They created some of Kolkata’s most #instaworthy murals – Times of India

Who doesn’t like to click pictures in front of eye-catching graffiti, especially when you find one at a place where you have gone to unwind? Several eateries in Kolkata now have beautiful murals adorning their walls, making them the perfect spots to pose for the gram. You’ve seen these murals at popular cafes and restaurants around the city, now meet the creators of these visual treats to know how they got inspired to paint and create some of Kolkata’s most #instragrammable walls:

my art gives company to guests who come alone: Saptarshi Dey
Despite not holding any formal degree in arts, Saptarshi is a professional artist with four published graphic novels. A lover of comics, he joined the gaming industry after completing his engineering and MBA courses. With a knack for painting and drawing since childhood, he was drawn towards animation and advertisements. And now, he is a professor at a design college. “In between, I was freelancing for several projects. Seeing my work on social media, one of the owners of Hondo’s contacted me, and that was my first assignment at a restaurant,” said Saptarshi, adding, “I wanted to create a separate universe there – a world within this world. So that even those who come there to eat alone, don’t feel lonely. The comics and literature on the walls will accompany them.” He later got an offer to design the walls of Cafe 99 in Vijayawada.

I decorated the walls of my restaurant on my own: Reevu Wangdi
Born and brought up in an Army family in Darjeeling, Reevu was not exposed to the world of arts in his early life. After his schooling from Darjeeling, he went to Switzerland to study hospitality and then moved to Sydney. “There I was exposed to street and hip hop art, and was drawn to it. When I came to Kolkata in 2012 to start my own food venture, I saw a lot of empty walls in the city. Besides the political graffiti, not much could be seen around. So, I started doing wall art here and there, and one of the most prominent places was the Lake Gardens warehouse,” said Reevu. After starting his first outlet of Momo I Am at Lake Gardens, he met several like-minded people and formed a group. “I decorated the walls of my restaurant on my own. I do not follow a format. I just do some research and start painting with spray cans, brushes and acrylics,” said Reevu, who has also worked for gyms and cafes, including the famous graffiti outside The Park, Kolkata.

Quit engineering & MBA jobs to paint:Dipak Das
Like almost every Bengali kid, Dipak too went to painting classes in his childhood and he quite enjoyed it. But as his family wanted him to become an engineer, Dipak got his degree and landed a high-paying job. “But I didn’t like it there, so I left the job to pursue MBA at IIM-Bangalore. In 2014, I started working at another company, but quit soon after realising that it was not making me happy. That was when I went back to painting again,” recalled Dipak. Seeing his works, one of his friends, an interior designer, asked Dipak if he’d be interested in painting a mural at Baccara, a restaurant in Bhawanipore. Dipak readily agreed and once it was done, there was no looking back for him. “In 2018, I painted a few walls at Five Mad Men with assistance from Shatanik Modak. The owners’ idea was to create a casual vibe that could help guests feel relaxed after a hard day at work. I followed the brief and it has turned out to be one of the most popular selfie spots,” added Dipak.

I started by painting walls at a friend’s cafe: Ritwika Saha
Neither did she go to an art school, nor does she have any formal degree in the arts. But thanks to her father – a professional artist – painting runs in Ritwika’s blood. Though she was quite happy with the corporate job she found after completing her graduation in communications, the year 2020 made her quit for want of mental peace. Fortunately, one of her friends opened a cafe at the same time and asked Ritwika to go creative and deck up the walls. “I made some paintings and murals for Dawntown Cafe and posted the photos on social media. Soon, several people approached me for creating murals and it became my profession,” said Ritwika. In one of her recent works, Ritwika has drawn a mural of artist Salvador Dali, inspired by a popular television series, for Cafe by the Lane at Deshapriya Park. “The owner needed something trendy and happening that would capture the youth-centric popular culture. So, I chose this mask and people have shown it a lot of love,” she added.