Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

A camp to hone intrinsic skills

— Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

Deft hands: A young artist at work at a workshop organised by the State government at the Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nature herself is often portrayed as an admirable artist. People who most assimilate nature’s vicissitudes and adore her are not far behind in artistry.

A painting-sculpture camp for tribal children conducted by the State government at the Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan is designed to polish their artistic fervour and dovetail their marginalised society into the mainstream.

The seven-day camp was inaugurated by Education and Culture Minister M.A. Baby on May 9. The camp focuses on the tribes hailing from Attappadi.

Organisations like Ahads (Attappadi Hill Area Development Society) and the Wayanad-based Uravu played a key role in helping the tribal children participate in this venture.

“The project is the first of its kind in Kerala and we are looking forward to similar camps in the future,” said K.S. Sudha, director and secretary of the Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan.

The 20 students at the camp are being given training in drawing, painting and sculpture. The children also get to listen to lectures by eminent personalities Kanayi Kunhiraman, D. Vinayachandran, musician Parvathi Baul and theatre activist Raghoothaman.

The works of these children are displayed and sold at the Lalitakala Akademi Art Gallery which will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Camp coordinator Sajitha Shankar said that dance, song and other art forms were part of tribal children’s life and they exhibited extraordinary works. “We do not give them any primary training. Our objective is to bring out artistic talents inherent in them. We teach them how to use colours and the different ways of expressing them,” she adds.

Kaali, an Ahads member, said the organisation conducted camps at different “ooru” in Attappadi to identify talented children.

The children seemed to be amused by this fun-filled camp and admitted that the camp was a right platform to improve their talent.

“My talents come out well here and my self-confidence has increased,” said Gopalakrishnan a 10th standard student.

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