India’s largest public art programme is in an Airport
Airports around the world tend to be unloving places – people of multi-ethnicity crisscrossing, not stopping for a smile – staff running around like machines – inhuman announcements calling names – food that taste lifeless and so on. There are few airports that make you feel warm and cheer you up after a tiring day. Many airport authorities are realising this, and, try to light up and add a soul to their properties.
Chennai Airport, certainly not famous for being efficient or comfortable, has been working with Tamil Nadu state’s Handicraft company “Poompuhar”. Today during a trip I noticed Mumbai’s T2 Terminal having a lot of interesting exhibits and paintings displayed throughout the corridors leading to landing gates. Reading on their website, I learned Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport have been working on this for years through their ‘Jaya He’ programme – planned to be India’s largest public art exhibition – a 3.2 km multi-storey Art Wall, 5000 pieces of artwork and artefacts from every region & corner of India. I found it enthralling to see Tamil Nadu temple artforms, Tanjore paintings of Vaishnavaite Gods & Goddesses and even Tamil poems.
