Pune: Doctor and muralist pays tribute to fellow healthcare workers through street art

Kalyani Nagar, July 15, 2020: It is said ‘doctors are God’s way of putting angels on earth’, many also believe ‘doctors are living God on earth’. While the phrases and beliefs are long-known, but little are these ‘white cape’ angels appreciated for their work. However, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which has left no aspects in the world unaffected, has stood as a reminder to everyone, that healthcare providers are true ‘game changer and life saver’.

To pay a tribute to one of the frontline warriors, Dr Pratishtha Banga Chaudhari, an MD Pharmacologist and BJ Medical College and Sassoon hospital alumna, who passed MBBS in 2007, has painted the walls of Pune with murals, to thank the healthcare providers who have been draining themselves day and night to fight against the pandemic. She has been making wall art, street art, and graffiti for about three years now. The doctor drew two murals at the opposite side of the Gurunanak Dairy and Verde Society on Matruchaya society wall in Kalyani Nagar, Pune.

Chaudhari who lives in Hong-Kong had come to Pune along with her husband and a two and half-year-old son to visit her parents in December 2019. However, due to the pandemic situation, she got stuck here. “As an artist I wanted to pay a tribute to my colleagues in the medical fraternity who are tirelessly serving the COVID patients, risking their own lives and keeping their personal lives aside,” said Chaudhari, owner of a medical writing company called WriterMD.

In two and a half-days, Chaudhari created two murals, the main mural is 8 feet tall and 14 feet wide. “I had approached the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and they liked the idea. PMC permitted, and facilitated the project. They were highly appreciative of the art. I self-sponsored the project,” she told Punekarnews.in.

Describing the murals, Chaudhari said, “it is a street art dedicated to doctors. It shows a lady doctor guarding the patients under her wings like a guardian angel. The people are crowning her as a symbol of respect. In the background, the coronavirus is seen. The second mural shows a Bharatnatyam dancer posing in a ‘shringar mudra’ and wearing a mask.”

Many passersby appreciated her art and tagged her on Instagram while she was making the art.