MUMBAI: A walk through the dingy bylanes of slums, which cover a vast expanse of area in Mumbai and its suburbs, now gives positive vibes when one sees those dark and dull hutments looking all colourful and vibrant.
The dash of pink and yellow hues on these hutments in around 13 slum areas, like Dhobi Ghat, Ambedkar Nagar and Kamathipura in Mumbai and the neighbouring Thane city, is all thanks to efforts of city-based artist and social worker Rouble Nagi.
Since January this year, Rouble Nagi's team, through her initiative 'Misaal Mumbai', has given a coat of lively colours to around 24,000 hutments across these slums.
Her team has also painted murals on about 300 walls, which has not only transformed Mumbai's skyline, but also generated interest among tourists who earlier had a different impression about the city's shanties.
"Painting the households, eliminating darkness and bringing brightness are the secondary objectives. Our primary objective is to improve the living standards of slum dwellers," Rouble Nagi says.
Her NGO also conducts medical camps for women and children along with workshops on sanitation and hygiene for these people, the 38-year-old artist says.
"Whether their homes are small or big, all have the right to live in clean surroundings...the surroundings which are not clean, are my constituencies. I consider them as my extended families," Rouble Nagi says, adding that making these dwellings hygienic is like empowering their residents.
"Our team went an extra mile and even roofs of several shanties were waterproofed in a few localities that few of the slum dwellers found hard to believe," she says.
A woman from Jaffar Baba colony in suburban Bandra, whose home has been painted by Nagi's team, is elated to see the new colourful look on the exterior walls.
"We never thought that someone would come and sprinkle vibrant colours on our walls free of cost. I cannot express the feeling of seeing these walls. These shining surroundings have made us even more responsible towards protecting the beauty of these walls," the woman said.
Rouble Nagi says her NGO has also planned to replicate the same in other states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.