That writing on the wall is not graffiti

On May 26 a group of 25 employees from the creative team of an advertising agency in the city came out on the streets to paint the walls that line the Senapati Bapat Margu00a0in Parel Last month members of the creative team of an advertising agency painted the walls at Tulsi Pipe Road as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative Pic Atul Kamble They didnrsquot paint anything objectionable as a mark of protest against the system Neither did they paint something that could be perceived as art The team in fact painted the wall black to make it look like a blank slateboard and drew English alphabets on it Then they drew four lines below them to replicate the stencil books used by kindergarten students to practise the alphabet The activity was part of the companyrsquos corporate social responsibility initiative ldquoWe wanted to work with street children and make it interactive There are several wall paintings in the city that qualify as street art but how many of them actually interact with the public Ten minutes after we finished the project we saw kids coming and writing the alphabetsrdquo says a team member on condition of anonymity The initiative is one of the many that are being undertaken by various companies in the city On May 20 for instance the Tata Housing Development Corporation initiated Mumbai Wallbook wherein 200 artists from across the city came together to paint their vision of their dream city Mumbai on a fivekm stretch along Tulsi Pipe Road The idea was to bring professional and amateur artists on the same platform and create Mumbairsquos longest wall paintingu00a0That project unlike the previous one touched upon issues afflicting the comman man in the city The winning entry brought out the corelation between industrialisation and the environment with a cement grey hand reaching out to a green leaf Hemant Sonawane a participating artist painted a flying rickshaw Sonawane says ldquoThe autorickshaw is a very important means of transport for the common man But with increasing fuel prices and fare hikes a day might come when a ride in the rickshaw will be a luxuryrdquo A wall in New Delhi painted by the graffiti artist who goes by the pseudonym DAKU Pic Courtesy Daku Mumbai is no newbie to street art The Wall Project which started off in 2007 and spread from Tulsi Pipe Road to Mohammed Ali Road introduced the city to the concept of street art Most people however were quick to label the art as graffiti mdash which it is so not say graffiti artists Comparisons between street art and graffiti are inevitable given that they appear similar The two art forms have interacted complemented and competed with each other but street art seems to have won in terms of popularity at least in India The word lsquograffitirsquo is derived from the Italian word lsquograffiorsquo which means gangrelated tagging of a territory and voicing protest against the system Ravi Naidu who goes by the pseudonym Sun1 and has been associated with the Mumbai WallBook says recent projects like the Bollywood Art Project and The Wall Project are a combination of street art and graffiti art He says ldquoGraffiti art involves writing your own name in different styles fonts and colours on a blank wall in the middle of the night and in a way proclaiming to the world that you own the space without revealing your true identity That is not the case with street art Here you voice your emotions about a certain issue in a socially acceptable way mdash on a wall in broad daylight after gaining the requisite permissions from the the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and so onrdquo Last month Artist Hemant Sonawne painted a flying rickshaw at Tulsi Pipe Road to highlight how rising fuel prices afflict the common man The exercise was initiated by the Tata group and part of The Mumbai Wallbook where 200 artists came forward to paint their idea of a dream city Pic Courtesy Hemant Sonawne A 29 yearold Delhi resident who goes by the psuedoynym DAKU has painted many walls in New Delhi as part of a group of graffiti artists He says what is happening in India canrsquot be described as graffiti Wherersquos the idea of painting your name on walls in darkness with the fear that you can be nabbed by the police any moment he demands ldquoGraffiti art gives you an adrenaline rush Also here if you paint in broad daylight people actually stand and watch you at work whereas in Europe for instance it is all illegalrdquou00a0According to Sonawane too contrary to what people believe initiatives undertaken in Mumbai are not graffiti mdash it is all street art that can be defined as art pieces in public spaces and feature sticker wall painting installations and freehand art DAKU who works in an ad agency explains that abroad graffiti artistes earmark territories that canrsquot be impinged upon by others He says ldquoI recently went to Berlin where other artistes and I painted a wall from 10 am to 12 pm but at 4 pm when we went there someone had painted over it The graffiti culture is strong there whereas in India street art has a positive connotation so you cannot call it graffiti art rdquo Artists feel it will take some time before graffiti flourishes in India Sonawane says ldquoIn India people donrsquot have time to stop and look at your work Everyone leads a fast life So street art is useful because you can communicate your message through a painting and it leaves a lasting impression on their minds Also with corporate support and that of the local authorities it is an easier process A wall in New Delhi painted by DAKU Pic Courtesy DAKU Graffiti is new in India so itrsquos not easy Graffiti may take off in India if people are disgruntled enoughrdquou00a0Naidu quit his call centre job three months ago to pursue his passion mdash street art and graffiti While he has been a part of corporate projects like The Mumbai Wallbook he admits he hasnrsquot been able to indulge in graffiti as a passion or profession He hasnrsquot got too many assignments where he can draw graffiti and get paid well He says ldquoGraffiti is new in India so we donrsquot get paid that well People like to play it safe Here if people see paan stains on a wall they will ignore it or paint over it Abroad they voice their discontent by writing something offensiverdquo Money keeps artists away too DAKU says graffiti is an expensive passion A can of aerosol or spray paint costs Rs 1200 and is not freely available ldquoYou need to be really passionate about graffiti to be willing to shell out so much money and venture into the darkness of the night to do graffitirdquo However DAKU who chose his pseudonym to claim affinity withdacoits who rob villages and leave their mark on them says ldquoItrsquos like Irsquom leaving my mark on the walls of the capital by painting my name in Hindi typography Street art is popular in India but graffiti will emerge too That however will take timerdquou00a0