Thota Vaikuntam : Couple with Parrot

Printed under the close supervision of artist Thota Vaikuntam, ‘Couple with a Parrot’ features the richness of traditional life and culture in the rural villages of Telangana. Vaikuntam incorporates elements such as a parrot perched on the shoulders of the woman as a symbol of eternal love between couples and a harbinger of joy and playfulness. The painting consists of his iconic Telangana woman with her vermillion and turmeric smeared forehead, intricate jewellery, hairdo, and dotted sari.

Born in 1942 in Boorugupalli, Andhra Pradesh, Thota Vaikuntam is a renowned artist who captures the rustic beauty of rural Telangana. He studied at the College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad, where he completed his diploma in 1970. He won the Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship to study Painting and Printmaking at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S University, Baroda, in 1972 under the guidance of Prof. K.G. Subramanyan.