The complex mural painting that covers an entire wall of the staircase screams that it is the handiwork of an experienced artist; so do at least a dozen paintings that adorn the walls and pillars of the old block of Government Engineering College (GEC) in Kozhikode. But only a handful of them had an experienced hand behind them. Nonetheless, these paintings, around 100 of them, have converted the dilapidated building, which was rarely used, practically into an art gallery.
It took around 250 students who worked over three days to bring out this effect on a building that once belonged to the Government Polytechnic College nearby, but was used for the engineering college in its initial phase. After the new blocks of the college were built in 2006, the old block housed just the library and a couple of classes and was in shambles. The central courtyard of the building had thick bushes covering it.
The present college union decided to get the building a makeover as part of the college’s arts festival ‘Malhar’, which is presently under way at the college. The bushes were chopped down by the students themselves.
An invitation by the union in its Facebook page for students to take part in painting the walls was well received. But it was incidental that the painting actually took an artistic detour.
Arts Club secretary Gopakumar V.R. decided to make the best of the opportunity. With the support of Principal Byjubai T.P. and the faculty, the union members invited any one who could hold a brush to express their creativity on the walls and pillars. Eventually, it turned out that there was not enough space for all to paint.
Some serious works had the hand of more than one artist behind them, like the one at the entrance of the building.
The students have also set up an installation titled ‘7B’ in another abandoned building of the college. The installation reminds one of the old class rooms in schools with the typical benches, desks, cane, and a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi besides paintings denoting the culture of Kozhikode and its cultural leaders.
