The riverfront in Kolkata and Howrah has undergone witnessed several beautification drives over the past few years. Quite a lot has been done in the way of landscaping, wall painting and more but poor maintenance has remained a problem.
On May 30 evening, more than a month after its official announcement, the 1.2-km-long graffiti project on Strand Road was inaugurated.
At Rotary Sadan, when everyone, including senior officials of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK) and Rotary Club were enjoying photographs of the historic graffiti on the walls of port warehouses, several of them voiced concern about their maintenance.
“What about preserving these artworks?” a senior member of the Rotary Club asked Gautam Chakraborti, former security adviser and present honorary heritage adviser of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata. “That’s a concern for us as well. Let’s see if we can do something,” replied Chakraborti.
Worst fears come true in hours
Gutkha stains turn this graffiti into an art of abuse on Strand Road. Rotary Club of Calcutta
Merely 12 hours after the inauguration, as My Kolkata found the graffiti walls comprising over 100 paintings already under attack.
The walls have about 265 frame-like structures and the frames have been painted with different pictures by artist Sayan Mondal and his team. Several graffiti of this Rs 16-lakh project were already found covered with reddish gutkha stains, some had paint peeling off in portions and many others had been plastered with posters.
When this was pointed out to Chakraborti, he recalled an interesting incident.
“In 2019, three ghats in Kolkata and Howrah were renovated by SMPK, jointly with two other parties. I had identified the historic Moti Lal Sil (Mutty Lall Seal) Ghat, Annapurna Ghat and Ramkrishnapur Ghat. They were cleaned and restored. Separate bathing areas were made and students of Government College of Art and Craft were engaged to paint those graffiti for beautification. The work went on for several days and weeks because at Moti Lal Seal Ghat, some goons would smear mud and even faeces on the graffiti to destroy them. Finally, as a security officer, I had to depute police,” shared Chakraborti.
“This is one of the biggest projects we have been working on and it pains to see how the beautiful artwork are being destroyed. I believe that a small part of our society does not appreciate art and doesn’t know how to preserve those,” said Partha Mukherjee, special project chairman of the Rotary Club.
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port versus local clubs
Another gutkha stain-splattered work of art on Strand Road. Rotary Club of Calcutta
According to local police, several ghats have been renovated but they cannot be saved because of one primary reason — the conflict between the port and political parties. While the ghats are the property of the SMPK, they are often encroached upon and illegally occupied by local clubs with alleged support from political parties. “We conduct regular raids but several of these ghats are important business centres and are controlled by political entities. If the ghats are renovated and common people start visiting those regularly, several illegal activities would be halted. This is the primary reason that the artwork and restoration are deliberately destroyed,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity.
Artwork in bad shape
Another piece of wall art lies in despair at Ahiritola Ghat. Amit Datta
For the past several years, the state government has been working for the beautification of Kolkata and for that several artwork projects have been undertaken in Kolkata. While the artworks at the ghats are getting destroyed because of power struggle, many others are simply victims of poor maintenance and lack of concern. The folk art statues near VIP Road are perfect examples of such damage.
Artists condemn act
At Moti Lal Seal Ghat, some artwork are intact, while some have been destroyed. Amit Datta
On learning about the Strand Road case, artist Shuvaprasanna said: “This is a typical character of Kolkata. Bengalis love and often encourage art, but we do not know how to preserve it. This may also be because Bengalis are extremely creative and one of the prime characteristics of the creative mind is not thinking of preservation. They love to create and then forget about it to jump on to the next creation.”
Artist Sanatan Dinda, who has been associated with public art for decades, agreed and said it had become an inseparable part of public art. “We have been organising Behala Art Fest for years and not a single artwork has been vandalised. I think the only reason is we have successfully involved the local people in the project. If the local people realise that the art is for them and by them, they would protect it like their own property,” Dinda said.
Involving people
Colours are peeling off from this graffiti on Strand Road after posters were glued to the walls. Amit Datta
Gautam Chakraborti also thinks along the same lines. In some recent renovation projects, he has been trying to involve local people. “Deputing police for an indefinite period to save artwork cannot be a feasible or permanent solution. Along with creating art, it is our responsibility to educate people about the importance of maintaining these art. We have started doing that and are hoping to get some good results in future,” he added.
