GURUBARAN TANJORE ART GALLERY 

It is one of the exclusive art galleries in Chennai, which markets exquisite Tanjore Paintings.

Established in 1998, the gallery came into existence due to the encouragement and guidance from Meena Muthiah, who runs a school for Tanjore paintings at Chettinad Vidyashram.

The period between 1988-1991, decided the fate of L.Vijayakumar, who whole-heartedly decided to devote his time for learning Tanjore paintings. He is now the proud owner of the gallery, which has more than 200 collections. Initially starting with glass paintings, the owner cum artists now solely concentrates on Tanjore paintings. He says "my interest for paintings developed in my childhood. I love working on traditional paintings since it has become part of our lifestyle".

The shop situated in the busy Mylapore area has collections of Lord Krishna in various avatars (forms). The sketch, beautifully embedded with gold foil and colourful stones are framed with teakwood, which is well varnished. The collections have given a facelift for the shop, which attracts scores of visitors on a single day.

The paintings are affordably priced ranging between Rs.500/- and Rs.50,000/- depending on the size. Vijayakumar says though there is lot of demand for the paintings, it is still slow moving because many people cannot afford it. People buy the paintings only on auspicious occasions.

Most of the paintings in the gallery are done based on orders from customers. The paintings are usually done based on request and specification from customers. It takes at least seven days for the artist to execute the order. There are totally five people to assist the artist. The latest attraction in the shop is the painting of Satya Sai Baba with Lord Vinayaga and Lord Murugan at his feet. The painting is priced at Rs.13, 000/-.

Address: Gurubaran Tanjore Art Gallery, #7, R.K.Mutt Road, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004.
Phone: 494 1017.

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