The rooftop revolution

An installation of a black dog sitting on the rooftop of Pavilion Cabral yard is inspired by Thakazhi’s short story Vellappokkathil

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: FThe Pavilion Cabral yard at the Kochi Muziris Biennale has a unique installation on display. There is a black dog sitting on the rooftop and awaiting visitors.

When you pay close attention, however, you will be impressed to know that the installation is in reality a man with a dog’s head. And when you begin contemplating what this is all about, you will be taken aback by the gut-wrenching groaning of a man, coupled with the moaning of the dog.


This short story installation conceived by B  Ramabhadran of K R Narayan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, is inspired from ‘Vellappokkathil’, a short story by Thakazhi.

“The story talks about a Dalit man Chenaparayan, who is forced to leave behind his dog while fleeing from floods at Kuttanadu. Once the water subsides, he swims back to find the corpse of the dog. The moaning of the dog, akin to a human’s desperation, talks about the indefinable threads of existence whether man or animal,” says Ramabhadran.


Hruthu, who was visibly impressed with the art, says, “The installation is novel as it recreates the feel of a story with certain sounds.

The team has managed to present the project without losing the essence of the story.”  Director Jayaraj, who had previously done a short film on the same theme, inaugurated the installation and shared his experiences of shooting Vellappokkathil with the audience.

The art work was by Sruthi EV and Ranjeesh Gopal. Mahesh M K, Sanal Mathew, Jacob Cherian and Amrith Sushakumar have lent the sound effects to the installation while Ajinsha, Unnikrishnan, Rahul Radhakrishnan, Sajeesh Swaminathan dealt with the creative design. - Anamika S Nair

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