'I am Ol Chiki' mural reclaims Santali identity in Santiniketan

A new mural in Pearson Palli, Santiniketan, made for the Bengal Biennale is making a significant cultural statement. Created by artist Mithu Sen in collaboration with Sanyasi Lohar and his team, I am Ol Chiki brings the Santali Ol Chiki script into the public eye. Painted across the mud walls of a rural village, it goes beyond being just a mural, but is a declaration of cultural identity and linguistic survival.

The mural features the Ol Chiki script, developed by Raghunath Murmu, filling the walls with symbols that boldly assert the presence of the Santali language. “We worked in unity,” said one of the children from Sanyasi Lohar’s team, adding, “What we enjoyed the most was the experience of working together because around ten to twelve of us worked with Mithu di.” The communal effort highlights the importance of collective action in preserving and celebrating indigenous cultures.

Santiniketan’s approach to public art, shaped by Rabindranath Tagore’s vision, emphasised it as a transformative, community-centred practice. Staying aligned to this artistic tradition, the mural in Pearson Palli merges art with daily life and is created using local materials that blend seamlessly into the environment, while asserting the position of Santali language in a landscape dominated by Bengali.

Mithu Sen’s project is not just about aesthetics; it is an act of reclaiming space for a language and culture at risk of erasure. The inclusion of modern elements like QR codes and emojis helps bridge generations and literacy levels, making the work accessible to a wider audience.

The accompanying booklet, distributed within the community, further reinforces the mural's message. Saturated in red, the colour of earth and labour, the booklet serves as a symbolic tool for reclaiming language and identity. “The mural and the booklet together remind us that language is not just a way of speaking—it is an act of survival,” Mithu Sen said.

I am Ol Chiki is more than just a public artwork; it is a quiet but powerful reminder of the cultural erasure that many indigenous communities face. By placing Santali at the forefront, it challenges viewers to reflect on the ongoing loss of languages and the importance of remembering and preserving cultural identities. In a world where linguistic invisibility often goes unnoticed, this mural invites the community to look, learn, and most importantly, remember.