The walls of hope

In the jungle of concrete that we live in, it’s a blessing to see colour around. Thanks to the various talented street artists in the City, this has been possible to an extent. If you pass Lingarajapuram, opposite Dr SR Chandrashekhar Institute of Speech and Hearing, chances are you will note a group of engrossed youngsters beautifying an old wall.

These youngsters, who are part of a group called ‘Scenes’, have been working on this wall, that belongs to the Baha’i community, for a few days now and the results are vibrant and gorgeous.

The idea came to Sachin Jerry George, who works as an audio transcriptor. “‘Scenes’ is actually a realm of thought and when I thought of the concept, I called all my friends. The idea behind it was to make a canvas available to people,” he notes. The group started by first cleaning the wall and now, many beautiful paintings adorn the wall. The work on it is still in progress and some of the artists involved in the project are Tia Raina, Nikita Anna Skariah, Shilpa Sebastian and Andrew.

The best part of the project according to these artists is that each one can showcase his or her strength. So while Andrew, an abstract artist, has drawn an abstract painting which people interpreted in various ways, Shilpa, a content writer who likes to paint nature, has adorned the wall with green leaves.

“Nature is the only religion I believe in. I am glad I got a chance to showcase what I am passionate about and this has been one of the best experiences by far,” she says. What distinguishes this project from the other street art, according to her, is that it’s open to all. “It’s a collage and anyone can be part of the experience. One day, we had a family with two kids painting it,” she says.

Andrew, who enjoys painting abstract art, likes to know what people think of his art. “I don’t want to give people a definite meaning of art. It is fun to learn their interpretation. I get inspired by the people I meet and life, in general. For this piece, I had someone telling me that it looks like a ball. Then there was another instance where a kid walked up to me and said that it looks like an ice cream with many flavours.”

Though all these youngsters have had a tryst with art before, this is the first time that they are dabbling with street art. Tia Raina, a corporate communication professional, says, “Everyone in the group has two things in common — they are dabbling with street art for the first time and their love for the area. Though I don’t live here anymore, I used to earlier and just love the place.”

One of the youngest artists in the group, 18-year-old Nikita Anna Skariah’s work catches one’s eye. “The person in the artwork is actually freeing a bird which represents all animals that are trapped by humans and there is a tree or plant in the person’s head representing his thoughts as well as how there are hardly any trees in this concrete jungle,” she says.

“I got suggestions from people who passed by which made me think about adding meaning and proper depiction,” she adds. “The basic idea behind my work is to free nature as there are too many buildings around. If we don’t express ourselves creatively, the world will be a dirty place.” 

The work on the wall is still in progress and the group is getting a great response. However, the attitude of some people bothers Nikita. “Some of them laughingly ask us if we are getting paid for it. While some suggest that there are dirty walls in other areas that need beautification. But we have got some really good feedback too,” she says.

In the end, for Sachin, who started it all, the main goal is to restore the lost glory of the City. “Bengaluru has lost much of its tree cover and it’s high time we give back to the City, what we have taken from it. We need to keep it beautiful at least for our children,” he says. 

For details, visit their Facebook page ‘Scenes.’