Black spot flashed with colours

The Richards Town Residents Association (RTRA) has taken up the initiative to have the Railway wall, which had been a dumping ground nine months ago, painted by children.

The association has received a grant from India Foundation for the Arts (IFA). The project was conducted on November 2 and 3.

In the first phase of the initiative, students of Clarence High School, kids from Richards Town and children of Pourakarmikas were taken for a supervised walk to six iconic places in the area including Heritage Bungalow and the Bangalore East Railway station. The children were given a 20-minute break at each location to observe and sketch what they saw.

Aditya Fernandes, the project lead, assured that at least one drawing from each child’s book went up on the wall in its original and unedited form. “I didn’t want to impose my style but instead create a single composition in which every individual had something to contribute,” he says.

Monisha, a member of RTRA, said the event was the result of the hard work of people from various organisations and walks of life.

The Railway department had got the wall re-built in the first place.

Harish, a BWSSB worker, helped them when water leakage had affected the wall. The BBMP also catered to their needs from time to time, she adds. Community participation shaped the event as well, as it was residents of Richard Town who sponsored the food to the children for two days.

Ryan (13) said more people should come forward to make this city beautiful. He added that he would continue to take up similar initiatives in the future.

Atul, a student of Clarence High School, was seen taking an active part in this project. He was also seen guiding other children with their paintings.

When asked about his view on this project he said that it will reduce littering and encourage people to clean the city.

Like Atul, many children from Clarence supported this project.

Vandana, a pourakarmika’s daughter, was excited to paint the wall which carried her drawing.

“A splash of colours is just what they need in their lives. This is our way of telling that we love the world,” said Ruth Manoj, vice president of Clarence High School, opposite whose school the wall was being painted. The wall being placed in the centre of the traffic junction, Rao Ganesh, the Circle
Inspector says, “Earlier, the garbage was the cause for many accidents. The wall has definitely reduced this.”

In the next phase, the pourakarmikas will paint rangolis on the wall.

The aim remains that having the wall painted would restrict the passersby from throwing garbage there.