Students of Patha Bhavan have paid tribute to artist K.G. Subramanyan on his centennial year by drawing a mural in their school based on his illustrations in his children’s books and his mural at Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, where he studied and later taught.

The walls of Patha Bhavan, particularly the boundary wall, have always had murals. This time, the students painted on a wall of the school building.

As one enters through the gate of the Ballygunge Place institution, a “badami-holud (brownish yellow)” mural transports one to Kala Bhavana.

Subramanyan’s mural at Kala Bhavana is called a sada-kalo (black and white) mural. Students of the school felt black and white would make the insides of the school dark.

“Badami-holud is the colour of our school — our classrooms, desks, chairs and even our school logo, designed by the late Satyajit Ray. So, we chose to paint the mural in those colours,” said Class XI student Rudrangshu Hazra. All students from Classes IX to XII pitched in to make the mural, which was completed last year.

Asked how they zeroed in on Subramanyan and his illustrations, Rupkatha, another student, said: “We were thinking of what to paint and we were drawing random figures when we came across KGS’s children’s books In the Zoo and How Hanu Became Hanuman. The illustrations looked very familiar. And when we came to know that 2024 was his centenary year, we decided to do it as a tribute to him.”

Neither Rudrangshu nor Rupkatha has been to Kala Bhavana but they have seen pictures of Subramanyan's mural there. And that is what inspired them.

“We did not really copy his illustrations. We were inspired by his works and did a lot of improvisation and modifications. You will find a Hukomuko Hyangla-type of character in the mural, or you will see the birth of a bird and how it grows and matures in a panel that fits in with the mural as a whole,” said Rudrangshu.

In a school where art, craft, music and dance are a part of the curriculum, and not treated as co-curricular activities, creating murals is also a part of school activities.

The wall painting in the primary school section on Mayfair Road changes every year. Students of Classes IV and V paint the wall during their winter holidays. It is a kind of ritual that Patha Bhavan students go through and it stays with them for the rest of their school days, and perhaps life.

“In our school, art is a very important subject. We hold an annual exhibition of the children’s art works,” said Anup Das, an art teacher at the school.

Cyclone Remal wrecked damage on this nearly 60-year-old institution in Ballygunge Place. A tree fell on the school wall on the night of May 26.

“The outside mural was damaged. We will redraw it soon. The KGS-inspired mural inside is safe,” said Hazra.