One city, one wall

We needed this. A single place that's an expression. Every city has it's own graffiti. Other than the scrawlings on local train compartments of unrequited love and directions to the Baba who promises a cure for your non-performance in bed, Bombay never had it's own graffiti. And we didn't ask for it. Till The Wall Project this weekend. What a brilliant effort. And the result is there for everyone to see.

It's everything Bombay. There's the Generation Next painting with gusto. Everyone has a point to make. The sign of our times.

Che Guevara rubs shoulders with Bhagat Singh.




The Beatles.


Recession.


Global warming.


And if you go there, don't miss the bemused pavement dweller. This was his home. Till the BMC demolished every single hut that existed on the road. And made it sparkling clean. And gave much required parking space for school buses, trucks and tempos. I guess that's collateral damage. At least the fancy buildings in the vicinity can get a good price - "Tulsi Pipe Road pura saaf kar diya".

Don't miss the bemused pavement dweller. This is his home. He sleeps there. He lives there. Five feet of length to sleep on and live on. His home. His wall too.

That's Bombay for you. A collective expression of everything this mad city is. Poverty, art, graffiti. Youth, old, impoverished, rich. Slums, high-rise. Collective chaos. One expression. One wall. One city.