Walls—a canvas for awareness and change

MYSURU: The burst of oil colours on a stained wall and wise words on it can definitely attract a passerby. But did you ever think that artwork can be used as a means of social change? This artist’s initiative is all about using art as an effective medium for raising awareness.Mandya’s popular wall painting artist, 47-year-old Tubinakere Govinda, makes walls speak by focusing on social issues. He has done more than 12,000 artworks in Mandya, Mysuru and Chamarajnagar districts over the past 28 years.His day begins on a colourful note. The stained walls of the town transform into pieces of art, spreading awareness about various social issues and even government programmes.

He has done graffiti in public places, including government school buildings and in places which are normally crowded, so that his messaged reach the maximum number of people. Every Sunday, he visits a village and learns about its uniqueness, its problems, and discusses with the villagers the problems they face. Based on that he chooses a topic for wall painting.His recent works include subjects like honour killing, unemployment among youth, violence against women, legal awareness, garbage menace in Bengaluru, global warming, inter-caste marriages, Swacch Bharath Abhiyan, ill-effects of liquor, superstitious beliefs, and series of bird deaths  at Kokkare Bellur.

Condemning honour killings that take place frequently in Mandya, he has done a wall painting to convey the message that parents should not commit such heinous crimes in the name of  honour.  Similarly, he has done a painting at Kokkare Bellur on a school compound wall educating children about the importance of protecting birds. On an average, he does four to six paintings every month in Mandya. 

Asked about the public reaction to his works, he said,  “Most of them stick bills and spoil the walls. I am using them for a good cause, and people have not questioned it.” He takes permission of the civic authorities when he does murals in urban areas.A native of Athagooru Hobli, Maddur taluk, Govinda is a BA degree holder and has been interested in art from childhood. During his high school days he used to do  cartoons for newspapers, which inspired him to do murals. He started wall paintings with a social message in the 1990s and has since received appreciation from the public. Govinda has been conferred with many awards by local organisations for his initiatives. 

On an average, he earns `500 to `800 per day doing wall paintings for commercial establishments, and even paints school walls under Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan. From this money, he sets aside `50 every day for his social activities.His wife Susheelamma works as a helper for midday meal programme, and together the couple earn around `30,000 per month. His daughter Ashwini is studying in Bengaluru, while elder son P G Abhishek, is working in a government department.

He said, “I was interested in art right from my childhood and have mastered my art through practice. I love reading books, which has helped me write attractive phrases and tag lines in Kannada for my art works. When villagers say, the tag lines are very catchy, I feel happy. Most of them consider me a teacher, as I throw light on several issues.”   But his art mission did get him some amusing public reactions too. Relating an incident, Govinda said, “When I was painting a wall in a gram panchayat, a section of villagers were talking among themselves that I paint walls since i don’t have any other job!”

“Some have advised me not to spend money on these artworks and instead use it to take care of my family expenses,” he said with a laugh. “There are even instances, where people have offered me money thinking I am a poor street artist painting walls to earn a living.” He faced a wall too once!  He said, “Once, a resident stopped me to paint on the wall of their house located on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. The locals were using the wall to urinate. I agreed to paint it. But the local residents objected though I tried hard to convince them. And I dropped the project. This was one of the big  disappointments for me.”Most appreciate his tireless efforts to spread social messages through his art works. Mallappa Gowda,  a resident of Maddur,  said: “The wall paintings on government programmes have helped us understand them. Even the uneducated  are aware of the schemes.”   

HELPING THE POOR
Govinda has launched a Grama Varna programme, under which he gets houses of poor families painted for a nominal cost. He has trained a group of unemployed people for the cause, and with their help, paints such houses, and collects money in instalments.

Looking at the paintings, the children easily understand the local issues and other problems. The works motivate one to raise one’s voice against social ills.B Nanda, a retired schoolteacher in Mandya