Mangaluru: Alumni and students of St Aloysius Aided School have turned the summer break into a cultural revival initiative, recreating Chittara on their campus.The initiative, led by arts teacher Rachana Suraj, took nearly two months. At a time when long vacations leave parents worried about excessive screen time, students chose to engage in a hands-on activity rooted in heritage and creativity. Rachana said the idea was to keep students meaningfully occupied while introducing them to a lesser-known local art form. The team initially considered Warli art but shifted to Chittara, to focus on tradition native to Karnataka.“There was a proposal for Warli art, but it belongs to Maharashtra. We wanted something of our own, so we chose Chittara. It was challenging, but the students were eager to learn and recreate it on the campus walls. We trained them first, and they carried it forward with confidence,” she said.Work had to be paused at intervals as the school was also a examination centre, and the summer heat also posed challenges. A team of 15, including alumni and high school students, spent the past month painting Chittara designs along the campus wall and drawing attention to an art form that is gradually fading from public memory.Chittara, also known as Hase Chitra, is a traditional art form of the Deevaru community in Karnataka, reflecting local culture, customs and a close bond with nature. Though native to the state, it remains relatively unfamiliar along the coastal belt and is now rarely seen beyond a few interior districts.The style features simple geometric patterns like circles, triangles and squares, arranged into elegant compositions, along with motifs drawn from rural life, including flowers, animals and village scenes.“We did extensive research, and the support of the management and principal made it possible,” Rachana said.Alumna Greeshma said the project offered a meaningful way to spend the vacation, while school director Fr Benjamin Pinto stressed the need to preserve traditional art forms.
