Mumbai Metro depot walls turn artists’ canvas

With the intent to use metro spaces for creative expressions, MMOPL started the annual ‘Majhi Metro’ (my Metro) festival in 2013

In addition to making commute in the city easier, the Mumbai Metro-1 corridor (Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar) has now brought Mumbaiites together for one of the largest single-wall art projects in Mumbai. Commuters have breathed life into the Metro depot by painting on a 4,260-square-feet wall at Andheri. The colourful imagery is intended to depict ‘life in a Metro.’

Citizens depict ‘life in a metro’ on the wall at Andheri, in an initiative launched by the Mumbai Metro One Private Limited. (Photo: MMOPL)

The initiative, launched by the Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL), began on Saturday, with 86 commuters participating in the activity. In the second phase, which will begin on Sunday, volunteer artists from across the city will take over. The art is likely to be completed over the next three days.

With the intent to use metro spaces for creative expressions, MMOPL started the annual ‘Majhi Metro’ (my Metro) festival in 2013, even before Metro lines became operational.

Earlier in 2014, they had organised a competition for college students to paint the stations walls with murals depicting life in Mumbai as a part of the festival. The Reliance-owned MMOPL constructed the city’s first metro line on a public-private partnership.

A spokesperson from MMOPL said, “Every year, we introduce something new to take the Majhi Metro festival forward. The objective is to bring the masses together and celebrate art at public platforms.” The 11.4-kilometre Metro line corridor, with 12 stations, provides connectivity between the eastern and western parts of the city. Around 3.50 lakh commuters use this line on a daily basis.