Call of the Wall: Dhyanasankalpam at Thirunakkara Temple,West Gate,Kottayam

There is a quiet revolution of sorts going on in Kottayam in the field of arts..lead by the Lalitha Kala Academy..scores of mural artists from all over the country have congregated ina quiet manner to turn Kottayam into a 'City of Murals'..its fascinating to to see these 'art satyagrahi's in such large numbers at one single place..Coming close on the heels of the recently concluded controversial Kochi-Muzris Biennale at Ernakulam -Lalith Kala Academy's quiet but meticulous act of seeking revenge against the Biennale dons -not through war of words but through 'traditional and folk' art ..is not lost..

Steady Progress by Students of Murals @School Project

Having installed murals covering a wall space of over 250 sq ft,Calicut through community participation ,

 Dhyanasankalpam-an openstudio for Murals ,has  launched the 'Murals@school' initiative to take the study of traditional murals in a formal way to students of in schools and colleges.

Students,Parents and Teachers can join the foundation course -once a week for session of 3 -hours duration.

 Started on Vijayadashami Day in 2012, the students you see in the pictures here have made steady progress.They have now started testing the colours yellow and red ochre..

Red &Yellow Ochre wash on Panel #5 of Nauka Charitam

With exams looming around..there is a significant drop in attendance of school -going students -from the studio..but for the brave-hearts like Arjun and Aadish .

The team consisted of Arjun,Reena Koormanthara,Dina Kumari Teacher, Shajna besides Mohandas In the morning, Arjun erased the traces of pencil drawing from the panel..leaving the red-ochre outline..Sasi Edavarad completed the Red-ochre outline of the panel..then the panel is taken over by Dina Kumari Teacher and Shajna who gave yellow and Red Ochre wash..in the meantime..more progress was also made on Dwarapala #2 by Reena