The Writing on the Wall

Updated on: Friday, January 27, 2012

The one-kilometre wall near the picturesque Goshree islands and enclosing the Vallarpadam container terminal is a colourful spectacle with over 200 sketches.

No, this is no New-Age art experiment by Kochi’s artistic community but only the result of a humble effort by students from different schools of the district. Their aim: to spread awareness to build a healthier and happier society.

“Usually it is the elders who try to instil moral values in the little hearts. But here, it is the children who are sending all those messages through the sketches. I’ve taken the pain to stop by the highway and read carefully the messages that are very relevant in today’s world,” Vypin Passengers’ Association President Francis Chammany, a resident of Ochanturathu, says.

He goes on to add that the sketches are actually recreations of the paintings done by school children and that they are a big hit with the locals and passersby.

“Some of them are really informative,” he says, pointing to one of the pictures – “A tree that has a life of 100 years removes one tonne carbon dioxide during the same period.”

One of the talented artists is Shehnaz K Salin, a class nine student of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Port Trust.

He says that he and his friends did those paintings as part of a competition held by DP World.
“Some of us really were upset over the daily carelessness and how badly we treat our Mother Earth. We decided to participate in the competition but never thought they would be displayed to the public in this way. Now, we’ve the satisfaction that we have been able to do our bit while passing through the Goshree Bridge.”

“There is no doubt that these children are extremely talented. I’m finding it difficult to recreate their works on the wall. But what really touched me were the messages they tried to convey through the colours. It really rejuvenates me,” said Maxi (50), a professional artist who was one of those who recreated their works.

“We created the messages based on our day-to-day observations. But when all the works were displayed on the wall we understood that it’s the theme that actually makes a work attractive,” says Jiny Antony, class VIII student, St Mary’s High School, Vallarpadam, whose work is also displayed on the huge
wall.

An official of the DP World said the competition was held for the city schools with conservation of Earth as the main theme.

“We received close to 500 works. We thought a lot of them are relevant to the society and gave them a display so that the messages go to those intended. For that we appointed four to five professionals who recreated the works,” the official said.

The Writing on the Wall

More Education news