With pride, artists call it once-in-lifetime opportunity

Artists are leaving their creative impressions on walls, overbridges, trees, and boundary walls

- Rajeev Mullick

LUCKNOW: Anticipating the footfall of over 40 crore pilgrims and tourists in Prayagraj during the mega religious congregation of Mahakumbh, every nook and corner of the city is being revamped to rise to the occasion.

Thus, apart from renovation and development works being carried out on war footing here, the open spaces are being transformed into a sort of huge art galleries.

These days, the city is bursting with colours of all shades as artists are busy transforming the walls and open spaces into pieces of artwork.

Right from mythology to meaningful lessons, the themes of these paintings vary covering topics of interest and information.

With an area of 5 lakh square feet allocated under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), artwork focusing on raising awareness about the Namami Gange initiative, plastic-free schemes, river conservation, and environmental protection is coming up across the city.

These efforts are part of a larger plan to beautify the city and promote eco-friendly messages ahead of the massive religious gathering.

In addition to environment awareness, the state government has provided 11 lakh square feet of space for painting, creating a vibrant tapestry across Prayagraj.

"Hundreds of artists are immersed in depicting popular scenes from our Indian mythology, ancient holy scriptures and epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. Students from Lucknow Arts College, BHU, Bharatiya Vidyapeeth, Pune and Allahabad University have majorly left creative stamp on walls, boundaries, pillars of overbridges with their paintings," said an official.

Prayagraj divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant said, "These murals are soaked with cultural, religious, and environmental themes that reflect the spirit of the city and the significance of the Kumbh."