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Mural mystique

PHOTO: R. SHIVAJi RAo

PULSING WITH ENERGY Saju with one of his works

“Nothing new should be added; nothing old should be lost.” That is mural artist Saju Thuruthil’s simple mantra for the painstaking work of art restoration. He ought to know; he has worked with the National Research Laboratory Centre for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC) for years, and has carried out restoration work on the murals that cover the entire circumference of 14 ancient temples in Kerala, including the Ettumanoor, the Padmanabhaswamy and the Srivilliputhur temples.

“You must follow the original style of the old masters, and use the traditional five natural colour pigments — the white base, followed by yellow, red, green and black,” he says.

But there are no such constraints when he creates his own contemporary works — pieces on canvas, in oil, acrylics or even plain charcoal as well as natural pigments — traditional Kerala murals with a modern aesthetic and sensibility. A collection of these murals is currently on display at the C.P. Art Centre, brightly coloured with mythological themes, filled with plenty of movement and expression.

The first piece that catches your eye is an intricate green and rust traditional mural of Lord Ganesha in feminine form. But this unusual painting is not for sale; it hasn’t been for the last 18 years in spite of being displayed at over 25 exhibitions. “I consider it my lucky charm, so I always say upfront that it’s not for sale, says the artist from Kochi who teaches the ancient art at Sri Sankaracharya Sanskrit University.

But others are, such as his award-winning Chayamukhi series, full of sensuous, delicately-coloured renderings of women, permeated with a sense of romance and longing. Inspired by folk theatre he saw in Kolkata, paintings from this series have won him the State Award in Kerala, and are currently on show in Europe.

Then there are the more traditional pieces of gods and goddesses — Mathangi playing the veena, enjoyment evident in her eyes, or the Shankara Parvatheeyam as described by Kalidasa, pulsing with life and energy.

This mix of the modern and the traditional reflects Saju’s own artistic journey —as a young artist with a fine arts degree, he painted portraits to make ends meet, before joining the first batch of the Guruvayur Devaswom Institute of Mural Painting and getting involved in restoration work at a time when the traditional art had been all but lost.

“As Superstar Rajnikanth would say, ‘this is my style,’” says Saju with a smile.

‘Nothing new should be added; nothing old should be lost.’ It may be true of Saju’s restoration work, but as his murals show, sometimes the old and the new can exist in beauty and harmony.

The exhibition ends on June 29.

DIVYA KUMAR

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