I dream my painting, then I paint my dream
Vincent Van Gogh

Smiling at each other as paint dripped off our fingers, our clothes all messy. With the tunes of ‘Atrangi Yaari’ playing in the background and the warm glow of the SAC lights, we started painting.

Whoever said AF is family, couldn’t have said it better.  We are Family, one tight pack who’s there for each other, and as I helped paint the SAC wall, I couldn’t have felt that more.

From carrying the tubs of paint, to distributing brushes. Keeping away the dogs from licking the paint, to stuffing ourselves with night canteen half past midnight. 

Painting the SAC wall, starting off as just a project for the Artists Forum, ended up as something much more.

We wanted to make something that lasts, something that everyone can see, and possibly make our mark in NITK. From discussing ideas to finally buying enough chalks to start drawing out them, we started our project.  

“When we started on this, we had one goal – give SAC the look its purpose garnered. This was different from the other projects done by AF since we weren’t working on one plain surface. We are talking about 3-4 haphazard concrete structures whose purpose beats me to date. Further on, things got no easier with the melange of colours and late-night work. We were communicating in what seemed like gibberish to outsiders shouting out colour names to each other. But it all comes down to the final day and last stroke of paint, cause that’s when the satisfaction hits you as you gaze upon your creation.” 
-Gayatri Indukumar

Passing by students could see us, standing in small gatherings near the SAC wall, sometimes drawing, sometimes just blankly looking at the wall. It didn’t matter if someone messed up, or if someone got the colour wrong, we were there not only to paint, but to also learn from our mistakes.


To see the painting of the wall come out just as we imagined was a satisfaction that we couldn’t explain. Something we dreamed of, or was just a vision in our heads, was out there, and we painted it.

“As a volunteer, it was my first time working with AF. The task was daunting but the effort, hardwork and talent that I saw surprised me. I was amazed at the change of the SAC wall and proud that i could contribute into it. I was very happy to work with the group.”
-Pratik Shivanani

We gave ourselves a week as a deadline to complete this project. This week had us running around the SAC every night, till 2am, sometimes even 6 in the morning. From screaming out paint colours, to staring at the stars from the SAC roof, when this week was over, we made sure the last stroke was done as well.

To anyone who walks by, he/she may see this SAC wall painting in all its colours and intricacies and this may seem just as another successful AF project, but to us, each time we walk by, we see our memories.

The idea is not to live forever, but to create something that will
Andy Warhol

And that was AF’s goal all along. To create something that can live forever.