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.