How a group of students
Of the Government Model Residential School in Wadakkanchery, turned their library wall into a striking work of art
bunch of students at the Government Model Residential School for boys at Wadakkanchery in Thrissur have transformed their library wall into a striking work of art. Over three days, they painted a fascinating mural of the forest, its people, and birdlife on the 12x20foot wall.
About 18 students from classes V to X worked on the wall — drawing the scenes and sights they had grown up seeing. Sreepadmanabhan P of Class V, who friends and teachers fondly call Pappu, took on the task of drawing the trees, because he is especially fond of them, says Priya KG, the Art teacher of the school. “He hails from Attappady and he loves drawing trees and the forest. Here, too, he has depicted them in great detail, including the different birds that are found in the forest,” she adds.
The entire mural has been done in just three colours — terracotta, white and black. “With just four litres of paint
A(the three colours combined), these children have created an authentic artwork that reflects their passion for art,” says Priya.
The school, managed by the Tribal/Social Welfare Department, has students from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities from various parts of Kerala. Many of them belong to forest dweller communities. “The pictures these children draw are often a window to their world — their beliefs, traditions and customs,” says Priya, who has been instrumental in ushering them into the world of art.
Experiments with paint
When she joined the school two years ago, she found pictures drawn using stone on the rocky patches outside the school. “These were pictures of elephants, trees, birds and my home’. That one sentence helped me understand him and how emotionally connected he is to the jungle.”
Nimisha has had a happening year in 2023 with the actor making her debut in Tamil and Hindi films and topping it with the multilingual Poacher, streaming on Prime Video.
Last seen in Malayalam in Dr. Biju’s Adrishyajalakangal, Nimisha has been busy making a mark in Tamil cinema.
SU Arun Kumar’s Siddarthstarrer Chithha,was followed by Karthik Subbaraj’s Jigarthanda Double X.
On her long absence from Malayalam cinema, she says, “That is because I am exploring different characters. The characters I am getting in Tamil cinema and Mumbai are very different from what I have done so far.”
After the threefilm anthology Lantrani on Zee 5, next up for Nimisha is Dhaba Cartel, a Netflix web series, starring Nimisha with Shabana Azmi and others. Although tightlipped about her character, she talks about her fan girl moment while acting with Shabana Azmi. “I got goosebumps. It was like a dream come true working with her. ” Nimisha has much to look forward to in 2024. “There is a Tamil project, one Bengali film and one British Indian project, Footprints on Water.”