Mural Values

The land of letters,legends,latex and lakes now has another claim to fame — Kottayam in Kerala was declared a “Mural City” on May 25. Take a walk through the city,and one feels like a visitor to an endless art gallery. Brightly coloured murals with detailed workmanship stretch across public spaces,buildings,marketplaces,churches and temples apart from the district panchayat office,public library,the railway station,the Civil Station compound and the East police station.

Most of these are the result of a 12-day-long camp organised by the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi last month,in which around 300 artists from around the world worked with local names. Among the signatures on display are the works of Krishnan Mallissery,who has enlivened the walls of Thirunakkara temple with traditional Kerala-style images from mythology,such as that of Ganesha at the entrance. Artist Sridhar Patnale’s cement mural painting at the Civil Station compound,on the other hand,forms a backdrop to a vegetable stall in the complex. Among the critically acclaimed works is a three-dimensional figure of a woman’s torso,bedecked in traditional finery. Made by K Laxma Goud,considered one of the pioneers of terracotta mural art,it is a highlight of the students’ hall of Kottayam Press Club. Foreign artists such as Jung Chae Hee from Korea and Nele Martens from Germany,too,have left their marks on the towns.

Murals are a part of Kerala’s long art tradition,and the current initiative reinforces this in the minds of visitors to Kottayam.The murals of Kerala generally deal with legends and mythology,and Kottayam district is home to some of the region’s most celebrated murals,such as the dancing Shiva fresco in the Shiva temple at Ettumanoor. In keeping with tradition,artists at the camp have used Panchavarnam — the five natural colours of red,green,yellow,black and white.The project has also given a lease of life to the fading murals in the city,and drawn attention to previously restored works.

Among the participants of the camp was the celebrated Manikandan Punnakkal. In 2009,Punnakkal was assigned the task of restoring damaged mural paintings of the famous Vaikom Mahadeva Temple in Kottayam. This is,by far,his greatest work ever,with 80 murals in 42 panels. Today,the temple has been given a facelift and has regained its identity in the genre of historical mural paintings.