Ever stopped by Reay Road railway station and noticed the colourful artwork on the walls? The quirky paintings and social messages are the handiwork of over 60 school students and teachers of Orchids International School.

With the help of organisations like Anybody Can Help (ACH) and Die Hard Indian, the students have tried to spread social awareness about pertinent issues, while trying to beautify the area. Chiresh Sanghvi, 28, founder of ACH, started an initiative to paint the walls of Mumbai’s railway stations a month ago. It began with beautifying Mahim railway station in February and the project was carried out at Reay Road railway station on March 5.

He said, “We wanted to beautify the railway station as well as spread social awareness. So we chose to use the power of art. We were inspired by the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan as well, so that people will want to keep the surroundings clean, considering that we have made efforts to beautify it.”

They painted the walls at platform number 2 on March 5 and March 6. They will soon do the same on platform number 1. “A large chunk of Mumbai’s population commutes via local trains because of which we thought that railway stations will be a good place to reach out to the masses,” said Sanghvi.

So far, over 60 volunteers are helping ACH in their endeavour to beautify the city’s railway stations.