The event, held under the patronage of Her Highness Sayyida Aliya bint Thuwaini Al Said, was part of ‘Immortalising the Archaeological Moment in Art’ project, a unique initiative launched by Maryam Mohammed Al Zadjali, director of Omani Society for Fine Arts (OSFA), under the supervision of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture.

As part of the project, Imty village is undergoing restoration to celebrate its archaeological, historical, cultural and heritage significance and has now been turned into a hub for Oman’s heritage, art and culture.

Kavitha’s inspiration was the work of Maryam Mohammed Al Zadjali, who has taken on such a great responsibility to restore culturally rich villages of Oman such as Imty.

“When I met Maryam recently, she suggested that I should try the Imty gate in my Tanjore work. That is why I decided to portray the beautiful Imty gate in the Tanjore painted which I presented to Her Highness. Art and archaeology admirers will enjoy exploring this village with sprawled remains of carved wooden doors, arched windows and wooden ceilings dating to earlier times which is being restored. It was a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to the work that is being done to revive this artistic hotspot. The medium of Tanjore painting was a perfect platform to pay tribute to the mesmerising village.”

She added, “I thank Her Highness for accepting my token which appreciates the cultural richness of Oman.”

Kavitha Ramakrishna (left) and Maryam Mohammed Al Zadjali (right) Image: Supplied

Kavitha also recently presented a Tanjore painting depicting the traditional Omani dagger Khanjar to Maryam Mohammed Al Zadjali to mark the 49th National Day.

Kavitha has been using her expertise in the ancient art form of Tanjore paintings to capture Oman’s rich heritage through her paintings on the country’s national emblem, forts, mosques and jewellery. Her work adorns the walls of many institutions in the Sultanate and her work was recently displayed at Oman’s Ministry of Tourism’s exhibition and also at another event commemorating the 60 years of diplomatic relations between Oman and India.

Kavita is not just a painter but also an author. As an author Kavitha has penned about the distinctive appeal of magnificent Oman in a book in the Kannada language titled ‘Na Kanda Muscat’ and recently received the honour to work from India’s Ministry of AYUSH based on her extensive research for her book ‘Tamoghna’ which touches upon on the history of yogic philosophy, essence of yoga practice and deals specifically with vast benefits of Surya namaskar.

She also recently submitted a research paper on the therapeutic technique of Surya namaskar to the World Health Organisation (WHO) at Geneva.

Kavitha, who has been popularising the ancient art form from Tanjore by offering free training and teaching on offline and e-learning platform, has received several prestigious awards such as Karnataka government’s Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Award, Al Mara Excellence Award, Indian Embassy Oman award, and 2019 Oman’s Woman of the Year Award for significant contributions in the field of arts, culture and community work.