Pune: Several painters and artists have joined hands to beautify the walls and large pillars of the city with an aim to spread social and positive message amongst the citizens. Under Swach Pune Swach Bharat (SPSB), the artists are focusing on the walls on Airport Road, BT Kawade Road, pillars of Hadapsar flyover and walls at Solapur Bazaar Road and Gurukul School in Viman Nagar.
The work started from October 2, so that the people who do not care about the cleanliness and spit on the roads and walls, or people who paste stickers on the pillars, may stop doing it.
Meenakshi Putty, an active member of SPSB, said, “We have identified several underprivileged schools in Viman Nagar, a temple in Alandi and many other public areas of the city so that people could get inspired. We are basically targeting schools and public areas where we can create awareness on social issues. The beautification of Airport Road wall is an ongoing process as we only work on Sundays.”
Putty further added, “Paintings depict messages like ‘say no to drugs’, ‘save girl child’, ‘save water’, ‘Abdul Kalam thoughts’, ‘gratitude towards Air Force and Indian Army’, ‘animal abuse’, ‘tradition of Pune’ etc., in addition to famous buildings and monuments.
Yatharth Bibhakar, an artist, said, “I have painted three paintings. They are based on the principle of Yin-Yang, which depicts that the society should maintain balance and the causes which have taken place like global warming, floods, cyclone appeared due to the improper balance maintained by the people in the society.”
Nilanjana Roy, an IT professional along with an artist who painted the Airport Road wall, said, “Rather than having advertisements hoarding, painting is a good option. Along with it as many people commute from Airport area, the positive paintings and social messages painted on the walls could remind the people about their responsibilities.”
Eric Classo, who has designed Graffiti on the walls of the city, said, “I have written quotes using Graffiti to educate people on various topics. By looking at these quotes, not many people would change, but at least some people who really think that there are many negative things happening around the world should stop and positive steps should be taken for it.”
Sandhya Tiwari, a homemaker and painter, said, “I painted on the wall at BT Kawade Road. Now, no one spits on the wall.”