Malayalam calligraphy work finds place in China museum

Thiruvananthapuram: “Koodeyalla pirakkunna nerathum….” one of the most popular and philosophical lines from poet Poonthanam’s ‘Jnanappana’ can now be seen in calligraphic form on a stone at a museum in China.
The work by Malayali artist Narayana Bhattathiri has been prominently displayed in Shijiazhuang stone museum at Heilongjiang province in China.

This will be the first Malayalam stone engraving at the museum and the second Indian language calligraphy to be featured there. The lone Indian calligraphy in the park so far was that of Rabindranath Tagore.

Bhattathiri met the director of the museum when he went to receive Jikjy International Award for best calligraphy work, instituted by South Korean government last year. It was following the request of the director that Bhattathiri sent his work to the museum.

Instead of using paper or canvas as medium, the museum engraves calligraphy works in stone to ensure durability.

One of the most sought after calligraphy artist in the state, 59-year-old Bhattathiri’s three calligraphy works are permanent exhibits at Cheongju Culture Centre in North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. A native of Pandalam, Bhattathiri is known for title works for popular novels of writers including M T Vasudevan Nair, O V Vijayan and M Mukundan. He has also worked for titles of movies by director Padmarajan. Bhattathiri has also worked on titles of recent films ‘Ennu ninte Moideen’ and ‘Clint’.