Kalpathi Ganpathi Subramanyan (also known as Mani Da) was involved in the many streams of art - pottery and sculpture, making murals and toys, or writing children’s books. He was born in 1924 into a Tamil Brahmin family at Kuthuparambu in north Kerala.
As a child, Subramanyan was irresistibly drawn to art objects and events without knowing them to be such. These inspired him to try his hand at painting, make small carvings and indulge in other artistic activities, without harbouring any ambition of becoming professional artist.
He was influenced by Gandhian philosophy, he chose to focus on Indian folklore and myth. Drawn to the nationalist movement early in life he developed an ideological perspective on culture even before he went to art school. He studied at Slade School of Art, London. He continued painting and teaching over the next few decades, and was appointed a fellow of the National Lalit Kala Akademi in 1985, and a Christensen Fellow at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, in 1987-88.
Subramanyan taught and later became a dean of the faculty of fine arts, at MS University, Baroda, and also headed the painting department at Kala Bhavan.. While Subramanyan made murals at the Kala Bhavan campus, Mehra encouraged him to make something for audiences who never visited Santiniketan.
That led to War of the Relics (2013), an 8ft x 40ft mural in black and white that draws upon motifs from myth and contemporary culture. In recognition of his varied contributions to the development of Indian art he was awarded the Shiromani Kala Puraskar by the Government of India in 1994. He was also awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2006 and 2012.