There is a belief that what one does or experiences on the 1st day of the year lasts through the year. Hence January 1st 2019 was about driving to a small town called Cherpulassery in Palakkad district; a part of Valluvanad or Arangottu Swaroopam, an early administrative division of the Chera kingdom. There is also a saying that the kings or Rajas of Valluvanad are descendants of the Pallava kings. The visit had two purposes, meet Shri Suresh, a good friend who teaches art. He is a professor at the world famous Banaras Hindu University in the Department of Painting at the Faculty of Visual Arts. Apart from being a very popular teacher he is also renowned for his works in India and the World. The unique wall mural near the Wagah Border, is one of its kind and aimed at forging better ties between India and Pakistan. Sureshji who is based in the holy town of Banaras, has also done many decorative mural in Banaras, like the Lolark Kund, Samne Ghat, etc. An alumnus of Viswabharati University, Santiniketan, and a Fullbright Fellow, Sureshji’s monumental painting “Cosmic Butterfly” was exhibited at the Essl Museum,Vienna, Austria in 2010. Winner of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi award from the government of Kerala, Elizabeth Green Shield Foundation Scholarship and Earth Day network award (Washington), Sureshji’s thoughts and visions are unique, full of energy and thought provoking.
The second was to see his creation of the Wall of Peace. The low boundary wall of Government Higher Secondary school, Cherpulassery had been converted into a huge canvas with an area of about 7000 sq m for this magnificent activity led by Shri Suresh. There were also couple of students from BHU who had accompanied Shri Suresh to assist him in this wonderful act of kindness. How lucky are the children of the school who would get to see the creations everyday; images that will instil in each of them the story of an era long gone by, a culture, a heritage which is almost forgotten in today’s fast food world, kindle that spark of love for motherland and the deep message that each of us have a commitment, a responsibility to give back to our surroundings a portion of our knowledge, love and time.
Mural work done in cement as the base, portrays scenes from the freedom struggle of the erstwhile Malabar region. There is also Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose, and there is Mozhikunnath Bhramadattan Namboodiri of Cherplasseri , a freedom fighter who was falsely implicated with criminal charges and literally dragged to the prison by the British.
It is always difficult to determine who is greater, the creator or the creation. I guess each is great in its own way, for each cannot exist without the other… Some photos from the site. The photos are nothing compared to the extensiveness of the work, the images are life like, the expressions stir thoughts within, the eyes of each of the creations have a story to tell…
