CHENNAI: Images expand your vision of thinking; if a thought cannot be explained it is better to visualise it. Bringing this thought into action are United Being Foundation and Mosi Arts, who along with the NSS team of Madras Christian College painted wall art on the Mudichur Flyover in lieu with their initiative of beautifying Tambaram. This is an addition to the already existing meaningful artworks created on the city walls as part of Singara Chennai 2.0.
The initiative is titled ‘Vridhagami’, which means growth of the future. The paintings intend to showcase the landscapes and people of Tamil Nadu to raise awareness about the state’s innovation, lifestyle and traditions. Vamsi Raju, founder of the NGO, is a student of Botany at MCC. “So far we have covered over 20 government schools and anganawadis in Chennai. We also take up public walls and this is our second one; the first was at Gandhi Nagar bus stand in Adyar and it was on unity in diversity,” he said. They then presented the idea to the principal of MCC with the help of Prince Annadurai, a professor in the Sociology department, and his sub-inspector friend from the Corporation. Soon the project took shape.
“This project talks about the traditions in Tamil Nadu. We see our culture fading, so why not portray and send a reminder to the people of our roots? When we approached the Corporation with this idea, they seemed happy,” added Vamsi. Art works on paraiattam, kozhi sandai, silambam, karagattam and jallikattu adorn the walls of the Mudichur flyover. The national bird and animal also find their presence.
The bridge was just an NGO-approved event but the student volunteers from NSS-MCC wanted to show their love for the city, as these walls are adjacent to their college. “They are all being painted by the student volunteers of NSS-MCC. To our surprise, around 40 volunteers turned up. It’s not about being an expert, it comes with participation. NSS is not always about cleaning the beach or holding rallies in the city. We do come up with a lot of fun events,” said Ananya Sreenivasan, an NSS volunteer from MCC. To give colour to a wall, the entire section is painted white and split into different sections. The drawing that will be displayed on each segment is given its unique backdrop colour. “It took almost two hours for all the students to do rough sketches on the walls with chalk. Once that was done, each one took their time to get the best colours,” said Vedhapriya, a BCA student.
The student volunteers were guided by Moses Paulraj, founder of Mosi Arts, who did the rough sketches and let them fill in the colours. Moses is also a student of MA Communication at MCC. Every picture on the wall had a narrative, highlighting a part of our dwindling culture, while adding colour to the city. You’ll find all the parts of your childhood that you miss when you pass the bridge. While the painting on one part of the wall is done, work on the parallel wall will begin soon.