The wall opposite Clarence High School in Bengaluru’s Richards Town, which was once a fence that was a “black spot” in the locality, has now been spruced up. It used to be a place for disposal of everything from broken commodes, to animal waste. Locals say that it even attracted perverts who would flash their genitals at children, leaving them traumatized. Being adjacent to a railway line, residents say it even used to be a suicide spot.

Now, a wall has been built over the eye sore, which both prevents people’s entry, and the throwing of garbage in the vicinity. The resident’s association along with the pourakarmikas cleared the area and compacted some mud to form a footpath, and the railways built a high wall to prevent people from trying to throw their waste over it.

The wall is now painted in pastel shades of blue, pink, green and yellow, thanks to the initiative of the Richard’s Town Resident’s Welfare Association, with some help from sponsors, including an arts foundation: India Foundation for the Arts. The paints were contributed by the paint company Asian Paints. It has the children’s art and the words “Richards Town” painted across the wall.

Monisha Lobo, a member of the association, said that she was very happy with how the community, including the civic workers rallied together. “We usually hear about how unhappy people are with the BBMP. But they just need to be respected and appreciated, and they’re always willing to go the extra mile for you. The local officials worked overnight when we requested them to fix an overflowing pipe, and the pourakarmikas came early to help clear the place from garbage left by passersby the previous night. Grandchildren of the pourakarmika workers drew our neighbourhood landmarks, and we’re using the help of Clarence students and volunteers from the community to paint their designs,” she said.

Aditya Fernandes, an artist, chose the paintings that were to go up. “We took the children around the area and got them to sketch what they saw. They spent time at important architectural landmarks in our locality: the bandstand, the railway station, the church, the old age home, and the pine tree. I liked the simplicity of the younger children’s drawings, and chose them to go on the walls.”

As the residents proclaim, “A once garbage-strewn, broken-down railway wall that faces Clarence High School, and marks the entrance to Richards Town, will become a wall that celebrates community initiative, new beginnings and the imagination of Richards Town’s children.”

Will more initiatives like this take place in the future? “The next stretch of the wall will have rangoli art from the pourakarmikas themselves, and we’re waiting for that part of the wall to be complete to commence work there,” says Monisha.