Let your wall speak for you!

We are famous for writing on our walls – our walls are everybody's property.  Anybody can mark his/her presence by writing their issues, sticking images of leaders, expressing love or hatred towards others.  We have been using our walls for so many purposes – these non-verbal bodies became our tools and weapons to let other people down and show our power and position. Our walls also became the place of choice to release the untimely calls of nature and they also play a critical role in updating us on unseemly current events. 

However, this need not be common practice. With the other changes that our lives have benefited from in the last decade or so, a change in what Dhaka's walls look like would also be a welcome respite. Now we buy flowers instead of sweets when we visit a friend or a relative. Flower shops and nurseries are seen everywhere in the city.  Our roofs are greener than before. These are all hopeful signs of the changes in the air. 

In past two years or so, I have observed that our walls have also begun to take on fresh, new appearances – mostly the walls and exteriors of corporate houses and some residential buildings are being decorated with plants. The other day while I was passing through the left lane of Aziz Supermarket towards the extension of the Bangabandhu Post Graduate Medical College Hospital/IPGMR, I was really amazed to see the boundary walls of the hospital. Similarly, have you noticed the very special vertical wall garden of the Chinese restaurant at Bijoy Sharani (at Rangs premises)?  I have seen this type of vertical and layer gardens in European and North American cities.  

All these initiatives do not cost much. The first thing is to make the decision that you will give life, voice and colour to your walls.  You can do it in many different ways.  You can ask your gardener to look around the neighbourhood and do something nice to your walls or you may take assistance from professionals in this field. In one of the earlier columns, I talked about the easiest way of planting creepers.  Just get a bunch of those, and plant them at the floor of the wall, nurture them with water and they will start growing and one day cover the facade with greenery. Winter is the best time to decorate your walls with colour by planting common seasonal flowers or tolerant plants like bougainvillea.

A simple and usual brick box building can stand tall in the jungles with its green and coloured look.  I thank the owners and gardeners who decorate their walls and inspire others too! Be a proud owner of your exterior walls and let the walls speak for you!    

Photo courtesy: Laila Karim