In this digital age, it is possible for talent to receive due recognition by using social media platforms appropriately. Two sisters have done just that by creating a Facebook page for their mother’s beautiful artworks.
An accidental discovery of a kolam video done by a featured artist-mum led to the Facebook page, My Mom’s Art Gallery. Two daughters who knew their mum’s work was exceptional began this page for fun, and now it is getting the artist much-required appreciation.
The artist also believes in literally being obsessed over drawing these beautiful designs, which make one wonder where she was all these years. Thanks to technology, and an extremely supportive husband and children, Mangalam Srinivasan is finally getting the attention she deserves. Yet a few dreams are unfulfilled, which her children hope will happen at the earliest.
Sharing the story with Mums & Stories, Bhargavi, one of the daughters of Mangalam Srinivasan, says, “My mother is good at making kolams/rangolis and water colour paintings. We used to admire her talent from our childhood days. Every Marghazi (Dhanur masam in Hindu calendar), we used to get surprised and be astonished by her mind-blowing art works.”
Mangalam got an opportunity to further her skills after learning Tanjore painting from the Tamil Nadu government. She used to share her daily class work with her daughters. One day, the daughters got the thought of using a social media platform to get Mangalam recognition for her work.
Eventually, their wish came true.
Bhargavi says, “We started this, but our whole family has helped this happen. People all over the world recognise our mother’s talent now. We wish her lots of more success.” Mangalam takes anywhere from 1-12 hours to work on a design, and sometimes even more. She mostly creates her works for various occasions. “Many nights, my father would see her painting, or Kolam, or whatever she had planned for that day,” Bhargavi remembers.
Today, Mangalam has fans all over the world. She has never travelled overseas, but people recognise her work in Malaysia, USA, and Dubai, and her daughters are proud that people know them as “daughters of Mangalam Srinivasan”.
Mangalam’s mother, Smt. Saroja Krishnamoorthy, used to make traditional kolams, and Mangalam learnt this art from her initially. She gets fully involved and enjoys every moment of her time working on these kolams.
It also keeps her fit, and her daughters believe it makes her forget minor age-related physical ailments.
Mangalam’s children have married, and live with her. She has a grandson and a granddaughter, and does her artwork after completing her routine chores, like cooking and upkeep of the house.
Mangalam did her Bachelors, married at the age of 20, and lives in Trichy. Her husband works as the General Manager in a public-sector organization.
Her other daughter, Aishwarya, who also helped in setting up the platform, runs her own enterprise—SAA Technologies—in Trichy.
Bhargavi wraps up her inspiring story, saying, “Her mom is her only inspiration in this. Her lifelong dream is to get at least one award and/or recognition from the government.” Hopefully, in time, this wish will come true for Mangalam Srinivasan.