You Can Now Sign Up To Paint And Beautify Railway Stations Across Mumbai

The Mumbai local trains are often referred to as the city’s lifeline. With thousands and thousands of commuters every single day, it surely is an apt title. Connecting far ends of the city, the locals are more of a city landmark than merely a transport system. But with the onset of the monsoons the network of Mumbai railway stations has gone from drab to downright depressing. Luckily the Make A Difference (MAD) Foundation has come up with a solution, and you can help make it a reality. In October 2015, they revamped Matunga Station with great success and January earlier this year created a riot of colour at the stations at Khar and Borivali. People were thrilled by this new initiative, and so, MAD decided to take it to the next level.
Now, in collaboration with the NGO Mumbai First and the city’s Western and Central Railways they have launched the extreme station makeover project called ‘Hamara Station, Hamara Shaan’. Originally part of the voluntary initiative Daan Utsav (formerly known as the Joy of Giving week), the endeavour aims at beautifying 36 stations along the West and Central lines.

By turning this project over to the public rather than a team of professional artists the NGO’s hope is that people will develop a better sense of civic responsibility. The designs themselves are also crowd-sourced, and there is even an ongoing competition for students of Art, Design and Architecture to submit their work and contribute to the final renovation.
Although they are gathering volunteers from now, the scale of this project is still daunting--they aim to finish all 36 stations between the 2nd and 8th of October. Mumbai First CEO Shishir Joshi hopes that people will sign up and take an active interest in the well being of their city because they need all hands on deck for this to work. “Some stations have already been beautified, but this will be a massive programme to be completed in just six days,” he said in an interview. So whether you’re a Picasso with a paintbrush or struggling with stick figures, come participate in this amazing movement and bring a splash of colour into the lives of every Mumbaikar.

Sign up here to join the paintbrush army.

Words: Shireen Jamooji