Let’s take a virtual walk
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: You’re treading your way through a jungle, you hear the leaves rustling and birds chirping. You spot your destination, a ‘Sarpa Kavu’, but before capturing the entire footage, a snake slithers up to you and you flee in horror. The fallen camera captures the rest, elevating your senses and transporting you to another realm. Dubai-based Ajai Poovadan Kuruvankandy, who works in 3D architectural visualisation, created ‘Sarpa Kavu’ as the fourth cinematic animation in his series titled ‘The Walk’. A few weeks ago, his second animation ‘A Rainy Day in Kerala’ went viral on social media platforms, with several reminiscing the monsoon showers in Kerala, an unattainable luxury now, for those living abroad. The video was shared by the department of tourism’s official social media handles (Kerala Tourism).
“During the pandemic-induced lockdown, I terribly missed my land, my parents and the monsoon showers. That nostalgia led to ‘A Rainy Day in Kerala’ with its abundance of greenery, replete with paddy fields and everything symbolic of home. On its release, I received a flattering response, especially from Keralites who live in the Gulf. They highlighted that the scenario felt rather real, as though the audience themselves strolled through the path. I was immensely happy with the responses as I intended to make the video as real as possible, with even the imperfections, as the world in itself is beautifully imperfect and evokes a sentiment,” says the Thalassery native.
A few filmmakers had gotten in touch with Ajai, wanting to know if the same could be replicated in movies and Kerala Tourism wanted his permission to share the video.His first clip in the series ‘A Cabin in the Woods’ delved along the lines of the lockdown as well. “Everyone was stuck inside their houses. In this video, the person walks around in his cabin, amid nature. The second, third and fourth videos are purely modelled on Kerala. The third video, ‘Kulam/House Pond’ is modelled on the concept of ponds that were an integral part of traditional houses in Kerala. Many elderly viewers got back to me after watching ‘Kulam’ and ‘Sarpa Kavu’, mentioning that these videos took them back in time,” says an elated Ajai.
Ajai has utilised his hobbies such as photography, painting, travelling and an innate interest in design technology to develop the videos. “Traveling greatly enhances your observation skills. This triggered a passion for photography in me. Dabbling in wedding photography helped me visualise. Also, I’ve been painting for a long time. These hobbies and skills of mine came in handy while making the videos. If you keenly listen, you’ll hear a multitude of sounds in these videos. Sound design has been extremely important. A lot of effort has been put into recreating the ambience in ‘The Walk’ series,” he says.
Working in Archcorp Architectural Engineering, Ajai has used the same software that he has been using for work — Lumion 3D Rendering Software. “The real purpose of the software is to visualise buildings and is meant for architects. What I’ve done in my videos using the software was unattempted before,” Ajai quips. Ajai plans to continue creating such experiences for viewers but with various twists. “Change is imminent. Only change can draw people towards your content,” he adds, referring to the climax in ‘Sarpa Kavu’. His works can be found on Instagram as ajai_poovadan and on YouTube as Ajai Poovadan.