Kerala   

Working with an unusual medium

Art’s myriad forms: The replica of the hanging bridge at Punalur crafted by Gopinathan Pillai with coconut palm frond spines.

Gopinathan Pillai from Kalluvathukkal has proved that spines of coconut palm fronds are not meant only for the broom but can be transformed into a thing of beauty with the right initiative.

Converting palm frond spines into artefacts is his self-taught hobby. Mr. Pillai, who retired from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, says that it is an inborn talent that he perfected into an art. Any one will yearn to own the beauties that he create .

According to Mr. Pillai, all palm frond spines do not have the texture to get converted into objects of beauty. The right ones have to be chosen. In fact he has graded them.

Depending upon the size and the structure chosen, it takes between thirty days to seventy days work to fishing one model. His creations include replicas of the hanging bridge at Punalur, houseboats, traditional Kerala houses, temples, chariots, bullock carts and musical instruments.

Ignatius Pereira

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