- Samples of Glass Works
- Prabhakaran's Fantasies on Glass
Creating Miracles on Glass : K.N.Prabhakaran, Artist, Muscat. K.N.Prabhakaran is a known commercial artist, entrepreneur and a social activist familiar to the Muscat Malayali community. Hailing from Kanichar, a remote village of Kannur district, Kerala, his encouraging growth chart spans three major metropolitan cities -- Kochi, Madras and Mumbai over the last two decades. Whichever city he has worked - be it Madras, Delhi, Mumbai or Muscat, Prabhakaran has proved his artistic excellence and established his presence by doing at least one land mark Crystal glass painting work that adorn five star hotels or landmark buildings. He has been working as a commercial artist for the last two decades - half of it in Muscat. He is one of the few artists who can do miracles on crystal glass by carving out life-like images and structures within no time!.
'After completing Fine Arts Degree Course from the Madras Fine Arts College in the early 1980s, he has worked in a number of advertising agencies. Starting with Labella Advertising in Kochi and Madras, he joined Deadline Advertising as a commercial artist. Later he joined Glass Graphics India Pvt Ltd, the first Bombay based stainless glass manufacturing company. Specialised in glass paintings, Prabhakaran's works on glass medium adorn even the private villas of Dhirubhai Ambani, the Indian millionaire who owns the Reliance Group of Companies. Astoria Hotel in Dubai, Crown Plaza, Al Bustan and Sohar Beach Hotel in Oman are all have the hallmark of Glass Designs. A unique world map made through acid etching on glass is another landmark work handled by Prabhakaran.
Samples of Glass Works A number of five star Indian hotels - the Oberoi and Leela Kampenski (Mumbai), Sea Rock, Leela Beach Goa, Ramada International Goa, Hindustan International Calcutta, and posh buildings of Malabar Hills and Juhu in Mumbai are decorated with the unique painting works done by this Malayali talent on glass. When the construction boom started picking up in the Gulf, Prabhakaran got a job offer from the Zawawi Group of companies to work as a commercial artist. After working there for two years, he started a glass designing company with another Malayali businessman. Later on he started his own venture -- Glass Designers which has already established a niche market for decorative glass works. A number of private villas of Arab Ministers and Sheikhs, Ministry buildings, airport, Mosques and hotels are adorned with the Glass works done by Glass Designers (read Prabhakaran).
A traditional Spanish Bull figting engraved on Glass From a humble beginning Glass Designers have already established itself as the only stained glass portrait making firm. Glass portraits, glass etched murals, three dimensional acid etching etc are some of the special works undertaken by the company. However, Prabhakaran admits that there is more commerce than art in these type of works. The construction boom in the Gulf region has created good demand for decorative and ornamental glass paintings. This art form has been widely used in Italy and other European countries. In the Arab and Islamic world, there is special focus on special Islamic designs. Except the commercial part of art work, there is no platform to develop the skills or encourage such artists. Even the social organisations are most of the time preoccupied with dance and song manias. The local and Malayalam media neglect such talented artists who need to be nurtured and encouraged. Art galleries are selling photocopies of original art works and there is less public awareness about original art works. But the Omani community who are attracted towards the Islamic architecture are fond of unique designs made by Glass Designers. Many of the prominent and rich Omanis have their houses adorned with original art works, manually made by the team of artists from Glass Designers.
The Glass Portrait of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, the Ruler of Oman. Glass Designers is not equipped with high-tech machines or designers who can do miracles on glass. Led by Prabhakaran, a group of artists, has to cut out and paint each glass piece, join them manually and create a wonderful image after long hours of hard work. What is needed in doing such works is an artists imagination and calculation to create life like images. Despite his preoccupation with glass designing, Prabhakaran is equally active in social activities. A good orator, he is also an active member of the Indian social Club.(keralamonitor.com)
Stain Glass Fan light designed by Prabhakaran. EIM targets educators through country-wide Internet awareness campaign
Dubai, March 29, 2002: As part of its ongoing Outreach Program, which focuses on conveying the benefits of Internet to the local community, Emirates Internet & Multimedia (EIM) announced that it has launched a country-wide awareness campaign specifically targeted at educators. The first of a series of planned seminars was held at the Etisalat Head Office in Sharjah today, which attracted participation from over 200 members of the local educator community, including principals, head of departments and administrators.
Making this announcement in Dubai today, Mr. Abdulla Hashim, Senior Manager, Business Development & Sales, EIM said: "One of the primary objectives of the campaign is to bridge the digital divide that exists in the country's education sector, even as the UAE as a whole is increasingly embracing the Internet age."
"The past few years have seen the launch of a number of e-initiatives in the country that are aimed at transforming the UAE into the e-hub of the region. As the leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the region, EIM bears the social responsibility of playing a key role in this process by facilitating the creation of an information-literate society," he added.
At the end of 2001, the subscriber base for EIM's dial-up service in the country stood at an impressive 256,326. With an Internet penetration rate of over 28%, which is the highest in the region, the UAE has already secured its place as one of the top 20 most wired nations in the world. Mr. Hashim further said that the education sector in the country comprises over 700,000 students at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. "Students constitute 25 percent of the total population of the UAE, making it the single largest homogeneous demographic segment in the country. This presents a tremendous opportunity for us to create awareness about the Internet as a powerful source of information and an effective tool for sharing knowledge and collaborative learning."
Stressing the need for a special focus on the country's student community, Mr. Yousif Al Haway, Residential Sales Manager, EIM said: "The most effective way to encourage students to use the Internet as an educational tool is by creating awareness about this exciting communication medium among teachers and education administrators. Apart from providing students with guidance on the proper and safe use of technology, they can also play a key role in implementing an effective Internet policy within the country's education sector."
Mr. Haway further added that the scope of the awareness campaign would soon be enhanced to include a series of road shows that would travel to private and public schools in all UAE Education Zones in the country. "Through interactive presentations, lectures, and demonstrations, teachers, supervisors, administrators, and students will be shown how the Internet can be effectively used as an educational tool that can immensely enhance both the teaching and learning experience, while enriching the education environment with its abundant source of information."
