Art on women’s unpaid work wows all

Anujath Sindhu Vinaylal’s painting was selected as cover of gender budget document of Kerala govt

With women’s day around the corner, it is ironical that a painting by a schoolboy in Kerala has gone viral on social media for depicting the unpaid work done by women.

Anujath Sindhu Vinaylal started off like all normal kids; scribbling all over the place with crayons or sketch pens he got. His father did not think too much into it, dismissing it initially as typical kid behaviour. However while most children stop this behaviour as they grew up, Anujath stuck to it.

“Once when I was younger, my teacher asked all students in the class to draw whatever they liked. I drew an autorickshaw and everyone liked it. From then on, the school started sending me for competitions,” says the 14-year-old who has just entered the tenth standard.

His father, Vinaylal, says that while he wasn’t thinking too much about his son’s artistic skills at that time, the teachers at his school (Devamatha CMI Public School Thrissur) pointed out that he drew differently from other kids and should be encouraged further.

The suggestion paid rich dividends. Anujath’s painting, titled ‘My Mother and other mothers in the neighborhood’, was selected as the cover of the Gender Budget document of the

‘Ente Ammayum Ayalvakkathe Ammamaarum’ (My mother and the
neighbouring mothers) was selected as cover of government document.

government of Kerala for the year 2020-2021. It won first prize in an international painting competition conducted by Shankar’s Academy. But sadly, the boy’s mother was no more with him to be able to celebrate his win; she passed away in November last year due to a heart-related disease.

“It was a bittersweet moment for us. His painting depicting his mother and other women won such a prestigious award at a time when we were mourning our loss. I shared the news with my friends on social media,” says Vinaylal.

He credits the viral fame of the picture to the emotive appeal it has. “I didn’t even think of it as his best picture; he has matured so much as an artist since then and makes much better paintings. But I guess the story behind it also caught people’s attention and melted their hearts,” he says.

The family has now fully understood the implications of what it means to “go viral”, laughs Vinaylal. “We have got hundreds of calls from people from different walks of life, from all over the country and even abroad. They call to speak to him, congratulate him and some even wanted to buy the painting.”

“He also gets many visitors personally, some of whom even go to school to meet him. Most of them are mothers, who hug and kiss him and ask him to give them a call if he ever needs something. It’s all very beautiful,” says Vinaylal.

Anujath, who is quite reticent for his age, says he drew the painting when he was around ten and sent it for the Shankar’s International Children’s Competition more than a year ago; the results came out just now.

“We see all such things around us, mothers working and their hardships. I just thought of capturing it in a painting. Never did I expect such a response to it,” says the budding artist, adding that the fame didn’t really bring much pressure since he aims to make every painting better than the last one. He paints in the acrylic medium.

“I am in the tenth standard now so I don’t paint much; I am waiting for the vacations to start. Till then, I devote one hour before bedtime everyday to make simple drawings,” he adds. Apart from painting, he enjoys football, singing and even dancing.

Vinaylal adds that he has told his son to enjoy the fame and popularity but not to let it get to his head.

Family with a history of art

Vinaylal himself is an artist; he has been designing book covers for renowned publishing companies in Kerala for 15 years. He has designed covers of many bestsellers, including books of M T Vasudevan Nair. He has one more son, elder to Anujath, who has finished high school. He draws as well and is planning to join National Institute of Design. Anujath wants to be an artist and plans to join a fine arts college after school.

Future project

Anujath is going to be part of an art show in Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, titled ‘Enikku Chuttum Enthenthu Kaazhchakal!’ (Such wondrous sights around me), where he will display his drawings. “But his name won’t be displayed. It is just to motivate kids to paint and tell them that life is not all about competitions and prizes,” says Vinaylal.