NIFT Professor Paints a 'Clean Picture' at Central

CHENNAI:On a stretch of the wall at the  Chennai Central Railway Station, breaking the monotony of the red or (dirtying shades of) white, are a throw of blue, red, orange and varying shades of green.

These hues are part of an art work that has banana plantations, with a few people around them. Seema Kumar, assistant professor of National Institute of Fashion Technology, had volunteered to paint one of the walls at Central Station to help out with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, after a request from Southern Railway.

The walls are being painted to prevent them from becoming dirty, and conserve the heritage structure.

“The idea behind using banana plantations is they are more an indication of India than TN — they connect the North and South. Anybody who comes to the station should be able to relate to the art. Besides, these paintings depict the middle class population,” said Seema.

Being the first to start painting the walls of Central, she worked on the project for close to 30 hours from January 31. The work, according to Seema, is 95 per cent complete, with only the finishing touches remaining.

“I hope people feel happier when they visit the station after the project is complete. Colours impact the mood and brighter hues uplift the mood,” she added.

After the artwork is done, teachers and students from NIFT and representatives from other organisations will go on to paint the remaining walls of the station, according to Govindasamy S, Station Master at the Central Station.

“The professor from NIFT started with the project. Representatives from Max Mueller Bhavan are painting the walls of the third platform. There will be others from NIFT who will help in completing the project,” he said.

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