Slice Of 'Kashi' Comes To Delhi Via Mega Street Art

A massive mural depicting the recently-inaugurated Kashi Vishwanath Dham and the spiritual splendour of ghats of the ancient city of Varanasi was inaugurated on Wednesday, transforming a dull and dirty streetside wall of Delhi into a work of art with a social message.

The large-scale thematic mural has been executed by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, in partnership with a street art group. The artwork on a wall facing the Main Rohtak Road in north Delhi spans nearly 400 ft in length and about 12 ft in height and is a first-of-its-kind project done on such a large scale, a senior civic official said.

Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta inaugurated the project, whose theme was inspired by the Republic Day tableau of Uttar Pradesh, said Shashanka Aala, Deputy Commissioner of NDMC's Karol Bagh Zone.

"Call it a coincidence, but the idea for this project was germinated the very same day, when the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project was inaugurated in Varanasi and, it took a more formal shape, when we all saw a Republic Day tableau that depicted Kashi and, the new corridor project," she said.

The first phase of the mega Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project was dedicated to the public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 13 last year and is expected to boost tourism in the holy town that is said to be one of the oldest cities in the world.

The spiritual city of Varanasi with Kashi Vishwanath Dham was the centrepiece of Uttar Pradesh's tableau during the 73rd Republic Day Parade on Rajpath on January 26.

The Uttar Pradesh float in its centre depicted a model of the ancient Kashi Vishwanath temple, the structures of which are said to have been built by Holkar Queen Ahilyabai Holkar around 1780.

"The huge artwork portrays the ancient temples, iconic ghats, the holy Ganga, a 'sadhu', a seer blowing a conch, a woman offering water to holy Ganga, riverfront, priests offering 'aarti', boats, etc. We have, essentially, brought a piece of 'Kashi' to Delhi through this thematic art," Ala said. Sanskrit 'shlokas' have also been painted to complement the theme of the artwork.

The deputy commissioner in the NDMC said, the wall earlier was in a "very dull and dirty condition and many people also use to urinate on it. The purpose of the project is largely to bring behavioural changes in people, like to use public toilets and not relieve themselves in the open."

There is a public urinal facility on each side of this wall span, and "we are positive that art will have an impact people's civic sense, besides adding to the aesthetic look of the city", the NDMC deputy commissioner said.

Gupta, after inaugurating the project, said through this huge wall painting, efforts are to sensitise citizens about keeping surroundings clean. 

Gupta also took to Twitter and shared images of the artwork: "Beauty on walls! Glimpses from the unveiling of Inspirational Wall Painting in Karol Bagh area. In a effort to sensitise citizens about keeping our surroundings clean, North DMC has been running a beautification drive across various locations under its jurisdiction".

NDMC is also making such efforts to improve its rank in the upcoming 'Swachh Survekshan'. All three civic bodies in Delhi have come up with various thematic murals in the last few months ahead of the cleanliness survey.

With PTI inputs.