"Any form of art is a form of power; it has impact, it can affect change. It can not only move us, it makes us move." ~ Ossie Davis
Honking is one of the biggest causes of noise pollution. Once we hit the streets, all we can hear is the incessant honking of vehicles around us. It is not only annoying, but also very harmful for the health. The mind gets perturbed and anxiety increases. Moreover, it causes frequent headaches.
And it is not that the people horn only when it is needed. Honking has become a habit. Since I suffer from migraine, I remember having so many headaches when I am outside for a long time. The honking seems unbearable, especially during festivals such as Durga Puja.
Last weekend, I went with my friend to Acropolis Mall, Kolkata and I was pleasantly surprised to see that an exhibition on "No Honking" is taking place there.
All the paintings were done with the honest approach of making people realize how honking is affecting our lives badly. The paintings exuded honesty, intensity and brilliance. The message of each and every painting is profound, that can make a person think deeply.
Let's take a look at some of the paintings of the exhibition.
This painting titled "Slavery" by artist Amaranth Sharma tries us to show us that our minds have become slaves of compulsive honking. We do not even realize when we honk.
This painting "Sound of Life" by artist Nimisha Rao shows 2 comparatives: waves of horrible sound and tunes of music. The artist says that let music be our sound of life and not honking.
The painting titled "Bau Honk Koro" by artist Prantik Chattopadhyay tells that gone are the days when we used to wake up with the chirping of birds. These days, we wake up with loud horns of school buses and vans.
The painting "Talking to Buddha" by artist Rahul Mukherjee shows that there is so much honking these days that even Buddha would have needed ear plugs if he was here.
This painting is known as "Ornamental Life" and is created by artist Sheetal Kaluskar. The artist says that it is not cool to flaunt who can honk more. There are far better things to flaunt.
This painting really moved me. The painting titled "Thinker" by artist Debasish Dutta questions "How will the thinker think if he is surrounded by continuous honking?"
This thought provoking painting titled "UnLove" by artist Thakere Naik says that human beings have fallen so much in love with horns that they have forgotten a beautiful world outside. This painting shows the strange love between humans and horns.
"Invite Positive" by artist Poorva Nimkar shows that in order to invite positive, we must say No to unnecessary Honking.
"Pain" by artist Ananya Dalal shows the painful effects of honking. I could totally relate to the painting.
I am standing beside the painting called "Sound of Silence" by artist Debraj Goswami where the artist hopes for a day when we silence the sound of honking.
I had a great time watching the beautiful paintings and deciphering the message that the artists have tried to convey. However, I couldn't capture all of them due to the crowd.
It was truly a great initiative to spread the message of "No Honking" through such brilliant paintings.
Which painting did you like the most? Do you believe that spreading the message through art can bring some change?
