The once drab concrete pillars are now brightly decorated with yellow, green, and orange triangles.

In the Indian city of Bangalore, one motorway flyover after another is being transformed from an eyesore into a spectacle.

The pillars at many metro stations have also been decorated.

Anonymous activists are behind the painting campaign – a loose group calling itself “The Ugly Indian”. The name is pure irony.

One of the organisers is a 40-year-old man with a moustache, who describes himself as a “full-time helper” but does not wish to reveal his name. He says thousands of locations in the metropolis of Bangalore, and increasingly also in other cities like Bhopal, Chennai and Pune, have been spruced up in the last five years.

It’s not just about brightening up the unsightly surfaces with a lick of paint.

The busy helpers clear away trash, cover over open drains, and clean off walls stained with things that people chew and spit out.

Photos of more than 500 beautified sites can be seen on the group’s Facebook page. On it, there are constant calls for people to get involved. Only the location and the time are mentioned – everything else happens on site.

“The Ugly Indian is an idea, an attitude. We’re not an organisation,” the 40-year-old helper insists. The aim is to motivate as many people as possible to lend a hand.

Anyone visiting the group’s website must first respond to the question of why India’s streets are so filthy. They are then told that, “It’s time we admitted that many of India’s problems are because many of us are Ugly Indians.”

But, according to the group, there are grounds for hope and optimism. If Indians believe that they can change things, these problems could be solved.

Around 30 optimists recently met under the Vanivilas flyover. They grabbed buckets and paintbrushes, sticky tape and paint rollers.

While they painted the pillars, auto rickshaws, rickety busses, trucks, cars, and scooters zoomed around them.

Inquisitive shopkeepers came by to take photographs.

“The government and city administration can only do so much – we have to do something too,” 26-year-old electronics technician Naveen Kumar said between brushstrokes. He was getting involved for the first time and plans to come again.

“We are playing our part so Bangalore gets a little bit nicer,” added IT specialist Priya Prasad beside him. “And we want to inspire others.”

The “full-time helper” said it was important to make the initiatives cool and to publish the results online, to attract young people.

“Event management is also important. Many people don’t want to give up a whole day, or come regularly, as they would with an aid organisation. Here, it’s a matter of two hours, and then every time they pass the coloured pillars, they can feel proud of what they’ve done.”

In the Indian capital New Delhi, the group ST+ART was formed in 2012, to bring more colour to the city. Now, a huge portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, painted by street artists Anpu Varkey and Hendrik Beikirch, adorns the police headquarters.

The Govind Puri metro station is decorated to the roof with naive paintings. And several exterior walls in Lodhi Colony are painted with 25 large-format motifs that lend the whole area a new flair.

“Art should be for everyone, and not just for a select few,” says Giulia Ambrogi, curator of the annual Delhi Street Art festival. “Our artists come from all around the world, but they arrive without a finished idea of what they want to paint,” she says.

“That only emerges in the interaction with the place and the people.”