Santhosh Buddhi, the artist who is beautifying streets of Hyderabad

Hyderabad: In the last couple of years, several artists have dedicated hours to make Hyderabad’s road more colourful and interesting. One such artist is Santhosh Buddhi, whose most recent art installation – a bottle-shaped dustbin – near Tank Bund has garnered a lot of attention. After being assigned the project by the GHMC, Santhosh took […]

Hyderabad: In the last couple of years, several artists have dedicated hours to make Hyderabad’s road more colourful and interesting. One such artist is Santhosh Buddhi, whose most recent art installation – a bottle-shaped dustbin – near Tank Bund has garnered a lot of attention.

After being assigned the project by the GHMC, Santhosh took a couple of days to come up with the project sketch. “Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi had shown me a similar installation in another city. I took inspiration from it, however I wanted it to be my design. Hence, I worked on it for a couple of days and made the sketch of the installation. It is made of iron and has a door at its bottom to collect the trash.”

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The installation, which is about 35 kg in weight, was made with the help of two welders. Santhosh has made similar installations for Karimnagar and Siddipet as well.

A Master’s graduate from University of Hyderabad’s Sculpture Department, Santhosh completed his Bachelors from the Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University. Apart from the iron bottle, he was also part of the team that installed the pebble structure opposite GVK Mall and the ‘Palapitta’ sculpture at Road Number 70, Jubilee Hills. He has also been part of the team that did beautiful paintings across the city, such as outside the Lakdi ka Pul Railway Station, Khairatabad Flyover and near Pension Office Bus Stop, Banjara Hills.

The artist, who is beautifying the streets of Hyderabad, however, had a rough start in life. Coming from an underprivileged background, Santhosh didn’t have enough financial backing. “I am from Kagazhnagar. I have had a difficult childhood. When I started college, I didn’t have any money to pay the fees. So, after joining the college I used to work at night in a hospital as an ambulance driver. It was challenging for me but since I loved art I could somehow push.”

Things have now changed for Santhosh. “When I started studying Fine Arts in Hyderabad no one understood what I was doing. But people now appreciate me and my work. I hope my hard work encourages others to pursue their ambitions.”

Sharing about other projects he is working on at the moment, he says, “I recently finished the Siddipet iron bottle installation, and a wall mural at Khammam. I also worked on a piece called helping hands, made of nuts, that is yet to be installed by GHMC.”

Expressing his gratitude for the city authority for giving him a chance to showcase his art, Santosh shares, “These works have given me an identity and scope to work further. Many other government departments are also approaching me for work. Several higher officials and bureaucrats have appreciated my work. It is really motivating.”