioned to Manohar that I had had the honour of having one of my articles illustrated by him. He was so gracious in his response, complimenting my writing, that I came away feeling uplifted and moved by his simplicity and generosity of spirit. My old alma mater, Presidency College, Chennai, had been the subject of one of the drawings, and my sister, who had commissioned that article on Madras for a souvenir publication at a medical conference, later had a print of it framed as a birthday gift to me. On this page is a poor quality reproduction of that picture, which I will try to replace with a better image later. It is a marvellous example of Manohar Devadoss's eye for detail and precision.
Like many others who have come into contact with the Devadosses, I consider it a special blessing to have known them. They are an extraordinary couple, an example of the triumph of the human spirit and love over adversity of the worst kind.
V Ramnarayan
vramnarayan@gmail.com
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