Photo exhibition chronicles CKP's journey

The Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat (CKP) has organised an exhibition of photographs to commemorate the birth centenary of former chief minister Devaraj Urs, who played a significant role in setting up of the Parishat.

With around 500 photographs on display, the exhibition gives a glimpse of the journey of CKP, which initially startedoff as Chitrakala Vidyalaya in Malleswaram.

M J Kamalakshi , one of the oldest students to graduate recounted her memories as she stumbled upon couple of pictures in which she is seen with her professors and classmates, way back in 1970s.

“I studied here from 1965 to 1971 and those days, we used to have conferences at Vidhana Soudha due to lack of space. I still remember the days when stalwarts like Da Ra Bendre, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, Devaraj Urs among others visited our campus and interacted with students,” she said. Kamalakshi is also the one who has compiled the pictures for the ongoing exhibition.

K Appajaiah, a member of the CKP committee which organised the exhibition described the event as an ode to Devaraj Urs.

“He had donated the land for the construction of Parishat and even gave financial assistance. It took us three months to curate and put up the exhibition.”

He said that when the institution started, it had only 15 members and now it boasts of 600 students.