Mowgli Drawing

Jinka Rama Rao was born on 10 March 1948 in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, He born in a weavers' family. At an early age he developed interest in drawing and painting. After schooling he sought to pursue his passion. Under the tutelage and able guidance of Shri Gurram Mallaiah, an artist acclaimed across the nation, the spark was kindled to a flame. It took him all of two years to master the medium of oil painting, and the Kangra and Mogalai styles. That was the beginning. The inborn skill of word-smithy made him a journalist, and he now looks back at 25 years of experience, serving many Telugu News Papers that include Eenadu, the largest circulated Telugu daily, Udayam, Vartha and Andhrabhoomi. But despite the thousands of investigative reports, narratives and essays to his credit, and authoring 'Sangitha Priya', art, he insists, has always been his first love.It was inevitable, therefore, for his profession and passion to collide. The Latur(Maharashtra) earthquake that he reported on and recorded in some timeless pieces of art, is a poignant example. The series of oil paintings depicting the quake and the aftermath evoke a sense of awe and tug at the heartstrings. These paintings were exhibited/published on many occasions. But it was the Gitanjali that lent purpose to his world of white canvas and color. He translated GITANJALI, one of the greatest achievements of Rabindranath Tagore into his mother tongue, Telugu. He then sought to interpret these poems through pure art. Oil paints, acrylic colors, water colors, and crayons were the mediums used. On January 2006, 103 paintings, each baring the essence a poem of the Gitanjali were exhibited at Kanchikamakoti Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Guntur. This exhibition was inaugurated by well known modern artist Padmasri S. V. Rama Rao.The paintings stand as timeless testimonials to Jinka Rama Rao's unique effort of translating poesy into art. Forty years as an artist saw the fruition of a number of projects. "Different moods of Gandhi", for "Village Development Authority" of Patna, "The Great Indian Witch Hunt" and "Vultures" for National Geography Channel, and "Guntur Mata", the artist's tribute to Guntur District, are a few among many that are worth mention. Stroll through his works and you will see different styles flirt with each other, and myriad mediums co-exist in perfect harmony.