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 Lanky
and slender, Pullarambakkam Sundarraj Nandhan, now 60, with
flowing hair touching his shoulders, looks more like a yogi
than a sculptor.
The thin rimmed glasses, below the nose bridge, adds queer
charm to his scraggy personality. He moves about swiftly
across the sandy campus of Cholamandal Artists Village with
alertness, observing nature keenly, to keep the process of
his creativity in constant evolvement.
 Born
in 1940 at Maduratakam in Tamil Nadu, Nandhan is a
versatile artist who is both a painter and sculptor. His
passion for sculpture is particularly intense. The medium
he prefers to work in is metal, stone and terracotta; and
in each of them he excels.
A Diploma holder in Painting and Advance courses, from
Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai, he has
exhibited his works in solo and combined exhibitions since
1969. Initially, Nandhan experimented and started making
sculptures in clay, metal sheets, bronze, brick, wood and
granite. He followed the method of folk sculpture by
placing smaller sections, one on top of the other and
achieving height that way.
The artist develops his knowledge not so much through
reading, as through sight. The experiences of the external
world, which he absorbs, are usually assimilated into his
expressions of art.
 Nandhan
believes that art should be richly diversified; its
character determined more by the individualities of the
various artists, than by movements of international scope,
which lose their force in the course of time.
He says, " We must go back to our roots and seek
inspiration from our own tradition. We have a cultural
heritage of architecture, painting, music, sculpture and
dance".
 One
of his earlier images in stone, Mother, reveals the finest
characteristics of a mother, as enshrined in the shastras
and scriptures, structured in geometrically textured forms.
No wonder this particular sculpture draws admiration from
the majority of visitors to the Choolamandal Outdoor
Sculpture Garden.
Some of his other works are the Five Masks, A Form, Bird
and Animal Head, all in granite.
He is the recipient of the Tamil Nadu State Lalit Kala
Akademi Award and the National Award from the Central Lalit
Kala Akademi, New Delhi. He has also participated in
various camps and workshops and his collections are found
across the globe, in places like USA, UK, Poland and
Canada.
Address: P.S.Nandhan, Cholamandal Artists Village,
Injambakkam, Chennai 600 041.
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