Collectorate building wall turns into mural painting hub

In a unique initiative, a district administration office has portrayed the history of the district on its walls in Kerala, giving visitors a glimpse on the rich legacy of the place.
Seeking to shed the conventional dull outlook of government office, Pathanamthitta district administration has made the four-storeyed collectorate building a canvas of mural paintings.
The paintings, that portray the rich culture and history of the area on the banks of the sacred Pampa river, spread over 100 square feet area along the walls adjacent to the staircases from the ground floor to the top floor of the building.
District collector S Harikishore said the murals give a mind-nourishing experience to the visitors here who come to the office seeking solution for various issues.

"I think, this is for the first time in the country that a district administration office is portraying the history of the district on its walls," he told PTI.
He said the project was implemented under its 'Mukham' project launched to ensure cleanliness and beautification of the collectorate complex.

Suresh Muthukulam, chief artist of the Aranmula-based Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam, was behind the innovative undertaking.
The top floor of the building has the painting of hillock shrine of Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala, located in the district.
A number of unique features of the district and historical episodes witnessed by the place including century-old Maramon convention (one of the largest Christian convention in Asia), Hindu Maha Sammelanam of Cherukolpuzha, the ritualistic 'Thookkam Vazhipadu" (an offering) and 'Padayanai Kolams (a traditional folk dance and a ritual art) the 'Palliyodams' (boats) of Aranmula and the Parthasarathy Temple are figured in the mural paintings.

Noted personalities who find place in the wall mural include 14-th century Kannasa poets who penned Kannasa Ramayanam, modernist poet Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan and justice Fathima Beevi, the first woman judge at the Supreme Court hailing from the district.