Awed by the Ashtamudi Lake since their childhood, school students, Aswin G and Abhirami R decided to immortalise it on canvas. So, the two sketched the lake and displayed their creations at an exhibition in Kollam recently.
In fact, the duo created and displayed forty creations in water colours at an exhibition called Ashtamudiyude Nerkazchakal. The exhibition was dedicated to the noted writer, Kakkanadan, who loved Ashtamudi, and was inaugurated by his wife, Ammini Kakkanadan.
One can see the clear reflection of the lake in every piece of art on display. The duo take visitors on a virtual tour of the lake with their creations. The exhibits depict the serene beauty of the lake, including fishing crafts, house boats, mechanized boats, ferry boats, and passenger boats. Some paintings show Chinese fishing nets and traditional fishing scenes and people making coir.
Aswin travelled in country boats around the lake to sketch the views from various locations. His grandfather, Gopalakrishna Pilla, inspired him a lot he says. Travelling around the lake with his grandfather since he was seven, Aswin aptly observed the changes the lake has gone through.
“I noticed a drastic change taking place along the shores of the lake in a short time.
The lake is getting polluted and its shores are losing natural beauty. The greenery has changed into coloured concrete buildings. So I decided to dedicate this work to the lake that I love very much,” said Aswin G. a class ten student of S. N. Central School.
“The Ashtamudi Lake is a part of my daily life since it is very close to my house. I used to visit the lake often. It took about a year for me to complete these paintings,” said Abhirami R., a class eight student of Maria Agnes School.
Abhirami marks her identity in every piece of art work by using violet, her favourite colour, somewhere in the picture. Abhirami says that she is inspired by her parents, B. Muraleedharan Pilla and K. S. Radhika, and aspires to become an IPS officer. She has already won a quite a few prizes in painting competitions.
