Painting is fun. The bigger the canvas, the more the fun. However, Guddu presently found himself at his wit’s end. Was there something wrong with him or his school, which strictly prohibited its students from writing or scribbling any images on the wall?

As the school rule book suggested, wall-chalking or drawing graffiti was not allowed anywhere within the school premises, whether in the classroom or on the playground boundary walls. Though it made sense not to deface the exterior and interior of any building through cacographic wall writing, the same walls could also serve as the perfect medium of self-expression, affording ample space and freedom to budding junior artists to help them better express their ideas and convey their thoughts more visibly and clearly.

And for Guddu, what made this art more appealing were its serviceability, convenience and handiness, since walk chalking did not require a whole palette or a special, expensive set of colours to nurture artistic practice. One could also express creativity using thrown-away charcoal, wooden coal or a tiny piece of chalk, to speak one’s heart out through artistic images drawn on the wall, paired with appropriate slogans, words and sentences.

However, Guddu took no time to realise that school was not the place to be for budding graffiti artists like him, and whatever was taught in school in the name of art and drawing was entirely confined to an A4 paper or a 900 x 1280mm card sheet — no more, no less. But Guddu had some other ideas to make those concrete, yet dull walls of his home alive by showing his graffiti talent on them, and the starting point of his art journey must be his own bedroom.

As soon as Guddu came from school and changed his uniform, he picked up a piece of chalk, dipped it into the water and drew on his bedroom door a smiley face with a caption written in huge font, which read, ‘Welcome to Guddu’s Room.’

As it was just the beginning, Guddu seemed to have more ideas up his sleeve. And to make it happen, he instantly moved to the front door of the drawing room to draw a Mickey Mouse, with both hands pointing to the room, along with an inscription that read, ‘This is our drawing room.’

Determined from the word go, the graffiti artist lurking within Guddu still looked restless, hunting high and low for another wooden structure inside. And yes, there he found the batwing doors of the TV lounge offering him enough space to showcase his talent. Having written ‘This is our TV lounge’ on the small, swinging batwing doors, Guddu finally moved to the kitchen area.

But before he could ascertain the perfect location to scribble another welcoming message, along with some poorly drawn cartoon characters at the wooden doorpost of the shared doorway to the kitchen and dining area, a loud shout from his elder sister Shiza baji, who had just come from her college, stopped his moving feet.

“Guddu! What are you doing?” cried Shiza baji at the top of her lungs.

“Nothing, baji. I’m just putting the room names to help everyone know where they are entering,” Guddu replied, abortively trying to justify his new craze.

“What? Are your senses working or not? Is there a need to write such things on the wall inside the house?” Shiza baji could not comprehend the half-baked excuse given by Guddu. “This is our home, not a public place.”

“But baji, can’t you see I am practicing graffiti art?” Guddu tried to clarify his point with more honesty this time.

“What? Graffiti art, and that too inside the home?” Shiza baji was still unconvinced for the most obvious reason.

“Yes, why not?” Guddu seemed adamant about his position.

“Guddu! How can you spoil the home’s clean interior like this? It is our home, not an advertising display or a notice board meant for the public view. Everyone in such a small place knows where the drawing room, kitchen and the other rooms are. Then, why are you writing all such things on the neatly-painted walls?”

Before Guddu could find a believable answer to his elder sister’s question, mama joined the heated discussion with her sleeves rolled up to the elbow and quite an angry expression on her face.

“Guddu! Who told you to do all such things inside the house?” mama asked in a more intimidating manner.

“No one did, mum. This is only because I love writing and drawing sketches on the wall and want to hone my skills in this form of art,” Guddu replied, this time quite firmly.

“Can’t you find a better place for this?” Mama asked.

“No, mum. Our school does not allow us to write or draw anything on the wall inside the school premises. And I am well-aware that it’s not good at all to do wall-chalking anywhere outside. If not home, then how and where can I find an art medium this big and spacious?” Guddu went back to his room, using all his logical and persuasive powers to convince both his mother and sister in one go.

Though it was quite painful for both mama and Shiza baji to wipe out Guddu’s humble, creative efforts from the home walls in just a matter of next few minutes, it took no time for mama to come up with a brilliant idea to provide Guddu an outlet big enough to help him showcase his creativity and speak his heart out, that too without defacing the walls across the home.

Then came the next Sunday, when everybody was at home, sitting and enjoying their brunch together. Once the meal was over, mama, along with the rest of the family members, including papa, grandma, bhai, bhabhi, and of course, Shiza baji, took Guddu to the rear side of the storeroom facing the inside boundary wall, where a real surprise was waiting for him.

It was a newly oil-painted wall with a mini wooden cabinet affixed to the side wall. In the cabinet, there was a set of coloured chalks and whiteboard markers, along with a stain remover, cleaning cloth and a sponge scouring pad. Yes, it was a designated art wall that now solely belonged to Guddu, giving him the sought-after space and allowing him to flex all his creative muscles instead of tying them up further.

It was an isolated place, away from the common view, yet it had everything Guddu was looking for — a distinct and expansive creative field of scribbling, drawing, painting and whatnot.

Guddu, in a feat of excitement, immediately took up the pink-coloured chalk in his right hand to draw his first graffiti on his personal art wall. It was a small boy with a big smiley face, and below it was a line saying, ‘Thank you, mama!’ and rightly so.

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 3rd, 2024