Digital art print of the original artwork. 
Media: Giclée print on archival paper.
Size: A5
 
At the Napier Museum in Thiruvananthapuram, it would be a mistake not to look up.
The museum is one of the oldest in the country. It was established in 1857, though the present structure was built in 1880 by Ayilyam Thirunal Maharaja of Travancore. Lord Napier, then Governor of the Madras Presidency, commissioned the English architect Robert Chisholm to design it.
The building follows native Kerala architectural forms. But Kerala’s architecture has never been insular. For centuries, it has absorbed influences from those who came by sea. Chinese. Japanese. Arab. European. Trade left its mark. Quietly. Permanently.
The vaulted ceiling is where all of this comes together. Hand-painted panels. Teakwood beams and cross-beams. Muted gold-coloured inlays that catch the light and hold it. Oriental frescoes of flowers and leaves in yellow, red, green and earthy tones sit alongside carved wooden brackets shaped like dragons, holding up the painted beams. The contrast is deliberate. The effect is arresting.
As the light shifts through the day, the colours change with it. The frescoes were painted using natural vegetable dyes. Most of them have endured. Time has touched them, but not erased them. You stand below, looking up, and realise the ceiling is not decoration. It is the museum’s quiet declaration.