T. Vaikuntam (b.1942) learnt his art at M.S. University, Baroda, and is known for his paintings in tempera and water colour on paper which are deeply rooted in the rural soil of his native Andhra Pradesh. His works are not large, some could even be described as miniatures. The figures, mostly of women, evoke the sense of earthy voluptuousness found in the mural and folk painting traditions of south India. On a flat, two-dimensional surface Vaikuntam’s large figures occupy nearly all of the pictorial space and express a sense of monumentality. The painter achieves this with the use of controlled and fluid lines juxtaposed with brilliant primary colours like red, green, yellow, dark brown and white while the use of simple details like caste marks, gold jewellery, flowers and an occasional parrot give his paintings a distinctively Indian flavour.