K Rajaiah, a famous artist from Siddipet, took Yasala Balaiah as his disciple after spotting the raw talent. Years later, the Arts Society selected Balaiah's paintings over those of his guru for an exhibition! See what happens when you don't take your disciple's thumb!
Yasala Balaiah, better known as 'Batik Balaiah', is one of the Andhra Pradesh's premier batik exponents. Batik is a method of printing designs on textiles by waxing parts not to be dyed.
Born in 1940, Balaiah's first foray into art was drawing with a stick on a soot-blackened wall. Today, Balaiah has won over 20 awards for his works, and has held exhibitions all over India and in the US as well. His wife and children also make batik currently. Balaiah's latest collection is a series of paintings set in a rural backdrop. Brightly attired, dark-complexioned Telangana women are the focus of this collection.
In his 9-day exhibition at the Pegasus Art Gallery, he is going to display paintings of Telangana women. Being from Telangana himself, Balaiah depicts the grace and beauty of Telangana women quite well. Chandana Khan, Secretary of Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture, will inaugurate the exhibition.