Kolam designer extraordinaire

Colourful task: Ruben putting his finishing touches to the 18.3m peacock-and-lotus motif kolam design at MidValley Megamall.

RICE art is the rice bowl for full-time kolam artist Ruben Prakash.

Completing a magnificent 18.3m kolam at Mid Valley Megamall for Deepavali this year, the 28-year-old artist explained that the festive season was especially important for his thriving career.

"Deepavali is the time I look forward to the most, as I get invited to draw kolam for many corporate events and open houses.

"I then have a little bit more to fund my daily expenses, pay for my car and purchase more materials to expand my art work further,” he said, adding that he began creating kolam at the age of 18.

“Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, HTC and Astro were some of the companies I made kolam for this year, but the kolam I created for Mid Valley is the biggest masterpiece I have ever done.”

Working for 15 hours, Ruben maintains the traditional kolam design component of using crushed rice to upkeep the art form’s original value.

“Back in the day, kolam was made using rice flour so that ants and small creatures could eat it and need not travel far for food. I still use sugee flour in my designs for this purpose.

“I also use oil lamps in my designs to welcome goddess Lakshmi to bring in wealth and prosperity.”

Without compromising on its symbolism, Ruben manages to vary his peacock and lotus motifs with a distinct style of colour shades.

"Every person has a different colour tone. In the same way, my kolam pattern will be richer and more vibrant when I add different shades.” he said.

He used 45 colours to bring life to the giant kolam in Mid Valley Megamall.

Honing the specialised skill since the age of 17 with guidance from his kolam guru, Pushpa Jeyasingam, the young artist said that although he used this intricate method, time was the biggest challenge he faced.

“Depending on the design, it can take up to three days for me to prepare the materials. I have to dye the rice with food colouring and mix the colours, accordingly and it can be very painstaking.

“For example, if I want to create a warm red colour, I have to mix at least four colours of orange, yellow and two shades of red to get the best colour effect.”

Despite the complexities of the design process, he feels elated when he sees people appreciating his work and is always motivated to improve his work.

“Even though many people say that my work is very nice, I always feel that I could have done better because I want to do more and improve my work,” said the perfectionist who holds a degree in professional design from LimKokWing University.

As Ruben was touching up his masterpiece, many curious shoppers came by to congratulate him for his splendid work while others crowded around the masterpiece to snap photos of him and his work.

“You are very talented. It is such delicate handiwork and you do it so well,” said a shopper who proceeded to shake the hand of the artist.

Besides the annual festive season, Ruben’s colourful career is sustained by weddings, house warming functions and a host of other artistic services.

“Full-time kolam artists are very rare in Malaysia but there are a few of us. I draw my inspiration from local kolam artist, Gokulan. I learnt the style of varying colour shades by observing his designs.”

“I did not really go for any formal training but I can do bridal make-up, flower garlands cross stitch, mehendi (henna) and mural painting as well.

“Art of any kind is effortless for me. By observing how the artwork is being created, I will pick up the pointers and practise it until I can do it on my own.” said the multi-talented craftsman and bharatanatyam dancer, who is also an art class teacher at The Pure Life Society.

Winning first place at this year’s Mydin Mall Deepavali kolam competition, the young artist attributed his confidence in art to winning the top prize in many contests. The tremendous support from The Pure Life Society was another factor that drove him to do better.

“When I first started, a lot of people were surprised to see a boy making kolam, but when they saw my work they were impressed and say ‘Look, a boy can do kolam too!’”

“I come from a broken family and Mother Mangalam took care of me at the ashram since I was nine. She told me that I was born to do arts and since then, I never looked at any other industry.

"Without art, I am nothing." he summed up with a smile.

Ruben’s majestic design in conjunction with Deepavali can be viewed on the ground floor of Mid Valley Megamall.

Enthusiasts who would like to learn the art or have Ruben’s artistic touch at their event may call him at 011-2321 6344.