NOT JUST DELHI, NOIDA GETS PUBLIC ART, TOO

The walls of NTPC underpass in Noida have a tale to tell of Kalpavriksha in Patachitra

As a Delhiite, if you take pride in your city’s street art, then you might want to venture further because now Noida’s walls are going to look creative, too. Of late, if you got a chance to cross the 640-metre National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) underpass, then you must have spotted a dash of colour on its usually bland walls. Well, that’s because now Noida is getting a taste of public art; and the first in this line is this underpass located at the crossing of sectors 25A, 24, 33A and 22.

Villagers celebrating, soldiers riding elephants, people praying to Lord Ganesha are some of the images that have come up on the walls here. Contours of Kalpavriksha (wish-fulfilling tree) have also been formed. All this work is by two artists — Kunal Jain and Laxman Singh Bisht — who are executing this project, which is a collaboration between Noida authorities and a private museum of art in Delhi.

Rajeev Tyagi, GM of the Noida authority, says that the idea behind introducing art to Noida’s walls was simple: “People from pan India are here, and we wanted to accustom them to the rich heritage of Indian art. Also, maintenance was becoming high, so we thought let’s do something creative.” He adds, “Since the artists started working on this project, and even before the inauguration of the renovated underpass, people stopped over to click selfies with the artwork in the backdrop.”

The artists — alumni of Jamia Millia Islamia university — feel elated to be part of this project. Artist Kunal Jain, 29, from Delhi, says, “It took us around 22 days to complete this artwork.” Laxman Singh Bisht, 28, a resident of Faridabad, who took care of the design layout, says, “On site, there were around 10-12 artists daily, who worked from 5.30am to 8.30pm, and even late night.”

The artist duo has earlier created public art in other parts of the Capital including Nehru Park and a flyover near Delhi Gate. According to sources, there are a total of 22 projects on similar lines that will be taken up to redo Noida’s walls, including some of the metro stations in this NCR. But, the authorities aren’t disclosing the details.

Soldiers riding elephants and people praying to Lord Ganesha are some of the artworks seen on the underpass located at the crossing of sectors 25A, 24, 33A and 22

Artists Kunal Jain and Laxman Singh Bisht took around 22 days to complete the Patachitra artworks on walls