Tenali Raman – True Artist

One day, king Krishnadevaraya was standing at the top of his palace and admiring the beauty of nature. The weather was pleasant as it was drizzling and a mild breeze blew. Animals were running here and there as thunder struck. The king then decided to celebrate that year’s rain festival with a lot of glitz and glamour. Also, he decided to give an award to the best artist in the kingdom.

In the court, the king asked his ministers as to who would be worthy of the award. A minister stood up and said that it would be ideal if the award was given to Velappar, who was the court artist. Then Tenali stood up and said that the award must go to a true artist. When the king questioned him as to what he meant by a true artist. He replied by saying that one who reflects himself in his artwork, is a true artist, unlike other artists who seek to impress others through their artwork.

The next day, the king set out to meet the true artist as described by Tenali Raman. As Tenali led the way, they travelled to a place where there was a cave. Upon entering the cave, they found many sculptures in the cave. Deep inside, there was a sculptor who was carving a new sculpture. He was so engrossed in his work that he did not even notice the entry of the king and his soldiers along with Tenali. The king was observing him closely as to how he was going about in his work. After a while he approached the sculptor and asked him as to what he was carving. The sculptor said that the statue was a rain goddess who was admiring her own creations such as the clouds and the rain. The king examined the statue once again and decided that he was the right person for the award.

At the rain festival, the artist was bestowed with the best artist award and Tenali was honoured too for his choice of best artist.

Moral – One must always be true and sincere in his work.