In Chennai, some of the most visible changes are coming from the least formal efforts. Across neighbourhoods, residents are taking up small, shared acts — painting a wall, cleaning a stretch, staying back a little longer — and turning them into something that feels like community.
The idea: Make it better than before
Indira Nagar’s MRTS stretch has already seen large murals over the years. But what’s happening now is smaller, quieter — and more personal. “Those big murals showed us what a wall could look like, but no one was waiting for something like that again,” says Harini, a resident. “We just started fixing the one near our street because it looked bad. That’s it.” “There’s no group, no plan. A person paints for an hour and leaves, and someone else continues the next day,” adds Raghav, who helps with supplies. “The only rule is — don’t let it go back to how it was. Just let it look better than it was before.”
‘You start noticing what else around you can be better’
Kannagi Nagar’s large-scale murals changed how the area is viewed. But for residents, the shift is more internal than visual. “When you see entire buildings painted, you stop thinking of your area as ‘just another place,’” says Shravanthi Srinivasan. “You start noticing what else around you can be better.” “It’s not about painting like that again. It’s about not ignoring things anymore. Once you’ve seen change happen, you can’t unsee it,” adds Sankavi.
Care that continues after the paint dries
The biggest change isn’t the wall — it’s what follows. “Earlier, we wouldn’t even notice if something got dirty or chipped,” says Pradeep, a business owner. “Now, if it looks off, someone says something. That didn’t happen before. It’s not a big responsibility, but when everyone starts doing such small things, it all adds up,” he concludes.
‘You come for one thing and end up doing three’
The work doesn’t belong only to those holding brushes. It builds around them. “I don’t paint at all. I just sit there and keep people company. But somehow, you still feel involved. It’s not about skill; it’s about being there,” admits Apoorva, a baker. “Someone always ends up bringing snacks, another starts cleaning a corner and so on. You come for one thing and end up doing three,” notes Manohar, a student.
