Beautifying Malleswaram: How a citizen group used art to reclaim public space

A mural created under the 'Malleshwaram Hogona' (Let's got to Malleshwaram) initiative.

A mural created under the 'Malleshwaram Hogona' (Let's got to Malleshwaram) initiative.

Walkers on the streets of Malleswaram will be in for a colourful treat with the display of flamboyant murals capturing the essence of the locality.

Created under the ‘Malleshwaram Hogona’ (Let’s go to Malleswaram) banner, the murals are an initiative of the ‘Walkable Malleshwaram Project’, taken up by a citizen’s collective ‘Bengaluru Moving’ and the artist group Geechu Galu.

The idea to beautify the lanes with street art and make it pedestrian-friendly emerged following a walking audit of Malleswaram in the last week of February to identify and reclaim conservancy lanes and footpaths in the area.

“These artworks can help the streets appear more friendly. Since the project is carried out with the local community’s help, it increases the sense of ownership”, said Mallika Arya, senior campaigner at the collective.

A group of 13 artists from both within and outside of Geechu Galu created the murals adorning the conservancy lanes on either side of 6th Main Road and the lanes running along Margosa Road.

Work for 12 murals began on April 1; eight have been completed since. The project had been halted after a couple of artists tested positive for Covid-19.

Geechu Galu’s creative head Yash Bhandari said the local community has been supportive.

“Folks at Seva Sadana sent us watermelons every day while we were at work and many others provided refreshments,” he revealed. Bhandari said murals are the best way to highlight stories of the area that need to be told. “The idea is also to create a new vision for Malleswaram.”

Artists involved in the project said they drew inspiration from their own experiences of Malleswaram.

Shreevyas, who created the work titled ‘Gejjeya Nadha’, said he wanted to create a representation of the music and dance scenario in the locality since Malleswaram is home to many music and dance schools.

“Malleswaram was home to a large population of sparrows,” recalled Spandana Vella, creator of ‘Malleswaram Sparrows’. “Now, with the advent of urbanisation, their population has shrunk. I wanted people to remember these birds and not forget them.”

Other murals decorating the streets such as Parameshwar Waran’s ‘Pourakarmika’, depicting a woman sanitation worker, added a touch of realism, while Saksham Verma’s ‘Greetings from Malleswaram’ captured the friendly side.

Abhijeet Rao’s ‘Post it’, a work in progress near the local post office, will be a letter either from the past or the future to the residents of Malleswaram written by the ‘Malleswaram Social’ group. Once completed, this work will be seen as an interesting addition to the already growing collection of murals.