Vaartaphalak Photos is a project that tries to locate and study Vaartaphalaks or Street Sign boards in the city of Pune.

This one is at Kumthekar road, Sadashivpeth. And the chronicler translates for us:

‘this is a typical space as defined by a vartaphalak. this message was written a day after the civic election results were declared, expounding on the topic of ‘kartavya’: It is but natural to be enthused by victory and be disappointed by defeat. However our tradition tells us that more important than victory or defeat is our duty.’

The project is slated to give us some interesting insights about public space in India.In a post about an interview of one of the people that write these boards, Atul Mane, she writes,

“Atul Mane, 21, S.S.C. Arranges theme parties and manages minor events, sells newspapers in the morning and helps his friend on the Chinese food stall by the night. Daily writes ‘suvichaar’ (thought for the day) on the Muktai Pratishthan vartaphalak in Ghorpade Peth. He was of the opinion that vartaphalaks which have an overtly political content do not give much to the society; he only wrote about the local community happenings and good thoughts on the mandal’s (youth collective) vartaphalak. Atul swears by his mandal, which seems to have provided him with a platform to connect with other boys, engage in several welfare activities and learn leadership skills.”