All of us see the sad state of compound walls in the city and complain about the stench or the unsightly bills pasted on them. But Namrata Ramaratnam, Tejas Ramaratnam and Hari Haran B decided to do something about it and came up with ‘The Paintbox’, a Chennai-based initiative that focuses on sprucing up the metropolis’ filthy walls.
The idea occurred to Namrata in 2012 when she teamed up with her brother Tejas and friend Hari to paint the compound wall of their home. They’ve come a long way since. Every weekend, they choose a dirty stretch, clean it and gather volunteers to paint it in bright colours. They bring life to those walls in the hope that people will think twice before dirtying them again.
“The love for our city and art led to this initiative. We want to bring about a change in the way people think about public spaces,” says the 30-year-old graphic designer, Namrata.
ADVERTISEMENT
The volunteers joining them are usually students who share the same passion. Because of The Paintbox’s growing popularity, the number of volunteers is increasing. Says Krithicka, who helped paint the walls outside Mandaveli station, “Though I have volunteered only once, the thought of actually contributing something that will transform Chennai is very satisfying.” We want to bring about a complete attitudinal change in people about the way they use these spaces — ensure an end to littering and urination, and disregard for their surroundings,” says Tejas, a corporate communications professional. The drawings are simple geometric shapes and sometimes the artwork also incorporates poetry.
“'Poetry on Walls' is an initiative in collaboration with Prakriti Foundation. It was started with the aim of bringing art and performance on to the streets. We choose a poem with a lot of care (we have rules and regulations that we follow when choosing a poem), write it on the wall, along with some painting and have a poetry reading session,” explains Namrata.
Enthusiastic school children also take part in this session and recite Tamil poetry. The Paintbox has also painted a few walls as part of the Corporation’s ‘Clean Chennai’ initiative.
ADVERTISEMENT