A striking gift of memories

KOCHI: Painting murals on canvases and mud pots have been a passion of Thiruvananthapuram-native Mini Pillai. For the homemaker, art is an escape from the boredom of life. Today, Mini is thrilled as her daughter Rugmini Narayan is bringing works to a digital platform as a Mother’s day gift to her.  “I feel shy to exhibit my works to the public or post them on social media. It was Rugmini who was adamant. Now, I wish to inspire more women like me who wants to utilise their times fruitfully by exploring their skills,” she says.

Mini started her quest to learn mural art during her 50s. While watching a craft show on television, she got attracted to the vibrant and intricate drawing style. She then proceeded to perfect her style by taking a two-month mural painting certificate course under the guidance of artist Nancy Fernades in Nalachira. 

The mural artist follows the traditional style and is in love with the Radha-Krishna concept, which appears in most of her works. “The first drawing I wanted to try was of Krishna and Radha inside Vridhavan sitting on a swing. The one-meter-long mural work is still kept in my house. Some of my favourite works are of a dancing Ganapathi, which I have kept to gift my daughter Rugmini on her house warming ceremony, and Anantha Shayanam, which features 36 faces of god and goddesses,” she adds.

Filled with myriad hues and intricate brush strokes, Mini has also found a knack for murals on pots. For the artist, it is also the most difficult medium. “Usually, we use two to four feet long earthen pots for murals. They are hefty to hold,” says Mini.

The social media handle ‘Shangholee’, created by Rugmini, now proudly displays Mini’s works. “Due to the Covid restrictions, we can’t organise an exhibition. So I want to show the world the beautiful works of my mother. They are amazing artworks even though she is just a homemaker. The social media page is my gift for her on this mother’s day,” concludes Rugmini.
Get a glimpse of Mini Pillai’s artworks on @shangholee15