’It looks like new’
Mumbai slums get colourful makeover.
MUMBAI:
Mumbai’s slums are getting a colourful makeover thanks to an organisation that aims to change how people perceive deprived areas in India’s financial capital.
Volunteers have transformed some 12,000 homes across four different areas in the city of 20 million people into a bright visual spectacle.
Artists have also created elaborate murals as part of the initiative by non-profit group Chal Rang De, which means “Let’s Go Paint”.
“We wanted to change the way people look at slums in Mumbai,” the organisation’s co-founder, Dedeepya Reddy, said.
“When you say ‘slums’ all you think about are the negative things, the dirtiness. That becomes a reflection of the people who stay here but it’s not the case.
“They are amazing people, they are very happy, and we wanted their locality to be a reflection of who they are,” she added.
Around 40% of Mumbai’s population live in slums, according to various estimates. The settlements are typically cramped and structures are often dilapidated and lack access to proper toilets.
Chal Rang De was born last year when Reddy had the idea to paint the outside of homes in the gloomy hilltop slum village of Asalpha in the north of the city.
Some 750 volunteers answered a call on social media to help brighten up the area by painting homes in a rainbow of colours.
Some in the city now even refer to the area as Mumbai’s “Positano”, after the Italian town which has buildings with equally vibrant facades.
The group then turned their attention to three neighbouring settlements in the northern suburb of Khar. Almost 3,000 volunteers turned up over two weekends last month.
“It gives so much hope that people want to do something for society. It’s so simple, you take a paintbrush and feel like you can change the world,” said Reddy.
“There are now lots of colours in our area. It looks like something new and is like a gift for us,” 30-yearold Sanjay Naresh Gaikar said outside his newly painted home.
Mumbai’s slums flood during the
annual monsoon from June to September. Large areas of the city turn blue as residents place tarpaulins over their corrugated iron roofs to try to keep out heavy rains.
Chal Rang De has teamed up with a waterproofing company to lay special material that will prevent leaks for up to five years.
After the monsoon ends, Chal Rang De will start planning ways to transform its next slum.
“When you see something that looks like an eyesore, it looks like a canvas to us. We want to colour the entire country,” she said. — AFP