5 days ago
Cop scouts for characters to immortalise them in his photographic art
Bengaluru: Asa boy growing up in a small village in Ramanagara, about 50 km from Bengaluru, B S Shivaraju said all he wanted was to become a policeman. When the 10th pass out made it to the Karnataka Police ranks as a constable, he was predictably thrilled. But fate had other plans for him.
The hard-won dream became just a stepping stone and the moniker 'Cop Shiva' a perfect pseudonym, as he chased after a new dream: to become an artist. 'I was posted in Bengaluru and like a magnet was drawn to 1 Shanthi Road, an art space like no other, which really opened my eyes to an entirely new world,' said Shivaraju to PTI.
A space that was found to nurture creativity and cutting-edge art by artist Suresh Jayaram, a legend in the artist circle of the city, naturally took note of the policeman, who, as Jayaram once introduced him in his art column for a newspaper, 'carries his village in his backpack as he scouts the city for characters and events that fascinate him'. Perhaps, because he himself was a migrant to a big city, clutching on to his 'cultural identity', not willing to let go of it in the swirl of cosmopolitanism, Shivaraju was able to spot subjects in similar predicament.
The drama of the dual lives of these migrants became the perfect fodder for Shivaraju's art.
-When he came face to face with two such subjects--one who dressed everyday as Tamil film legend MG Ramachandran and another as Gandhi, each had his own compelling reason for pursuing an idiosyncratic routine--he began his photographic art career with a bang.
The success of 'I Love MGR' and 'Being Gandhi' '--the shows made it to some of the prestigious spaces for art in India, like Kochi Biennale and Serendipity Arts Festival -- was enough for Shivaraju to continue his documentation.
'It was becoming increasingly difficult to squeeze in my artistic pursuits, considering being a cop is equally demanding,' added Shivaraju.
His mother, who single handedly brought him and his sisters up, by doing chores for daily wages in fields, was apprehensive when he decided to quit his job, he said. 'But she stood by me nevertheless and we are all happier now for the choices we made. I bought her a house in Ramanagara with a garden. More importantly, I get to sleep solid eight hours every day.
This was impossible when I was a cop--I was so sleep deprived then,' said Shivaraju. Harvard University's Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute Fellow in 2023.
