Unni and I were talking about our undergraduate years and a batch photograph taken during our basic science days. Back then, mobile phones with cameras were absent; selfies were still in the future. The batch photograph brought together our teachers and our classmates in joyful harmony. Unni was telling me how he feared cameras and was absent for the group photo. He mentioned that it was an irony of life that someone who feared cameras then would later go on to start a photography museum. And not just one museum, but two.
Unni–Dr Unnikrishnan Pulikkal–was my classmate and dorm-mate during the medical course. He had a keen interest in the arts right from his student days during MBBS, our undergraduate medical course, and was a wonderful painter. He told me about his switch to photography, though he continued to paint and make sculptures and other artistic creations. And In addition to creating art, he has created venues to display art; Unni, who hails from Kodakara in Thrissur district of the southern Indian state of Kerala, has started two museums in his hometown, in close proximity to the town’s hospital.
The Art Museum of Love is one of the few museums in the world devoted to representations of love in art. When I said I wanted to visit, Unni gave me precise directions about reaching the place; it is located at the Azhakam service road about a kilometer from Kodakara town. The early December afternoon was hot. The climate has become warmer over the last three decades; temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius are now common during the summer. Climate change has hit Kerala hard.
The art museum is delightfully air conditioned. I interacted with the two ladies managing the reception desk who told me that before I went in, I had to take off my shoes. I liked the design of the museum. Plenty of planning and thought had gone into the layout and the display rooms. The rooms are small and provide you with an intimate experience; the lighting is superb and highlights the exhibits. There are also spaces to sit and relax. You can read and reflect. The display boards provide detailed information about the exhibits, which were tastefully designed.
Various types of love are addressed. Most of us are very familiar with romantic love. The love of a family, love between siblings and love between parents and their children and love of an extended family and society are also explored. Spiritual love is common in the Indian tradition. I could see a few of Unni’s paintings and photographs on display. Other art forms were also included in the exhibit. There were river stones sculpted by nature and others carved by skilled human hands on display. The driftwood sculptures fascinated me; in Nepal, I had a good friend, Dr Awate, who was fond of collecting driftwood as he hiked the hills of western Nepal. He mentioned that with some tender loving care some of these can become works of art.
Ancient India had a liberal approach to romance and love. Traditional paintings had strict rules and regulations. Within these boundaries you were free to explore your creativity. Depictions of the Hindu God Krishna were prominent in the museum. Different traditional art forms from South Asia depicting Lord Krishna were on display. Artists consecrated their work to the lord, and Lord Krishna has been depicted in art forms and styles of painting throughout India. The diversity of these art forms makes them an interesting area of study. Tanjore paintings from Tamil Nadu are renowned for their rich colours and extensive use of gold foil. These have more detailed and regal patterns. Madhubani paintings from North Bihar (the Mithila region) use earthy colours and are usually done in geometric patterns with bold outlines (I was gifted a Mithila painting by Darbhanga Medical College in Bihar, India; the painting still hangs in my old office in Nepal). Rajput paintings are known for their opulent colour.
Pattachitra is a vibrant art form that originates from the holy place of Jagannath Puri, Odisha, in eastern India. It is also extensively practised in West Bengal. Traditional Warli paintings– the Warlis are a tribe in Maharashtra near the border with Gujarat–of Lord Krishna were also on display as were Gond paintings of love.. Looking at these paintings I was struck by the cultural unity within diversity in India.
The art museum has two floors and also has a section on erotic art that has a warning about the explicit nature of the material on display at the entrance door. Till today the public has been very accepting of this section of the museum. The museum also has a community space at the side where events can be organized. Several events have used this space; for example, the museum held a competition for letters and poems expressing love to be sent to the museum’s postal address, and some of the winning entries were on display. The Art Museum of Love has created Instagrammable objects and locations for selfies and social media postings. The website of the museum (Sneha Museum in Malayalam, the native language of the southern Indian state of Kerala) is https://lovemuseum.life/. The museum is also on various social media.
I went with Unni to another museum he curates and manages. Photomuse is the museum of photography. Photomuse was inaugurated by Herbert Ascherman Jr., a renowned US photographer who mainly works in black and white and the rare art of platinum photography. He is the mentor and guide of Dr Unni and has contributed several pieces of his work to the Art Museum of Love and to Photomuse. This museum was in operation at a different location for a few years and in early 2024 shifted to a permanent location at Mattathur near Kodakara. The website of the museum, which has multiple features and offerings (including collections mainly devoted to cameras and photo equipment, a journal, programs, and a gallery showcasing various exhibitions previously mounted at the museum, among others), is https://photomuse.in/. During my visit the first gallery was hosting an exhibition titled “Silence & Chaos.” The exhibition had photographs by different photographers, some depicting silence and others depicting chaos. The major gallery hosts cameras and photographic equipment from various generations and time periods. The old pin hole camera, bellows camera, the auto focus film cameras, polaroid camera and SLRs using film are all on display. Each camera has a small descriptive note providing more information about the object. The pride of the collection is the large format Vageshwari cameras that were manufactured in India and were among the best field cameras in the world. My friend Sanjay Mhatre, an architect, had introduced me to large format cameras and these always fascinated me. The extensive collection is also documented online at https://photomuse.in/index.php/collections
The museum holds exhibitions of photo collections periodically and these can also be accessed online. Photomuse has a good collection of old photographs; the museum has 1,765 antique prints in its collection. There are a few depicting the birth of independent India. I was intrigued by the photo of the old Cochin Forest tramways, which operated from 1907 to 1963 and enabled the transport of wood from the Parambikulam forest to Chalakudy town. The museum also publishes a journal both in print and online at http://journal.photomuse.in/
The small town of Kodakara near the Thrissur-Ernakulam highway has two museums that are cultural icons and social gathering places. Dr Unni also has created an open-air art gallery on the premises of the hospital he runs in the same location. Unni, through his arts initiatives, reminds us of the close connection between art and medicine. There are several educational institutions around Thrissur and health students can learn about the close interplay between art and medicine at the museum. These museums and galleries have put Kodakara on the international arts map. So, the next time you visit Kerala, which some have called God’s own country, please do plan a trip to Kodakara. The place is not difficult to reach. The museums are open from 10 am to 6 pm Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays). In an increasingly bitter and divisive world, come discover the gentle and healing power of the arts and of love!
Interview with the Uber-Talented Unnikrishnan Pulikkal, MD
Dr. Unni, a medical practitioner and artist, discussed his rural upbringing, passion for painting and photography, founding PhotoMuse, and balancing art with medicine.
I complement to Dr. Unni for his practical interestin art and photography and managing two state of art museums. I appreciate Dr. Ravi Shankar lover of art and photography and uses both for teaching medical humanities to students for introducing Dr. Unni and museums. His narrative is like live visit to museums.