In his childhood, Nagaraj D. would often go into Jogimatti forest area in Chitradurga every day to collect firewood. A couple of times, forest officials caught him and punished him for trespass, locking him up in their guest house for an hour. Now, Nagaraj of Nagu Arts is invited by the Forest Department all over Karnataka to draw paintings depicting wildlife.
The 52-year-old artist has done at least 500 paintings on structures belonging to the Forest Department to spread awareness about wildlife.
“I used to collect firewood from the forest in my childhood and earned a few rupees a day. After returning home, I used to paint what I saw in the forest. With the encouragement of my friends, I pursued my passion for paintings,” said Nagaraj.
No training
He gave up studies after SSLC and has never been trained in arts. “Whatever I learnt was from my own experiments on the canvas,” he said.
One day, he was busy drawing on a wall near his house when Ramachandra Nayak, a doctor and an art lover, noticed his work and invited him to his nursing home. He commissioned a painting of Nayakanahatti Thippeswamy, a deity, by offering ₹100.
“I was thrilled by his gesture. The amount he gave me is worth around ₹10,000 today,” he recalled.
Gradually, he gave up the job of collecting firewood and decided to concentrate on writing banners, signboards, and helping students of B.Ed courses prepare teaching aids. Later, he picked up photography as a hobby. Initially, he borrowed a camera paying a rent of ₹10 per day. Now, he is popular on social media platforms for his wildlife photography and the vivid presentations of Chitradurga’s historic fort and other tourist attractions.
A senior officer of the Forest Department, Srinivasulu, now member-secretary of KSPCB, was one among the first few officers to notice his talent.
“The officer appreciated my paintings while he was in Chitradurga and commissioned painting works in Dandeli. From there, many officers have invited me to paint,” he said.
Later, he did wildlife paintings in Anekal in Bengaluru Urban district. That caught the attention of many senior officers who gave assignments in other places.
Spreading awareness
Gururaj B. Sankeshwar, Range Forest Officer of Anekal Wildlife Range, told The Hindu that Nagaraj had a rare talent and his paintings are lively. “His paintings have been helpful in spreading awareness about wildlife among the public,” he said.
Mr. Nagaraj has been involved in wildlife conservation activities in Chitradurga.
“I have built more than 20 small check dams in forests. They have been helpful for the wildlife. I have also planted hundreds of trees. It is, in a way, paying back to nature, as I had cut many trees for firewood decades ago,” he said.
