‘Geethopadesham’ on cork sheet, a wood carving of fisherwoman, the Gomu paintings, crystal horse, murals of Shakuntala, Mohini, Tanjore paintings, oil painting of Hamsa Damayanthi and Ganapathi. These are just a few of the exhibits at the exhibition, being organised by the Continuing Education Sub Centre (CESC), Government College for Women, Vazhuthacaud.

A wide variety of orchids is also available for sale, including orchids with smell, called Cattleya, in the shape of a butterfly etc.

‘’These imported species of orchids are mainly used for ornamental purposes and the flowers of some species will last for around three months and the orchids are very easy to grow at home if you know the little secrets such as some species do not require soil to grow and they require only a limited amount of water,” says K Prassannakumaran, teacher, Government College for Women, who owns a very large collection of orchids himself.

The exhibits belong to students of CESC, who include small children, housewives and working women. The works of students as well as teachers are displayed in the exhibition and they are available for sale also.

The exhibition offers a world of wide variety of paintings, namely nib painting, fabric painting, texture painting, aluminium foil work, charcoal stumping etc.

The exhibition also includes some rare pieces of North Indian murals called Madhubani and Warli and of a Japanese art work called icing on canvas.

“Mural and oil paintings have more demand in Kerala than other kinds, the people here are least aware of other kind of works such as Tanjore painting, which is a temple art prevailing in parts of Salem and Tanjore,” said Anita S Nair, who teaches painting at the CESC. 

Tanjore paintings are made using 28-carat gold foils, Tanjore stones, American diamonds etc. The paintings are priced between Rs 300 to 15,000 and the price varies according to the cost of the material.

The exhibition also includes the sale of dresses designed by the students of fashion designing at CESC, soft toys made by the small children,  sarees with mural paintings, trendy and artificial jewellery, hand-made bags, crochet works, glow packs and henna packs.

Sarees with mural paintings are in high demand. The saree collection also includes those with hand embroidery and screen print.

Devi, a housewife and an ex-student of CESC says, “I have learnt around ten courses here and they have helped me to realise my talents.”

Along with orchids baskets, Vandas, Euphorbia, Adenium and Gerbera are also available for sale. The exhibition is on from May 19 to 22.

‘’The amount collected will be used for the promotion of the CESC and we are also planning to start a CESC counter in the college,” said Annamma Jacob, Principal.

CESC conducts around 200 different courses, which include beauty therapy, fashion designing, accounting, mural painting, interior designing,keyboard and embroidery etc.