Painting the City Orange

The wall at Uday Park in South Delhi was their canvas. One Sunday morning a group of six arrived with buckets of paint and brushes in their pockets,and as the neighbours watched,in eight hours,a garden was planted on the wall — leaves fell off a sprawling banyan tree,birds were perched on wires,and a mug of cappuccino was suspended in this village-meets-urban cafe fantasy world. “It’s colourful and pretty — the kind of surrounding that Delhi lacks,” says Kanika Seth,a graphic designer who is part of The Wall Project that has one mission — to paint one wall,public or private,every weekend. “We want to make the city more beautiful. Its walls are too dull right now,” she adds.

The Wall Project began in Mumbai two years ago. This May,Seth heard of their work and decided to start something similar in the Capital. Once the go-ahead came from the Mumbai head Dhanya Pilo,Seth scouted for volunteers in Delhi. The core team of six includes graphic artists,designers and a public relations manager. “We are really looking forward to people chipping in,” says Seth. This Sunday,they will be painting a 15-ft-long wall near SDA Market,Hauz Khas. A proposal is also being drafted to seek permission from the New Delhi Municipal Corporation to paint the walls at Khan Market and Defence Colony. “We have assured the authorities that there will be no defacing of the walls,which is what graffiti art is associated with,” says Seth.

Heavy political and religious tones too will be avoided. “The aim is not to make a point,but to improve the surroundings,” says Seth. She gives examples of a work in Bandra where paintings of Christ share space with black-and-white portraits of the residents. Another,on a 2.4-km-long wall along the Tulsi Pipe Road,has kitschy patterns,like giraffes looking over cityscapes. “There is no brief. What comes out on the wall is a surprise,” says Seth. Her 10-day-old Facebook account has over 100 members supporting the project. “We hope they join us to paint,” she says.