THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For a beach lover, sunset at Shankhumukham in Thiruvananthapuram is exotic, where golden waters caress the beach stretch, and where heritage and art walk hand-in-hand.
Now, adding to the elegance of the Kanayi masterpiece, Matsyakanya, is an objet d’art set up last week to enchant the public not just towards the finesse of the craft but also to the message it conveys.
The installation is of a huge bird, positioned on the beach near the stone pavilion or the legendary Arattu mandapam. The body of the bird is made of discarded plastic bottles collected by the Haritha Karma Sena volunteers. The message, written on the installation, reads, ‘Hi humans, this nature belongs to us too’.
Corporation official S I Saiju says the idea came after several initiatives were tried on the beach to create awareness, including beach clean-ups.
“We had also arranged for fancy bins to encourage people to use them for waste disposal. Yet, we did not get the results expected. So, this was conceived to spread a strong message.
We have also used thermocol, food containers, and discarded fishing gear. The 15-foot project was made by Hylesh Arts and completed in five days,” says Saiju, the health inspector of Project Secretariat, a corporation unit overseeing sanitation and development initiatives.
A similar structure is also stationed at the entrance of the Kanakakunnu grounds — a child and a butterfly garden — titled ‘Kunjinte Swapnathottam’.
“About 2,000 waste bottles have been used in that. Post the ideation, artists specify the requirements, and Haritha Karma Sena personnel meet them,” says Saiju about how the tasks were handled.
“We are trying to take the idea forward. As of now, the staff from 25 of our circle offices are planning to exhibit the ‘Waste to Art’ pieces created as part of an inter-circle competition,” says Saiju.
At Attingal, the municipality too is joining the bandwagon. Their installation is at a small park at Moonnumukku, a strategic junction in Attingal.
About 100 Haritha Karma Sena volunteers participated in the making of a crow and an elephant. They also worked on creating boundaries for the park using plastic bottles.
“The idea began at a swap shop, primarily to make use of the plastic bottles accumulated there. A selfie point is also set up there,” says Ramkumar M R, Attingal municipality clean city manager.
“The work in the park took about two months to complete and will be inaugurated on June 5,” he says, adding that a similar feat is being planned near the water body at Poovampara.
Haritha Karma Sena collects over 36 tonnes of plastic, part of which can be used for such beautification purposes, Ramkumar adds.
“Similar projects were carried out last year in Nedumangad and at a private school in Neyyattinkara,” says Babitha N C, programme coordinator of the district Suchitwa Mission.
The ‘Waste to Art’ initiatives may add value to Thiruvananthapuram’s inclusion as one of the cleanest cities as part of the Swachh Survekshan project.
“But we aim to drive home the message that it is time civic sense prevails,” he notes, claiming, “in the process, we also get to see a world of beauty that lies in the waste we discard.”