Malu Kerni
Five students from Music and Fine Arts Department are on a mission to change the face of defaced walls of the city. Armed with brushes, palettes and buckets of colours, they are depicting the Dogra Culture on the walls of Jammu. These young energetic painters can be seen painting the walls with a motto to beautify the walls and make Jammu Clean and beautiful. But public awareness to preserve such works needs education which in general are lacking. Most of the time these walls become public utility for people in hurry. A common scene where men facing walls and relieving themselves. The fear is that these works in times to come would fall victim to such callous attitude of the people.
Mostly defaced and worn-out, the walls of Jammu city will now get a face-lift with Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) coming up with an idea of painting these with scenic beauty, tourists sites and images depicting the cultural heritage of the state.
Talking to STATE TIMES Assistant Commissioner JMC Subha Mehta said, “The project aimed at promoting public art envisages painting of impressive images depicting the rich folk and culture of the state, particularly Jammu region and sceneries of magnificent scenic tourist spots of the division.”
She further added that due to paucity of funds, authorities have roped -in sponsors for funding of the project and also invited local artists to paint on the walls owned by state government. ‘The department will conduct meeting with the local painters and sponsors in this regard and will make sure that all the defaced walls get a facelift and the mission to beautify Jammu becomes a hit,” said Mehta.
Sachin Kumar, a student of Music and Fine Arts said, “I am trying to show the cultural heritage and natural beauty of the state. I was thrilled when JMC approached me to be part of the project because wall painting is best medium of communication and through this special campaign I hope people can see how beautiful our State is.”
Mukesh Kumar, another student and painter shared, “I am happy to be a part of the project. We all 5 students (Jigmeet, Kaneesh, Mukesh, Sachin, Imran) are on a mission to make Jammu beautiful. The only thing that makes us sad is that people here hesitate to participate in such events and projects. We only talk of beautifying places and doing big things but when it comes in reality we hesitate and step back.”