24. He walks with his head...

                                          Photograph of a rangoli done by

Gajanan (Bhai)

Interviewee: Bhai Kulkarni, Interviewer: Rohini, In person, Date: 12^th June’11

Age: 82 yrs

Birth Place: Shrivardhan, Maharashtra, India

When I reached Bhai’s residence, it was around 11:00 AM. It was a hot summer morning.  Bhai and his wife greeted me at the door with immense warmth and affection.  After the initial pleasantries, we all sat down, and I proceeded with my interview.

Bhai was seated in his comfortable computer chair and had the air of a king sitting on his throne. He and his wife were very enthusiastic about narrating interesting memories and anecdotes from their years of precious experiences.

Bhai lived in Shrivardhan till English-fifth grade, completed sixth grade in Roha, and moved to Mumbai where he completed his education till Intermediate college. He had to forego the opportunity to attend Medical College due to a shortage of funds. He accepted a job as a medical representative which later became his career.  

Till the age of five Bhai was a rickety child with a big head,  big belly, and skinny limbs. As a baby he used to move around in a peculiar way to overcome the lack of strength in his limbs; he would put his head on the floor first and then propel his body forward. This earned him a title of ‘the boy who walks with his head’ but later the name took on a different meaning as Bhai emerged as an intellectual with a passion for the arts and music. Other than raising a beautiful family and accomplishing a successful career, Bhai started discussion forums for seniors and invited medical experts to answer the questions and guide the group. He worked for social/voluntary organizations and arranged memorable musical and cultural programs. This brought him in contact with some renowned artists over the years.

The memory I have chosen to document here is the one when Bhai was living in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Jaipur Medical college would host a Medical conference every year. Bhai would participate in many different ways and one way was to draw big ‘Rangolis’ (Sand paintings) on the college premises as part of the inauguration ceremony exhibits that would accompany the conference. (Over the years, Bhai has won much recognition for his Rangoli’s from prominent personalities.) One year, a well known doctor from Australia was the chief guest at the conference. Bhai had acquired a black and white photograph of the doctor’s eight month old son and had decided to do that year’s Rangoli depicting the baby boy. Bhai did the Rangoli in color. When the Australian doctor inaugurated the conference he visited each exhibit. When he came to the Rangoli drawing of his Baby boy done by Bhai he was overjoyed to see his baby’s picture in form of a big Rangoli. He literally danced with joy to see the picture come to life and before moving on to the next exhibit he asked Bhai, “How did you know that my boy had green eyes?” That was an unforgettable moment for Bhai. He had simply guessed the color of the Baby’s eyes and it was a perfect match! What a coincidence……

A very fulfilling and Magical moment for this accomplished man who still walks with his head!

In Bhai's own words about his rangolis:

Rangoli Picture drawn by G.M.Kulkarni (top of the page), of the son of Australian Urosurgeon who had come to Jaipur for All India Urologists Conference. That Urosurgeon had a glimpse of his son after three weeks. He was very much surprised by looking at exact green colour of the iris of the child’s eyes. In fact the artist was given a Black and White Photo of the child. It was just a chance the colour of the child’s iris matched in his picture. This coloured photo was taken by that urosurgeon and he was kind enough to send a coloured copy of the child’s Rangoli Picture to me from Australia.

Please note the impression of sweater design, its stiching on the child’s shoulder and also the frill of the child’s frock around his neck.

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Rangoli Picture of a child Ram drawn by G.M.Kulkarni in Jaipur in the year 1960. Child Ram was in the arms of his mother Kausalya. But within 4 decades the original photograph was torn and only the remanant part is shown above. There was no coloured photography that time. So this a Black and White Photo.

Please look at the expressions of child Ram in his eyes and shaded portion of his hair.

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Thank you Bhai for sharing your great art...