THRISSUR: For lovers of spectacle, this year’s Thrissur Pooram will be remembered as much for its restraint as for its rituals, overshadowed by the Mundathicode explosion at a firecracker unit linked to a Thiruvambady licensee. With the festivities scaled down and Kudamattam curtailed to 15 minutes, the mood found an unusual expression on canvas.
Artist Francis Kodankandath rendered Kudamattam in shades of grey, departing from the riot of colours that typically defines the ritual, as a tribute to the victims of the blast.
A retired Central Excise official, Francis has been creating live paintings of Kudamattam every year since 2000, capturing the interplay of colour, craft and emotion as parasols are exchanged in rhythm.
“There is a symmetry in all chaos, and I try to reflect that in my work. It is a live process,” he told TNIE.
The artist has often allowed circumstance to shape his work. In 2007, when Kudamattam was halted by heavy rain, he continued painting in the downpour. “It felt less like I was painting, and more like the rain was painting,” he recalled.
This year, however, grief defined the canvas. While he retained the colours of the parasols displayed during Kudamattam, Francis set them against a muted grey backdrop instead of the usual vibrant tones and the Thekke Gopuranada setting.
The work, created live using oil pastels and acrylic on handmade paper, stands as a quiet reflection of a festival marked by loss.