Students learning Mural drawings

These students are proud to safeguard a unique artistic tradition of Kerala. In this scene from Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam, Aranmula, Pathanamthitta, they are engaged in learning mural paintings. Mural paintings are the paintings on walls, ceilings or other large permanent surfaces. The colours used for these paintings are extracted from natural sources like plants and mineral pigments.

Most of the murals of Kerala have religious themes. Murals on the walls of palaces and temples have highly stylized paintings of gods and goddesses from the Hindu mythological texts. Flora and fauna and other aspects of nature are also portrayed.

In Kerala Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam is the only training centre for mural paintings. It is situated at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. This centre offers various courses on mural painting.