August 7, 1915 – July 20, 2004

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Hailing from Ammapatti, a small village near Uthamapalayam in Tamil Nadu, Perumal joined Shanthiniketan when he was just eighteen years old. He lived and worked with great artists like Silpacharya Nandalal Bose for over four decades in Kalabhavan of Shanthiniketan.

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Fondly called as ‘Perumalda’ by his students (‘da’ means elder brother in Bengali), he was an avid bird-watcher and his love for nature stands out in his paintings, sculptures and murals. He became well-known as the artist who took art to the people. He went to the villages around Shanthiniketan and decorated the walls of the humble Santhal homes with nature themes such as birds and animals.

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After Kalabhavan, he moved to Madurai and spent the last three decades of his life here. He was an ardent admirer of Aravind Eye Hospital and a longtime patient of Dr.G.Natchiar. When he passed away in 2004, he bequeathed his entire art collection to Aravind Eye Hospital.    

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To commemorate Perumalda’s birth centenary year, Aravind Eye Care System conducted an exhibition in November 2015, to share his rare treasure of art with the public.