Kollywood? Naah, this is Saidapet rly station's new look!

If you happen to catch sight of the

Saidapet

railway station now, you will surely do a double take. The 85-year-old station is sporting a bright and filmi look, thanks to an initiative by the NalandaWay Foundation. Sriram Ayer, its founder and CEO, and

Thangaraj

, an artist who works with the organisation, came up with the idea of murals of movie stars as part of a beautification effort. 'We wanted to capture the rich cultural history of Tamil cinema. Such a theme would be very easy for people to relate to, and also interest children,' says

Uma

Viswanathan, the COO of the NGO.

For six days, from October 3 to 8, around 20-25 children (a different set every day) from different schools helped paint these walls (the outline was done by the artist). 'We wanted to give an opportunity to as many kids as possible. Also, it wouldn't be fair to ask the kids to skip school for six days continuously,' says Uma, who adds that for the children, in addition to painting, it was a chance to learn about team work. 'There was a lot of camaraderie between them, with kids helping one another. They also learnt from their peers and drew on each other's strengths,' she adds.