Kolkata:
Commuters get a chance to view art, children enjoy showcasing their drawings, and the issue of malnutrition is thrown into sharp relief as the "Art for Nutrition" exhibition gets underway in Kolkata's metro stations.
Four metro stations double up as art galleries, exhibiting over 5,000 pictures painted by school students of West Bengal. The Mahanayak Uttam Kumar, Park Street, Esplanade, and Shyambazar stations are being used as exhibition spaces, with a total area of 2,500 square feet, spread across the station walls.
"This exhibition is for a very noble cause. Metro Railway is very proud to be associated with such a venture. Such an exhibition was organised last year also," Radhey Shyam, general manager of Kolkata Metro said, after inaugurating the exhibition in Kolkata on Wednesday.
More than 27,000 school students of Class 1 to 10 from 154 schools spread across the state participated in a contest organised by GSK Consumer Healthcare, in association with non-government organisation CARE. The paintings that have been exhibited were chosen from among those painted as part of that contest.
The exhibition will be open to the general public for 15 days.
"It is heartening to witness that children across the state have connected to the cause, with their moving and inspiring creations. Together with GSKCH, we hope to make a difference in the lives of malnourished children, their families and the community they live in," said Bandita Sengupta of CARE India.
Stretching across 25.135 km on the city's busy north-south axis from Dumdum to Kavi Subhash, the Kolkata Metro ferries around 6.5 lakh commuters on weekdays and nearly four lakh passengers on weekends.
"Metro is a very good avenue for such an exhibition, since it is used by thousands of commuters everyday. This is probably the best platform for us to raise awareness about the curse of malnourishment," said Siddharth Singh, vice-president sales of GSK Consumer Healthcare.
"As people walk by these pictures painted by children, I believe they will make a lasting impact," he said.