KOZHIKODE: Inspired by flowers and floral decorations that are almost synonymous with Onam, a group of artists from Kozhikode have created a mural titled Aayiram Pookkalal Oru Mahabalikkatha , depicting the lore of the harvest festival through exquisitely drawn paintings.
Final touches are being given to the painting, which is now kept at Guernica Art Gallery at Bilathikulam. Mehrab Bachan K.P., concept and art head of the gallery, who is leading the team of artists, told The Hindu that their attempt was to open the doors of nostalgia to Malayalis.
“The Mahabali in our painting is not the usual fat pot-bellied figure often found in popular discourse. He must have had primitive Indian bodily features with dark skin,” Mr. Bachan said. The painting also portrays the Devas, Vamanan, and Shukracharya. The seven-metre-long and three-metre-wide painting in acrylic colours also describes the 10-day festivities preceding Onam. K. Sumesh, Dileep, Anoop, and Shaju N. are the others who have worked on the mural.
Farmers ploughing paddy fields, women harvesting paddy, girls playing on swings and making ‘pookkalams’ and Thrikkakarayappan, and tenants offering ‘kazhcha’ to landlords, among others, are prominently featured. Houses having thatched roof, haystacks representing agrarian lifestyle, people coming to their native places for Onam, and Onappottan will evoke the curiosity of the onlooker. Mr. Bachan said the mural would be exhibited at the Kanakakkunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram as part of the Onam week celebrations from September 3. A Painting Tribute to Legendary Cricketer – 200 Not Out in honour of Sachin Tendulkar at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, a portrait of Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the former head of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore, and a painting titled Oman: History and Life Story of Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said were the other major works taken up by the artists at Guernica Art Gallery.
