From paying tribute to cinema and literature to using graffiti to raise voices against social issues, Kolkata streets are an art lover’s delight.
Colourful murals at Biswa Bangla Sarani
The Biswa Bangla Sarani in New Town (left) has graffiti illustrations featuring caricatures which can be seen as one drives by these roads. The art is inspired by sports, music, movies, nature and everyday life of rural and urban Bengal.The New Town subway (above) also has a fusion of art work featuring murals of Rabindranath Tagore, Goddess Durga, the iconic yellow cab, Dakshineshwar temple, famous Kolkata foods and more
Abol Tabol at Nalin Sarkar street
To mark 100 years of Sukumar Ray’s Abol Tabol, a pujo pandal in North Kolkata created an Abol-Tabol themed pandal for Durga Pujo last year. Besides acknowledging the writer and poet’s contribution to Bengali literature in a short span of his life, the idea behind creating this theme was also to keep this generation of kids stay in touch with the classic compilation of poems and rhymes. The most striking part of the street art on Nalin Sarkar Street is the black-and-white accents that bring the book to life on the walls. With strong cartoon elements, walking down this lane feels like walking through a comic book to say the least
Cine art at Barrackpore
A 710-metre long wall along Ghose Para road in Barrackpore features some legendary actors and iconic scenes from Bengali and Hindi cinema. The stretch showcases graffiti of Amitabh Bachchan from Deewar, an iconic scene from Satyajit Ray’s Charulata and even Dev Anand’s Guide. But the portraits of Bengali cinema stalwarts like Ray and Mrinal Sen are surely the showstoppers.
Slogans at Rawdon street
The 160-ft wall adjacent to a school was used to drive home the message emphasising on the urgent need to protect women and join them in their fight against social injustices and safety issues. Slogans like save women, protect women, I am not an object, are spray-painted on the walls
Uttor-er-adda
More than 100-year-old buildings on this stretch have a new look in shades of yellow, orange and red. Different walls depicting different eras of history, culture and contemporary art is a city favourite. Each year before Saraswati Puja, locals come together to paint the walls to up the festive spirit and keep the uttor-er-adda culture going
