The traditional Madhubani art or Mithila painting may not be a familiar one for many at Nedumkandam here. However, the art form is providing a bridge between the flood victims of the State and those in Mithila in Madhubani district of Bihar.
The indigenous and traditional art of Mithila, Warli paintings, and cave paintings are being reproduced not by experienced hands but by students of BEd College, Nedumkandam.
Art is also a subject at the college and 50 students, teachers, and staff have joined hands to reproduce their expressions of nature on the college walls.
It is an artistic expression to link the floods in Kerala with the village of Mithila, which is also affected by floods.
Geographical link
There is also a geographical link to the Warli paintings followed by the tribal people of north Sahyadri range with the cave paintings in the Marayur region of Idukki, on the eastern side of the Western Ghats, said college in-charge and researcher Rajeev Puliyur.
Nature, wildlife, and human beings constitute the main expressions in the three art forms and the students also choose the three as repeated motifs in their works.
The works are also noted for the absence of abstract figures, he said.
Natural colours are used and the style followed in the three art forms have been adhered to. It was decided to decorate the classrooms with Madhubani, Warli, and cave paintings as they are linked to nature and life.
The floods have affected the State with heavy damage to environment. This is also a time to think about conserving nature, he added. .
