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Kerala mural art now has a permanent place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum in New Delhi, where paintings by mural artist and art director Basanth Peringode have been installed as a permanent exhibit. According to Onmanorama, the news site of Malayala Manorama, the work is open to the public and President Droupadi Murmu met the artist in person to recognise it.

Kerala mural art is now a permanent exhibit in New Delhi

Basanth Peringode's paintings bring the style of Kerala's temple murals into one of India's best-known official buildings. Onmanorama reports that he was selected as one of a small group of artists from across India commissioned to create permanent installations for the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum. The museum sits within the estate of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India.

To complete the commission, Basanth spent several days living inside the presidential estate. He painted the works there under the direct supervision of museum authorities, according to the report. The finished paintings are now on public view, and Onmanorama notes that thousands of visitors come to the presidential palace every day.

President Droupadi Murmu met the artist in person

President Droupadi Murmu met Basanth Peringode personally to recognise his contribution to Indian art and culture and to express her appreciation for the paintings, Onmanorama reports. A photograph published with the article shows the President looking at the murals at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The outlet describes the recognition as a sign of the rising national profile of traditional Kerala art forms.

Who is Basanth Peringode?

Basanth Peringode is a mural artist from Peringode in Koottanad, Kerala, whose career spans traditional painting, teaching and film. He previously served as a faculty member at the Shree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in Kalady. He is also known in the Indian film industry, where he has worked extensively as an art director and production designer.

His paintings have appeared in numerous national and international exhibitions, according to Onmanorama. His work has also been included in major airport beautification projects across India, putting imagery drawn from regional heritage in front of travellers.

What is Kerala mural art?

Kerala mural art is a tradition of wall painting associated with the temples and palaces of Kerala in southern India. The paintings typically depict stories from Hindu mythology and the epics. They are recognised for warm, earthy colours such as ochre, red, yellow and green, bold outlines, and richly ornamented, stylised figures. Traditionally, painters worked with pigments made from natural materials.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan installation moves this temple-wall tradition into a national museum. The Onmanorama report does not list the subjects, number or size of Basanth's paintings.

Why this matters for people who follow murals

For people who follow mural culture, the story is a reminder that the word mural covers far more than spray paint on city walls. Kerala's temple murals come out of a long devotional and courtly tradition, and they are now presented in a national museum as commissioned public work.

Basanth's career also shows how a traditionally trained painter can move between very different spaces: temple-style walls, film sets and airport terminals, each of which puts wall imagery in front of large audiences. Many contemporary street artists follow a similar path between gallery commissions, public walls and commercial work.

What to look for

Visitors to the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum can look for the hallmarks of the Kerala style: firm outlines, warm earth tones and densely decorated figures. Comparing those features with contemporary murals is a useful way to see where older decorative traditions and today's wall art overlap and where they part ways.

Travellers passing through Indian airports can also watch for murals that draw on regional heritage, although Onmanorama does not name the specific airports that feature his work.

If you photograph murals in public places, in India or anywhere else, you can pin them on the Wallscape map so other people can find them.

Source: Onmanorama