Capturing hues of Khasak on canvas

Thiruvananthapuram: An exhibition of paintings that captures the myriad moods of the village, Thasrak, the remote village of Palakkad which was the setting for O V Vijayan’s magnum opus Khasakinte Itihaasam, is on display at the Lalithakala Academy Art Gallery, Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan.
Nineteen paintings by artist Salim Babu are showcased at the exhibition titled ‘Mindscapes of a Reader’. According to Babu, the exhibition is a tribute to the legendary Vijayan and his novel.

Babu said that the paintings were based on the novel. “There hasn’t been a novel in Malayalam literature which has influenced readers like Khasakinte Itihasam. I have read the novel many times and loved it. I have only attempted to convert with paintbrush what O V Vijayan portrayed through words in this timeless classic,” he said. “The text itself provides a lot of images and I worked on the basis of those observations. Chethalimala, Koomankaavu, residents and palm trees of the village are all part of the paintings,” he said. All the paintings, based on major incidents depicted in the novel, carry footnotes featuring original quotes of the respective scenes. The entire 19 paintings were completed in about six months.

This is Babu’s third exhibition of the paintings. The first one was held at Thasrak in Palakkad in 2016 and another was organized in Kollam in 2017. Artist B D Dathan inaugurated the exhibition on January 1. According to organizers of the exhibition, a majority of the visitors were readers and fans of the novel.

Poet Sasidharan Kundara, who visited the venue, said that the exhibition offers a feeling of nostalgia for the readers who love the work.

Entry to the exhibition is free and open on all days from 9:30am to 5:30pm. The exhibition will conclude on Tuesday.