Kerala: Demolition bid on longest cement mural

A portion of the longest Chitramathil (Cement Mural), which received entry in the Limca Book of Records, has been partly demolished by an individual in Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in Kalady, in an attempt to grab the plot of land where the mural is standing.The demolition was however stopped after the intervention of the staff, students and union leaders.

Kalady, in Ernakulam District, is renowned as the birthplace of Jagadguru Adi Sankaracharya . The wall was intended to create awareness on the rich Indian Culture and Tradition.

The 1200x 5 ft. long, unique compound wall around university campus was the creation of artist K.K.Suresh, who was a lecturer in Arts faculty of the University.

The wall, divided into 120 units of 10 ft. each, adorns the scenes from Indian mythology and puranas. Life history of Adi Sankara, 108 karnas from Bharatha Munni's Natyasashtra, scenes from Kalidasa's Sakuntala, Meghasandesha, story of Vyasa and Ma Nishada are also depicted on the Wall.

The sad part of the story is about the creator of this masterpiece. The man who completed the work in record 66 days is not around to protest the destruction of his creation. The University records show that he has been missing since 2004. And the University has removed him from muster rolls on June 20, 2011.
University Vice Chancellor Dr J Prasad told TSI that the demolition was done without the knowledge of the authorities.

"This is a move to block the development of the University. University records clearly show that the individual who had initiated the move had sold his land to the University and now the property belongs to the institution. The demolition, in spite of objections from the University, is highly unacceptable,‘’ he added.
The demolition of mural seems to be a case of property dispute between the University and the person who demolished the wall.

According to reports, a case is already going on in the court about the dispute. The person claims that the land belongs to him but varisity contends that the it has already paid for the piece of land.

"Even an assault on individual property will invite stiff resistance. How dare an individual do this atrocity against a University? Fifteen years have passed, since the mural came into existence. The University authorities did not care to do even maintenance. If the wall was well maintained, no one would have dared to touch it ," University Parirakshana Vedi president K.S.R. Panicker said.

Panicker also said that earlier there were protests against the negligence of the art work and efforts to protect the wall under "Wall Protection Samiti" led by Sukumar Azheekode, V.R. Krishna Iyer and M.T. Vasudevan Nair also did not help.

Meanwhile, connoisseurs of art have heaved a sigh of relief as Aluva Munsif Court has ordered status quo till January 12.