Street art at Patuli area offers a slice of London to people in city

Kolkata: Now Kolkatans will get a slice of the United Kingdom if they visit Patuli area off Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.

Street art which is noticed on the road at Belfast has been replicated on a road stretch of 300 feet-long and 12 feet width leading to the

‘mini Dakshineswar’ temple that is being constructed at Ward 101 of Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

“There are a number of students in my ward who study at the Government Art College. All of them have joined hands for creating this street art,” Bappaditya Dasgupta, councillor of Ward 101 said.

The team of artists of the street art is being led by Gurupada Bachar whose portrait of the then Governor of Bengal Viren J Shah captivated the Kolkatans in 2004. He had presented the same to Shah after drawing it and it was so lifelike that the Governor too was fascinated by the artwork.

Bachar said that the ongoing monsoon season will not play spoilsport as the colour is weather resistant. There was a time when Bachar would draw for posters of films. However, with changing times, such hand drawn posters have gone obsolete and digital print has become prevalent. So Bachar also shifted to different art forms keeping in pace with the current situation.

“Black top is associated with Kolkata roads with street lights on either sides. Now, this is a road which will be an attraction in itself like the street in Belfast,” Bachar said.

Terracotta, green, black and white are the four primary colours that have been used for the street art.

“The mini Dakshineshwar temple is expected to be ready soon. So, before Puja people visiting my ward will be treated to dual visual treat,” Dasgupta further added.