Two colour-splashed trains symbolising freedom and liberty are testimony to the World Social Forum that started in Mumbai on Friday.
Artists have painted one local train each in the suburban sections of Western and Central Railways in Maharashtra to commemorate the weeklong gathering of anti-globalisation protestors.
With the railways pitching in with trains and infrastructure, the colourfully done up trains depicting freedom and liberty in a world free of multinationals have drawn curious looks from commuters in Mumbai.
The theme of the paintings was "Another World Is Possible", the WSF's slogan for the Mumbai meet.
"It is interesting to see a train with nice visuals and no advertising on them," said Mritinjay Chowdhury, a marketing executive travelling by one of the trains.
According to a Western Railway spokesperson, one train was given to the artists to be painted and prepared in December.
According to a WSF statement, the artists include Gulam Sheikh, Rekha Rodwittiya, Sudarshan Shetty, Vasudevan, Manisha Doshi, Anjum, Kyong Aye, Molina Khimani, Jehangir Jani, Nikhileshwar Baruah, Arunanshu, Hiral, Jayakumar G., Indropromit Roy, Shubha Dey, Mayur, Tamal Mitra, Shruti Nelson, Ajay Sharma, Pulak Sanpui, Uday Mondal, Sajal Sarkar, Rajeev Chowdhury and Vijay Bagodi.
They were supported by students from the Sir JJ School of Art, Dombivili's Karandikar Kala Academy, Baroda's Faculty of Fine Arts and Pune's Bharti Vidyapeeth.
{{/usCountry}}They were supported by students from the Sir JJ School of Art, Dombivili's Karandikar Kala Academy, Baroda's Faculty of Fine Arts and Pune's Bharti Vidyapeeth.
{{/usCountry}}"The painting of the trains is a demonstration of the belief of organisations involved in the WSF that culture and the arts are an essential vehicle for communicating political and social ideas," WSF said in a statement.
The WSF will feature at least 1,200 seminars, in addition to large public conferences and meetings that will be attended by nearly 85,000 people.