Colourful wall art to beautify Paradip

MANOJ KAR

Paradip, Nov. 18: The port town is slowly getting a cultural makeover due to the efforts of the Paradip Port Trust (PPT). Authorities of PPT have embarked on a beautification drive. Many roadside walls wear an ethnic look with murals and patachitra paintings. The artworks and murals mainly highlight the rich maritime history, culture and heritage of this region. Telegraph pictures “The focal point of the exercise is to promote art. At the same time, it’s a concerted effort to give a facelift to defaced walls. Paintings would add to the intrinsic beauty of the fast-growing port town,” said Pravat Kumar Nanda, secretary, PPT. “Our emphasis is to showcase the rich maritime history, culture and heritage of this region through the artworks. We have begun refurbishing the walls with traditionalpatachitra paintings,” said Biplav Kumar, chairman, PPT. “The traditional form of paintings has its own lucid style. The dexterous portrayal of bold lines and bright colours captivate the eye. We’ve seen many school children getting attracted to the paintings. It would enhance creative attributes in their minds,” said Dipti Prakash Pattnaik, an art lover. In the first phase, the compound walls of the buildings owned by PPT are being given a new look with artistic touches. Its cost is being borne by the port trust. Besides this, the port trust has leased out buildings to various public sector undertaking units, nationalised banks, insurance sectors, state government offices and private enterprises. PPT has hired the services of traditional patachitra artists for the purpose of patronising the art form, which is struggling for survival. “We have been asked to depict the rich navigation history of Paradip through our paintings. We’ll also illustrate the tribal lifestyle and culture,” said Narendra Sutar, a patachitra artist. They are being paid Rs 40 per square foot of painting. sourced from the telegraph