Noida gets Gandhi’s first mural

For the first time since its inception, Noida will finally have the presence of Mahatma Gandhi on its walls. A large mural of Gandhi will greet passersby in Sector 6 Industrial Area as part of a beautification drive undertaken by the Noida Authority. For the uninitiated, Noida does not have a single public statue or mural of Mahatma Gandhi since its establishment in 1976. “This mural is Noida is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and his teachings. The graffiti has been commissioned under the ‘Clean India Campaign’ and has been done with an aim to inspire and motivate people to keep the city clean and green,” says Rajiv Tyagi, General Manager, Noida Authority.
Accompanying the mural is Gandhi’s quote, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” along with the Clean India Campaign logo. Two more walls have been painted with slogans of cleanliness that read, “Everyone must be his own scavenger,” “No dirt, this is Earth,” and “Swachh hoga desh, swasth honge vasi.”
Artists who have worked on the mural say that the concept behind the artwork is to remind people the ideals of Gandhi. “Since the Clean India Campaign was inspired by Gandhiji’s teachings, we decided to paint his portrait on the canvas, which is about 18ft tall. Our motive is to make the graffiti visible as far as possible, which is why bright colours like yellow have been used to make the base of the artwork,” says Ritesh Kumar Verma, co-founder of New Art.
The mural will greet passersby in Sector 6 Industrial Area

According to the artists who have conceptualized the paintings, the artwork has also managed to appease a lot of passersby. “We started working on the mural around January 1 and over the past two weeks, as the paintings have became prominent, people have been coming up to us to appreciate the artwork. Children, especially are charmed with the paintings and sit and watch us for hours while we do the work,” says Prateek Sachan, co-founder of New Art.