We’re all aware that the potholes on Indian roads and highways only get worse with every monsoon. Huge crater-sized holes often turn graves for innocent lives, killing commuters in road accidents caused by water-filled craters. Now Bengaluru is no stranger to this grave danger that needs immediate redressal.
Hence to draw eye-balls towards Bengaluru’s potholed roads, an artist came up with a fantastic plan. The poor conditions of roads inspired 3D-artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy to recreate the charming ‘moonwalk’ with a twist.
The sassy artist dressed as an astronaut and filmed a video that showed him walking on what looked like massive craters. These were in reality, Bengaluru’s pothole-ridden roads. The video has garnered more than 1.5 million views and gone viral.
Hello👋 BBMP Commissioner #thelatest #nammabengaluru #streetart #potholes #herohalli
Posted by Baadal Nanjundaswamy on Sunday, September 1, 2019
He skillfully recreates the moonwalk tricking people in believing that it is the actual footage of someone walking on the moon but as the camera pans, one can see the terrible state of the pothole-filled roads of Bengaluru.
Netizens seem to love his creative way of pointing out the city’s faulty infrastructure.
Creativity at it's best 🤣🤣🤣
— ಸರ್ವಾಂತರ್ಯಾಮಿ™ (@DBoss_maniac) September 2, 2019
ISRO can train their astronauts in these roads so that we have a successful moon mission in 2022
— Doddanekundi Rising (@Dnekundi_rising) September 2, 2019
You are now a "Moon-lorian"
— Ashish Bhatt (@ashishbhatt_10) September 2, 2019
No, we should apply Guinness world record for most number of potholes in 1 kilometer road
— Prudhvi Ram Potta (@Prudhvi_Ram_P) September 2, 2019
😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/zjTfyX1C36
— Sheetal Mishra 🌼 (@itssitu) September 3, 2019
OMG ! Now BBMP may include Moonwalk tax as a sub component into road tax .. 😉
— venkatesh (@v3nky) September 2, 2019
Bhai kamaal ki creativity hai aapki.
— Abhishek Upamanyu (@AbhishekUpaman1) September 2, 2019
Lol good one.
Shame on bbmp useless organization.— avi_techie (@avi_trends) September 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/axeploit/status/1168500629683064833
This is #Epic on so many levels…
— Time2Voice (@time2_voice) September 2, 2019
Taxpayer's money is used for Chandrayan-3 practice 🙂
— Mahesh Kumar (@wotsnext) September 2, 2019
I don’t agree… Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, Dombivali are strong contenders
— Arunkumar (@arung_in) September 2, 2019
Apparently, Nanjundaswamy’s creative efforts finally forced the government to take effective measures.
Thank you people for such a overwhelming response and support! ♥️♥️♥️🙏🙏
Work in progress.. Quick and prompt response from @BBMP. Thank you very much @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR and Mr. Prabhakar, CE RR Nagar who is overlooking on ground currently. pic.twitter.com/clgoLAIKzU
— baadal nanjundaswamy (@baadalvirus) September 3, 2019
It is not the first time that Nanjundaswamy has highlighted the city’s issues through his 3D street art. Here are some of his masterpieces:
Thankew so much!❤ @BBMP_MAYOR @BangaloreMirror @Ananthaforu @Vijaykarnataka pic.twitter.com/BmbAscNuHD
— baadal nanjundaswamy (@baadalvirus) May 29, 2019
☔ #throwback #potholes #nammabengaluru pic.twitter.com/lvTCaAPAa8
— baadal nanjundaswamy (@baadalvirus) October 8, 2017
☺ Revisiting #banksy #garbageproblem #nammabengaluru pic.twitter.com/MU9gKdets3
— baadal nanjundaswamy (@baadalvirus) April 5, 2018
Garbage thrower! #nammabengaluru #streetartindia pic.twitter.com/faEyBnJ8Rh
— baadal nanjundaswamy (@baadalvirus) March 30, 2018
Thankew 😇 #bbmp #media #potholes #nammabengaluru #streetart pic.twitter.com/st6S9MD26S
— baadal nanjundaswamy (@baadalvirus) October 14, 2017
Alas, potholes are not merely Bengaluru’s roadblock towards development. All major cities including Delhi and Mumbai are struggling to get find a lasting solution for them. Well, hope the authorities realise the gravity of the situation and come up with effective solutions to remedy bumpy Indian roads.