No wall in the Government High School building at Guruvayanakere in Dakshina Kannada has now been left without a colourful art work.
Making the best use of the lockdown for two months, a drawing teacher in the school Vishwanath K. Vitla made the campus virtually colourful with his water-based art works. In addition, he asked some students to cover classroom walls with Warli paintings. With this, the school, which recorded 100% result in the SSLC examinations consecutively for eight years till 2018-19, has made a difference among government high schools in the district.
The teacher, who is popularly called as VK Vitla, did the art works covering not only the walls but the roof of the main hall which has a seating capacity of 600 persons. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) built this hall for the school under its corporate social responsibility.
The art works in the hall depict marine life, the sky and Nature. In addition, there are art works showing a meditating Buddha, Janpith award winner Kota Shivaram Karanth with a Yakshagna line art, a mother carrying a child, children studying at home, among others. An art work shows children protecting a tree when it is being cut. The hall has some other mural size works.
A portion of the wall outside the building has been covered with a Yakshagana painting. There is a mural size work showing the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who loved students.
Mr. Vitla has not spared the water tank of the school. The tank has been decorated with a 12 ft high and six ft wide half embossed cement work of Kathakkali. In addition, the school has a nine fit high and 12 ft wide embossed art work of a colourful butterfly among the attractions.
“I painted them from 8.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. during the last two months,” the teacher told The Hindu. He added that it might add to drawing more students to the school. The teacher said that he wants to change art works every two years to break the monotony.
The more than a four-decade-old school has about 350 students and nine teachers.
