Ganjam art college mural showcases ancient Odia culture

Berhampur: Students of Govt College of Art and Crafts, Khallikote in Ganjam district, have erected a giant mural on their campus portraying the ancient culture of Odisha. Around 50 visual art students of the college erected the giant artwork on a 250-ft-tall wall located inside the college campus as a part of the week-long "mural art #orkshop" which concluded on Tuesday under the supervision of Suresh K Nair, assistant professor, department of painting, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Nair attended as a resource person in the workshop and guided students about the wall artwork.
"We have made plaster to around 250-ft long and a slope size of height wall of the college building which functions in the old palace of the erstwhile king of Khallikote. The students have given their drawings in the first two days of the workshop for mural paintings. The experts have selected the drawing for the wall, while Nair has guided and supervised the students in making the mural," said college principal Devi Prasad Dash. Most arts depict the culture of Odisha, including the rich maritime history by creating a giant boat of around 120-ft long, folk arts, temples and Jagannath cult among other things. "The artwork is almost complete. It will take around two more weeks to lend finishing touches to the painting with suitable colour combinations," he said. Dash said it would be the biggest mural in the state after completedMaleswar Patra, tehsildar, and Nair who graced the closing ceremony of the workshop praised the talents of the students for reflecting the Odisha' s culture through the wall painting. Earlier, 26 young civil service trained officers of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, who visited the college two days ago, also praised the students' skills after they witnessed them busy painting the wall.