Kerala Mural Paintings – The best gift I got from God’s own country!

We landed in Kerala in April 2019, in the blistering heat, that seemed quite unbearable after living in the moderate climate of Bangalore for many years. We were nervous and unsure how the new city of Thiruvananthapuram, which was going to be our new home, would treat us. Moving from a cosmopolitan city where my daughters were born and brought up to a much smaller, traditional place was quite a big decision. We had left our comfort zone and were ready to step into a completely unknown and different world. But as they say, change is the only constant in life, we were ready to embrace it and make the most of our time. We were surely excited about moving to a beach location and a cleaner, greener city.

The initial few months went in settling down and slowly we got accustomed to the place. My daughters made new friends in the apartment and were happy to go out in the evenings to play with them. Work kept me busy during the weekdays and we would go out to explore nearby places during the weekends. Shangumugham Beach, which was quite close to our house was one of our favourite places to spend our evenings. We also loved going to Kovalam Beach which was about half an hour's drive from our home and Varkala Beach which was nearly an hour’s drive. We loved eating at the beach restaurants as they served fresh seafood. Steamed fish cooked in coconut oil and covered in banana leaf, appam with vegetable stew, fish and chips were some of our favourite foods that we savoured. The people were friendly though language was a bit of an issue, but we managed to adjust to the new environment comfortably.

One day, I went to visit a homoeopathic doctor as my daughter was down with a cold. I could not help noticing the large colourful paintings hanging on the walls of the clinic. They were intricate, detailed and clearly reflected the labour of the artist in creating such masterpieces. As soon as I entered the doctor’s room, I asked him about these paintings. He told me that those were the famous Kerala Mural Paintings which have their roots in the ancient temple architecture of Kerala. They primarily depict gods and goddesses of Hindu mythology and are also known as temple art as in olden times these were painted primarily on the walls of the temples in Kerala.

 

I complimented the doctor for the beautiful artwork and came back home. The memory of the paintings remained in my mind, and I could not stop thinking about it. From that moment, I knew that I wanted to learn this art form and started looking for art schools teaching Kerala mural art.

As God seemed to have heard my prayer, a WhatsApp message in our apartment group flashed on my phone one day. The art teacher who used to come to our apartment had announced the commencement of Kerala mural art classes for adults. I could not believe it. I was looking everywhere, and the opportunity had knocked right outside my door. It was truly a wish come true, and I could not wait to get started.

My art teacher, Shammi ma’am, was super talented and a wonderful artist. She taught me the intricacies of the art form and worked with me quite patiently. I started with a painting of Krishna and Radha and learned all the steps –preparing the canvas surface, sketching the outline, and preparing the colours which are quite distinct and a beautiful blend of yellow, red, green, blue, black and white, the actual painting which involved a lot of shading work, the final outline and the finishing touch. It was a completely new experience, and I learned eagerly like a child.

Sometimes I would get restless as it would take long hours to complete just a part of it but realized that it was not something that could be done in a hurry. I had to sit patiently for hours and work on the painting piece by piece. Shading was one of the toughest parts and took lot of practice before I could perfect it. It was time-consuming and laborious. Every inch of the painting was to be shaded with utmost precision so that the colours blended in beautifully. Once the painting was complete, it had to be outlined in black colour with an extremely thin brush. This was literally backbreaking, but the end result was so marvellous that it made me really proud of all the effort. It took me more than six months to complete my first painting and today it adorns my living room infusing it with warmth and glow.

We moved back to Bangalore after spending two years in Kerala. I painted many mural paintings thereafter and each time I would finish a piece, I just felt blessed.

Kerala mural art is a form of meditation in which you focus all your awareness and attention on painting a canvas.  Each stroke is made with complete mindfulness. You do not wander but stay in that moment to create a portrait that is larger than life. It requires discipline, and the ability to sit for hours with utmost patience but once completed it is absolutely divine, full of bliss, calmness and pure tranquillity. The rich hues of yellow, red, green and blue blend perfectly to form a beautiful symphony of colours.

I am so grateful that I could learn this art form. God’s own country blessed me with one of the greatest gifts of my life that will always stay with me.