Gurugram, Apr 15 (IANS): Once plain and bland, the walls of a school in the Nathupur Pahari slum here are now sporting vibrant wall art murals on key social issues like environmental conservation, girl child literacy and the importance of hygiene.

On the occasion of the ‘World Art Day' on Monday, the school walls got an artistic makeover by children from NGO Ritinjali, along with around 25 employees of leading publisher Oxford University Press India.

The Ritinjali Learning Centre now has colourful motifs like clouds, human figures, plants and even numbers from 1-10. It also boasts of wall art with the slogan 'School Chale Hum'.

Mentioning the importance of the arts in initiating children in "new ways of seeing, hearing, feeling and moving", the NGO's director Dilreen Kaur told IANS that the collaborative art project transformed the walls of the Centre into bright and joyful spaces.

The creative initiative is part of the publisher's support to the learning needs of the Centre's children, which includes books, stationary, learning infrastructure and teacher training.