School compound comes alive with Warli paintings

The students of Hale Peresandra Government High School on NH-7 Sadali near Gudibunde have beautified their school compound with Warli art. Warli paintings is one of the most attractive art forms. The class 10 students took up this art exercise to give their school a new and appealing look recently.

Around 25 to 30 students volunteered to paint the school compound under the guidance of their drawing teacher Arun and the supervision of head master Narasimha Reddy. Arun said, “The students mainly focus on drawing pictures based on the lessons in Hindi, Kannada and English textbooks.”

The students have drawn paintings of real life showing people engaged in agriculture, pottery, fishing, dairying and carpentry work. Some of them have drawn paintings of birds, Yakshagana and dance performances too. In all, the school’s compound has received a fresh and colourful look now. Emphasis has been laid on rural aspects in the art work. 

The students, who are engaged such a creative work, never want to drop out of the school. They are creatively engaged and it helps them to concentrate better too, the teachers said.

Also, they will also be motivated to attend school regularly. Paintings that will inspire students to study are the central theme of the Warli paintings on the school walls, they added.

Many schools are trying out new and interesting methods to keep their students engaged and are being recognised for their unique ways of late. The art, originally from Warli in Maharashtra, has become highly popular with the name ‘Warli Art’.

These paintings are related to achievements, lifestyle and uniqueness of their community. They use natural red mud colour as a base on walls and then draw pictures with white lines using slaked lime solution.