Metro heritage line to exhibit murals

June 5, 2013

Rumu Banerjee, TNN |

NEW DELHI: If history is your passion, travelling on Delhi Metro’s upcoming heritage line could be well worth the effort. Besides connecting several historical monuments, the stations on the line — Central Secretariat to Kashmere Gate —will also exhibit large murals, narratives and artwork of the neighbouring monuments that the line passes through. To begin with, Janpath Metro station will have murals and artwork inspired by Agrasen ki Baoli and Jantar Mantar.

“Delhi is an ancient city, with reminders of itsglorious heritage in the form of monuments and ruins all around. These places are often forgotten and lost in the rapid urbanization. Since the Janpath Metro station lies in the vicinity of the monuments like Jantar Mantar and Agrasen ki Baoli, we wanted to have a collage of various aspects of the structures in a colourful and graphical format,” said a senior Delhi Metro officer.

According to Delhi Metro officials, the murals and other artwork will be displayed in the connecting subways along the network as well. “There are several subways planned as part of the Metro station design along the heritage line. All the subways will have narratives and displays of the nearby monuments,” added the Delhi Metro official.

It’s not just the Janpath station that will have the murals or artwork. Other stations along the line will also exhibit unique and at times, modern takes on the historical monuments that are near the stations. For instance, the Red Fort Metro station will have entry and exit points that will be constructed to look like the neighbouring Mughal architecture. Similarly, the Jama Masjid station as well as the Delhi Gate stations will have distinctive murals, narratives.

The Delhi Metro will use the latest technology while putting up these graphic panels. “The specifications of the work includes an aluminium channel framing which provides the base for mounting panels on existing wall surfaces. Also, 26 gauge galvanized iron (GI)/MS sheets with colour ‘duco’ finish will be used,” added the official.

Incidentally, other Metro stations that have similar displays include Barakhamba, INA, Uttam Nagar and Welcome station. However, here the displays are different with various themes. The heritage line will be the first Metro corridor that will have a consistent artistic theme of historical buildings but with differing monuments in each station.

According to officials, with thousands of people visiting the Delhi Metro every day, stations can be a “very important vantage point for communicating ideas to the public”. “The large size and bold use of colours and modern abstract forms will also lighten up the walls of the stations,” added the official.