They’ve cast the stone, creating ripples
From documenting forgotten neighbourhood histories to organising pollution-free cycle days, these campaigns are helping residents reclaim their city one initiative at a time
RAPIST LANE TURNED SAFE LANE WHAT: Blank Noise, reclaiming streets and public spaces to make them safe for women WHO: Jasmeen Patheja
Blank Noise, a community/public art project, started out trying to initiate and build a dialogue about the issue of street harassment almost 10 years ago. Since then the project, spearheaded by Jasmeen Patheja, has set out to confront issues through interventions in public spaces. For instance, in a lane in Yelahanka often referred to as the “Rapist Lane” by a number of women, the Yelahanka Action Heroes (a locality specific Blank Noise Action Hero network) intervened by painting neon action heroes on the walls that would glow at night, and holding discussions with the locals. Apart from this, they have also organised Night Walks in an attempt to reclaim the streets for women. “In 2003, we walked from MG Road to Malleswaram until 4 am, stopping at eateries that were open late at night. The idea was to make the streets safe by being there instead of being invisible,” Patheja says. Most recently, Blank Noise is organising Sleep is Protest, a multi-city event where Action Heroes (as participants are called) will be sleeping in public spaces like parks. “Unless we’re talking about homelessness, sleeping in the open as a woman or an individual outside of the gender binary isn’t visible. This collective action/ performance helps create that visibility, image and memory.” This is an attempt to work with trust instead of defence in building safe cities.
BRINGING BACK FEARLESSNESS WHAT:The Fearless Collective, redefining fear, femininity and what it means to be fearless WHO: Shilo Shiv Suleman
Fearless is a collective of 250 artists, activists, photographers and filmmakers who use art to speak out against gender violence. It was formed in response to the horrific gangrape that took place in Delhi in 2012, to attempt to (re)define fear, femininity and what it means to be fearless. It is managed by artist Shilo Shiv Suleman, who took part in the public protests following the Delhi gangrape. She started the collective after she felt the need to change the fear-based narrative that followed the incident. She uses graffiti, installations and performances in conjunction with groups and ordinary people to initiate a gender neutral dialogue about fearlessness and the need to make cities safe. The group started out by developing a line of posters – using empowering imagery that Suleman hopes will change the visual and cultural lexicon of fear and guilt that is peddled to women who want to live life unhindered – and has ventured into graffiti, installations and performance. In March, they also held a three-day workshop at an all-girls government school in Shivajinagar where they encouraged students to pose for portraits whilst discussing their passions and hopes. They have also taken their initiative to other cities, like workshops with Safecity and GRC India, Delhi where they focused on the unrelenting gaze of men in the city. The ffirmation was: Dil se dekho, Aankho se nahi. (Look at me with your heart, not your eyes).
WALKING THE TALK WHAT: Public space mapping and introduction of pedestrian-friendly infrastructure WHO: Evangelical Social Action Forum
Making Bengaluru more liveable is their goal. Since 2009, ESAF’s Bengaluru chapter has been working on two projects — public space mapping of parks and playgrounds in Mahadevpura and negotiating with merchant associations and BBMP for introduction of a pedestrian-friendly infrastructure on Commercial Street. They are currently running a photo contest inviting residents to share pictures of what they love about Commercial Street and Brigade Road, hoping to raise awareness around this issue. Park mapping includes a qualitative analysis of maintenance and use of parks by local residents. “In many cases, authorities are unaware of the existence of even BBMP parks, or don’t have any record of it. We visit the parks between 3-6 pm and interact with the regulars to gather information about how it’s benefitting them. The idea is to encourage more green spaces in the city where citizens, especially kids, can play and have some physical activity,” says Manju George, programme officer, ESAF Bangalore. Apart from this, they also encourage street reclaiming activities and have partnered with Cycle Day for the same.
PEDAL POWER WHAT: Cycle Day, to free the streets of congestion and traffic WHO: Bangalore Coalition for Open Streets
This pedestrian and environment-friendly concept initiated by the Bangalore Coalition for Open Streets (BCOS) – a non-profit collective comprising of the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), Praja RAAG, EMBARQ India, ESAF, and individual citizens — aims to free the streets of congestion and traffic — even if it’s for half a day. This Sunday, Cycle Day will be held on 9th A Main in Indiranagar from 7 to 10 am. From cycling games to street art and even yoga sessions, it will allow residents to reclaim the road. Started last October, Cycle Day has gone from a monthly programme to a once-a-week (usually Sunday) event at locations across the city. The good news is that many residents now take up short cycling trips in their neighbourhood post Cycle Day. Says Srinidhi, a volunteer, “We also organise cycle rides and give people rented bicycles for free.” The event, on an average, draws about 1,000-odd residents.|
PERSONAL HISTORIES WHAT: Neighbourhood Diaries, documenting a community’s personal histories, heritage and socio-cultural legacy WHO: Krupa Rajangam and Archana Prasad
A collaborative project conceived by Krupa Rajangam of Saythu (an architecture firm specialising in conservation of historic places), and Archana Prasad of Jaaga (a collaborative space for creative people, initiatives and enterprises), the Neighbourhood Diaries took off in 2010 when Rajangam began documenting the transformation of Whitefield from an Anglo-Indian village into the upmarket suburb of today. Whitefield Diaries — a series of six short films — documents the community’s personal histories, heritage and socio-cultural legacy. The duo is working on similar films on Shivajinagar, Malleswaram and Fraser Town. “In Fraser Town, the focus is on the members of the Indian Women’s Hockey team that has won the National Championships eight years in a row. Most of the players are from St Francis Xaviers Girls School in the neighbourhood,” Rajangam says. They usually screen the films in the neighbourhood it was filmed at first and then release it online. They hope to initiate a genuine interest amongst residents in preserving and sharing their histories and memories. The ultimate aim is that this might lead to more active engagement with one’s neighbourhood and participation in protecting what remains of their rich urban history.
RAPIST LANE TURNED SAFE LANE WHAT: Blank Noise, reclaiming streets and public spaces to make them safe for women WHO: Jasmeen Patheja
Blank Noise, a community/public art project, started out trying to initiate and build a dialogue about the issue of street harassment almost 10 years ago. Since then the project, spearheaded by Jasmeen Patheja, has set out to confront issues through interventions in public spaces. For instance, in a lane in Yelahanka often referred to as the “Rapist Lane” by a number of women, the Yelahanka Action Heroes (a locality specific Blank Noise Action Hero network) intervened by painting neon action heroes on the walls that would glow at night, and holding discussions with the locals. Apart from this, they have also organised Night Walks in an attempt to reclaim the streets for women. “In 2003, we walked from MG Road to Malleswaram until 4 am, stopping at eateries that were open late at night. The idea was to make the streets safe by being there instead of being invisible,” Patheja says. Most recently, Blank Noise is organising Sleep is Protest, a multi-city event where Action Heroes (as participants are called) will be sleeping in public spaces like parks. “Unless we’re talking about homelessness, sleeping in the open as a woman or an individual outside of the gender binary isn’t visible. This collective action/ performance helps create that visibility, image and memory.” This is an attempt to work with trust instead of defence in building safe cities.
BRINGING BACK FEARLESSNESS WHAT:The Fearless Collective, redefining fear, femininity and what it means to be fearless WHO: Shilo Shiv Suleman
Fearless is a collective of 250 artists, activists, photographers and filmmakers who use art to speak out against gender violence. It was formed in response to the horrific gangrape that took place in Delhi in 2012, to attempt to (re)define fear, femininity and what it means to be fearless. It is managed by artist Shilo Shiv Suleman, who took part in the public protests following the Delhi gangrape. She started the collective after she felt the need to change the fear-based narrative that followed the incident. She uses graffiti, installations and performances in conjunction with groups and ordinary people to initiate a gender neutral dialogue about fearlessness and the need to make cities safe. The group started out by developing a line of posters – using empowering imagery that Suleman hopes will change the visual and cultural lexicon of fear and guilt that is peddled to women who want to live life unhindered – and has ventured into graffiti, installations and performance. In March, they also held a three-day workshop at an all-girls government school in Shivajinagar where they encouraged students to pose for portraits whilst discussing their passions and hopes. They have also taken their initiative to other cities, like workshops with Safecity and GRC India, Delhi where they focused on the unrelenting gaze of men in the city. The ffirmation was: Dil se dekho, Aankho se nahi. (Look at me with your heart, not your eyes).
WALKING THE TALK WHAT: Public space mapping and introduction of pedestrian-friendly infrastructure WHO: Evangelical Social Action Forum
Making Bengaluru more liveable is their goal. Since 2009, ESAF’s Bengaluru chapter has been working on two projects — public space mapping of parks and playgrounds in Mahadevpura and negotiating with merchant associations and BBMP for introduction of a pedestrian-friendly infrastructure on Commercial Street. They are currently running a photo contest inviting residents to share pictures of what they love about Commercial Street and Brigade Road, hoping to raise awareness around this issue. Park mapping includes a qualitative analysis of maintenance and use of parks by local residents. “In many cases, authorities are unaware of the existence of even BBMP parks, or don’t have any record of it. We visit the parks between 3-6 pm and interact with the regulars to gather information about how it’s benefitting them. The idea is to encourage more green spaces in the city where citizens, especially kids, can play and have some physical activity,” says Manju George, programme officer, ESAF Bangalore. Apart from this, they also encourage street reclaiming activities and have partnered with Cycle Day for the same.
PEDAL POWER WHAT: Cycle Day, to free the streets of congestion and traffic WHO: Bangalore Coalition for Open Streets
This pedestrian and environment-friendly concept initiated by the Bangalore Coalition for Open Streets (BCOS) – a non-profit collective comprising of the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), Praja RAAG, EMBARQ India, ESAF, and individual citizens — aims to free the streets of congestion and traffic — even if it’s for half a day. This Sunday, Cycle Day will be held on 9th A Main in Indiranagar from 7 to 10 am. From cycling games to street art and even yoga sessions, it will allow residents to reclaim the road. Started last October, Cycle Day has gone from a monthly programme to a once-a-week (usually Sunday) event at locations across the city. The good news is that many residents now take up short cycling trips in their neighbourhood post Cycle Day. Says Srinidhi, a volunteer, “We also organise cycle rides and give people rented bicycles for free.” The event, on an average, draws about 1,000-odd residents.|
PERSONAL HISTORIES WHAT: Neighbourhood Diaries, documenting a community’s personal histories, heritage and socio-cultural legacy WHO: Krupa Rajangam and Archana Prasad
A collaborative project conceived by Krupa Rajangam of Saythu (an architecture firm specialising in conservation of historic places), and Archana Prasad of Jaaga (a collaborative space for creative people, initiatives and enterprises), the Neighbourhood Diaries took off in 2010 when Rajangam began documenting the transformation of Whitefield from an Anglo-Indian village into the upmarket suburb of today. Whitefield Diaries — a series of six short films — documents the community’s personal histories, heritage and socio-cultural legacy. The duo is working on similar films on Shivajinagar, Malleswaram and Fraser Town. “In Fraser Town, the focus is on the members of the Indian Women’s Hockey team that has won the National Championships eight years in a row. Most of the players are from St Francis Xaviers Girls School in the neighbourhood,” Rajangam says. They usually screen the films in the neighbourhood it was filmed at first and then release it online. They hope to initiate a genuine interest amongst residents in preserving and sharing their histories and memories. The ultimate aim is that this might lead to more active engagement with one’s neighbourhood and participation in protecting what remains of their rich urban history.
