Volunteers Paint 300-Foot Mural in Sundaravana to Celebrate Environmental Revival
Volunteers from multiple civic organizations and non-profits have transformed a 300-foot wall near Sundaravana in Bengaluru into a massive mural celebrating the area’s ecological restoration. The collaborative project cost nearly Rs 1,00,000 and involved over 80 community members who worked to turn a previously neglected wall into a public work of art.
The initiative brought together volunteers from Rang 4 A Cause, the Community Task Force Charitable Trust (CTFCT), Rotary Bengaluru HSR, and SayTrees. Together, they aimed to beautify the space and educate visitors about environmental conservation.
The newly completed mural features portraits of four prominent Indian environmentalists: Saalumarada Thimmakka, Tulsi Gowda, Vandana Shiva, and Rahibai Soma Popare. Alongside these figures, the artwork depicts illustrations of local birds, butterflies, insects, reptiles, flowers, and native trees, representing the biodiversity of the adjacent urban forest.
To complete the mural, a diverse group of volunteers—ranging from children to senior citizens—dedicated five to six days to the project. Their work included cleaning the wall, whitewashing, planning the layout, and executing the final painting.
According to Raghav Uppar, the 28-year-old self-taught artist and founder of Rang 4 A Cause, only about half of the participants were trained artists, while the rest gained hands-on painting experience during the project. Nagachandu U, an artist and the social media head of Rang 4 A Cause, also contributed abstract art to the wall using earthy tones inspired by nature.
The mural highlights the dramatic environmental turnaround of Sundaravana. The site was previously heavily polluted with plastic waste. To restore the land, volunteers removed plastic from the top two feet of soil and replenished the earth with a mixture of manure, hay, and red soil. The area was subsequently transformed into a Miyawaki forest, which now hosts 14,000 trees.
Gayathri Shekar, a trustee of CTFCT, stated that the mural stands as a testament to community spirit. The Rs 1,00,000 required for the project's materials and execution was raised primarily through social media campaigns.
