Manohar Devadoss

Manohar Devadoss (10 September 1936 – 7 December 2022) was an Indian artist and a writer from Tamil Nadu. At the age of 83, when completely blind, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for his inspirational work in art and charity.

Early life Devadoss was born on 10 September 1936, in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, which was then part of the Madras Presidency of British India, to Harry Jesudasan Masilamani, a doctor, and Cynthia Masilamani (née Devadoss), a granddaughter of M.L. Pillai. He lived in the Goripalayam neighborhood of Madurai until 1943. After spending two years in Kottaiyur and Madras (now Chennai), his family moved back to Madurai when he was eight. At the age of 12, he realised that his eyesight was gradually degenerating, a result of a condition that was diagnosed years later as retinitis pigmentosa. He completed his secondary education in 1953 at Sethupatti High School, where he excelled at Art and Chemistry.

Career Devadoss started drawing seriously when he was in sixth standard, but initially pursued a career in chemistry rather than art. He studied at American College in Madurai, completing a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1957. That year, his father died of a heart attack, and he was forced to begin work at the district collector's office as an accountant in order to support his family, as his elder brother was doing a master's degree and his younger brother was still in middle school. For many years, he would give talks to groups of people to motivate and inspire them.

Personal life and death In 1963, Manohar Devadoss married Mahema Michael (1940–2008), who was herself an accomplished artist. She taught him the technique of oil painting, although he had already mastered watercolor painting on his own. In 1966, their daughter Sujatha was born. In December 1972, soon after their return from the United States, a car accident caused by an irresponsible truck driver on the road between Madras and Madurai left Mahema paralyzed from the neck down. Meanwhile, Devadoss began to lose his eyesight ever more rapidly, due to retinitis pigmentosa. He nevertheless continued to work a full-time job at Standard Batteries to support the family, while working on art in his spare time. He made a name for himself as a painter and photographer, until his eye condition took away his color vision and he transitioned to pen-and-ink drawings, since he could see the contrast of the black line on the white paper better.

Manohar Devadoss meeting with his fans and friends at MLS, Chennai.

He innovated techniques to compensate for his declining eyesight, while providing care for his quadriplegic wife, even managing to take her on outings and generally lead a joyful life. His books deal with themes of how the city of Madurai shaped him during his happy childhood, and of ways to find resilience and innovative solutions to life's problems. Many find his books inspirational.

Following the death of his wife in 2008, he established a charitable fund in her name, placing it under the control of the Arvind Eye Hospital. Called the Mahema Devadoss Endowment, he seeded his personal funds into it. It has received donations from others as well. It continues to support medical cures for treatable blindness among rural populations.

Devadoss died on 7 December 2022, at the age of 86.

Books Green Well Years Dreams Seasons and Promises A Poem to Courage Multiple Facets of my Madurai Enathu Madurai Ninaivugal (translation of Green Well Years into Tamil) From an Artist's Perspective Mahe and Mano; Challenges, Resilience, and Triumphs Madras Inked: Impressions of an Artist and an Architect (co-authored with Sujatha Shankar)

Awards Padma Shri in 2020