Who could have thought that the cylinder of a fire extinguisher would form the body of a tribal musician or the round brake shoes of a vehicle the paws of a dog?

Welcome to the world of junk art. In the coming months, many streets and roundabouts in Jamshedpur will turn into open-air galleries of sculptures made from recycled scrap, mostly auto spares.

Tata Steel subsidiary Jusco, the civic guardian for most parts of the city, has undertaken this eye-catching project as part of its broader ongoing road-widening venture.

Around 60 pieces of art, all made from scrap, will be mounted in phases on chosen sites, the first lot before March 3, Founder's Day. Right now, work on the sculptures is underway at a workshop near the nursery behind Tata Steel Zoological Park.

Workmen, headed by a sculptor who doesn't want to be identified, is making the pieces, which include abstracts, musical instruments, animals and human figures that can be 10 feet tall.

So, from a giraffe and a unicorn to tribal musicians to a pair of tablas and the guitar, there's diversity aplenty.

But what is most interesting is figuring out which item has been recycled into which part of the sculpture.

For instance, the body of a dog is made up of a petrol tank of a truck, shock absorbers form its legs and brake shoes its paws. Auto spares have been used brilliantly.

"It's a very interesting experiment that's shaping up well," said Rajesh Rajan, chief, corporate communications and event management, Jusco. "We are using scrap and junk materials to promote recycled art for twin purposes of promoting environment friendliness and urban aesthetics."

They displayed a few pieces at the Annual Flower Show last December for a curtain-raiser to the project. "Though made of junk, this kind of art attracts people. They are striking and can be great conversation starters for residents and tourists," Rajan said.

Sculptures apart, landscaping will also be done with rocks and pebbles.

Jusco officials also said around 70 palm, ficus and bakul trees had been relocated across the city and in the near future, 50,000 saplings will planted in the city.

As road widening is on, with the inevitable uprooting of trees, Jusco has also experimented with aerial feeding to protect the green cover. Here, saline water infused on trees helps them recover from the damages suffered during uprooting.

Have you seen junk art adorning any other city?
Tell abpmail@ttkhand.com