| Abstrakt: |
The study aims to analyse and determine the symbolic significance of the COVID-19 murals in New Delhi, the capital of India, as an alternative medium for crisis communication. Many digital platforms were used to disseminate COVID-19-related information, but for those who were not a part of the digital ecosystem, murals served as a means of distributing pertinent information and pandemic-related health protocols. The study also aims to distinguish between murals painted by public and private organizations like Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan and Delhi Street Art, respectively. This is a qualitative research with a conceptual framework based on Mohan Dutta’s culture-centred approach. The application of Roland Barthes’s semiotic analysis yielded results indicating that the creation of murals focused on a particular target demographic facilitates successful communication on the topic matter. The inclusion of easily understandable acronyms and slogans, along with the use of language that is comprehensible to the target audience, helps achieve this. Additionally, the creation of murals is a collaborative process that involves engaging community members in the design and implementation, ensuring that the murals accurately reflect the cultural values and perspectives of the target demographic, and fostering a sense of ownership and connection to the message being conveyed. |
