Drivers don’t usually get along, especially if it’s rush hour and everybody wants to get home as fast as they can. But there is one thing that all of them can agree upon: potholes are the work of evil sorcerers and should be purged from the planet’s roads with extreme prejudice.

Well-known Indian painter Baadal Nanjundaswamy fights against potholes in a very imaginative way — he turns them into fantastic 3D paintings. The artist caused a real stir online with his newest project, a video where he pretends to be an astronaut walking on the moon. Only it’s not the moon at all, but rather the heavily potholed streets of Bangalore! Scroll down for Bored Panda’s interview with the artist.

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An Indian artist pretended to be an astronaut walking on the moon

Image credits: royalbaadal

But really he was walking on a road in Bangalore. The video went viral

Nanjundaswamy’s video went viral in a flash, getting over 22,000 views and 2,200 comments on Facebook, 132,000 upvotes on Reddit, and a further 21,900 likes, 740 comments and 7,000 retweets on Twitter. The painter’s incredibly creative project was an astounding success, in fact.

Not only did it bring a lot of attention to the issue of road quality in India, but it actually led to the local government fixing that particular street in Bangalore (also known as Bengaluru).

“Thank you people for such an overwhelming response and support!” the artist wrote online, thanking everyone for the fast response. Now that’s what I call real, tangible change! This proves that we can fix most problems if we’re imaginative and active enough.

Artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy is best known for his amazing 3D paintings

Nanjundaswamy told Bored Panda that he tries to tackle “current issues” in his art. According to the artist, the city streets looked like the surface of the moon to him, which is why he decided to dress up as an astronaut.

The painter said that “everyone appreciated” his efforts and he himself “felt happy” when Bangalore’s government fixed the road. Nanjundaswamy also revealed that he always wanted to be an artist, and that he currently does “art direction for Kannada films”, and is working on a project at the moment.

The painter protests for better roads in India

Poor road quality is a serious problem in India. According to The Guardian, potholes are deadly: they were responsible for causing so many accidents in 2017 that 3,597 people were killed and another 25,000 were injured.

India has a serious problem with road quality

Because of how prolific potholes are, Indian drivers are said to possess a ‘sixth sense’ because they’ve learned how to notice them from far away. However, this doesn’t work all the time, as some drivers swerve to avoid potholes and end up causing even more accidents. So it’s no wonder that Nanjundaswamy is protesting potholes — fixing them goes beyond aesthetics.

The country’s many potholes cause thousands of accidents each year

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