Portrait of an artist as a young man

KOCHI: Four-year-old Rithish watches the man opposite him, staring at him intensely. Ten minutes later he is  presented with a picture of a wide-eyed boy dressed in a Toy- Story t-shirt. Everyone, including the boy’s parents are amazed at the expertise with which the boy’s features were caught on paper. The young man sitting opposite the boy is Siva Prasad, a caricature artist who has captured Rithish so perfectly.       Siva is no established artist but a struggling youth using his talent to earn a living. This 23-year-old realised only at a later stage that his talent would keep him off the streets of his native home in Adoor, Pathanamthitta.“My father used to drink and torture us physically. He later left us and this forced me to discontinue my studies. I was only in the seventh grade when the responsibility to look after my family fell on my shoulders.” Siva did many odd jobs such as washing dishes at small eateries. Even during those tough days he spent most of his spare time drawing. “I never realised that there was potential hidden in me. It was only after a few years, when things became better at home and I got my SSLC certificate that I started taking taking my talent seriously," he says.He says that his desire to earn his certificate was a blessing in disguise. “It was from there that I got appreciation for my works. Students and friends encouraged me.”  Siva tells us that he has spent a fair amount of time with Mammooty, Dileep, Jayasurya and Meera Jasmine. “But my biggest dream is to meet Mohanlal and draw his caricature.” An avid fan of Mohanlal, Siva Prasad draws the actor's caricature every now-and-then. “I can draw him to perfection even if he is not present here.” From playing the tabla during the Padyani festivals in Pathanamthitta to reading the flute and singing songs, capturing the inner essence of an interesting person is what delights this caricaturist the most.“As an artist, I believe that the most important thing for him is to capture the special characteristics of a person. It gives more life to the art. It could be a person’s smile, enthusiasm for life or anything that strikes you the most about the person’s character. Most of the time when I draw, I am like a plain paper, I am blank. The only thing I see is the person and him alone.” Presently, Siva who is working at the Nucleus Mall in Ernakulam, goes to exhibitions whenever he feels like it. It allows him to meet interesting people and earn a few extra bucks. “I would love to enter into the field of graphics in movies if an opportunity comes my way,” he says with a hopeful smile.