Setting compact records

KOCHI: Art teacher Sujith Surendran bagged International book of records for painting 111 different themed paintings on CDs When art teacher Sujith Surendran wanted to engage his students with painting activities, little did he know that his attempt would fetch him international recognition. Since the pandemic-induced lockdown had forced kids to stay within their house, 35-year-old Sujith came up with an interesting idea of painting different themes in acrylic on CDs. He got so involved in the activity that he painted 111 CDs, this made him bag a place in the International Book of Records.

“Though I have been teaching art for the past three years at the  Najath Public school at Kalamassery, my journey as an artist began nearly 10 years ago,” said Sujith. According to him, the idea of doing paintings on CDs developed while taking online classes for his students. “I asked them to select varied themes from their surroundings and paint them on the CDs,” he said. 

But things took an interesting turn when he discussed the activity with some of his friends. “They told me to take up the initiative as a personal project and send the work to the record committee. After doing some research I realised that no one has done such an activity that involved different themes in the country before,” he added.

Sujith painted landscapes, Kerala folklore, portraits and social issues. “When I submitted my works with the India Book of Records, they deemed it as exclusive and asked me to submit it to the International Book of Records. According to them, nobody had done anything similar in the world,” said Sujith who was awarded the recognition for making the maximum number of paintings on CDs.