In the early December morning, the lanes of the Lodhi Art District look immaculate. Lined with lush greens, and symmetrical buildings, they brim with life; the hum of running vehicles and chitter-chatter among the group, disturb nothing. But it is the walls here that one cannot look away from. On their colonial-era half-moon-doorways, are murals in popping colors, breathing a new life into the ordinary.
“St+art India wanted to bring art, which is inaccessible to a majority of Indians, on the streets,” says Kanchan Rana, project creative lead of the company, conducting a walk as part of the Delhi Art Week. “Not everyone can go to museums or visit art galleries. The co-founders wanted to bridge that gap. There are over 65 murals in Lodhi Road from 25 artists from around the world. Each artist has a distinct narrative and a story to tell through their work,” she adds.
One such mural catches the eye–a large yellow wall depicting a street scene, which includes a flute-seller, a man reading a newspaper, a woman in a blue salwar kameez selling sweets on her cart, a child with an open book in the corner eyeing balloons, a cow sitting on the side of the road. The eye finally pauses on a colorful painted garland in the middle of the wall, reminiscent of home décor in festive times. On the top right, a thick coat of green and pink traces the parapet and stops mid-way, giving an impression of hanging carpets. A sight, otherwise common, on terraces during afternoons around the city under the wilting winter sun.
Self-reflections
It then hits us, murals like these, on the facades, reflect the city and its culture back to its people. “The mural was painted by Yip Yew Chong from Singapore. The artist went around the area for a couple of days to observe it. He took inspiration from its sights and smells, and made something that was realistic and picture-friendly,” Rana says, adding that many locals who saw the mural expressed their happiness with it. “They felt connected with the characters on the wall. They said they saw themselves in these paintings,” she says.
Rana adds that many locals would join in during the mural painting. “Sometimes they would hang around and even become the subject of some of these murals,” she says.
As the group walks on, people pull their phones out to take selfies before the murals. Some walk around with DSLRs slung around their neck, busy locating the perfect spot for a few clicks.
Wall of ideas
Each artwork explores different landscapes, and nuanced concepts of community, culture and climate change. Canadian artist Aaron Li-Hill paints the perfect picture of climate change in hues of black, white, blue and red. The stark black backdrop in one of the murals is divided by a large window-shaped gap; up on the wall are three men in white, a gas mask and polar bears, men in red coats, gas masks and tigers, all in motion, as if running. “The mural talks about the deteriorating climate and the slow extinction of animals. The men in masks seem to be of the future, bearing the brunt of global warming and bad air quality,” she says.
The gaps on the walls seem to add an extra dimension to the artwork. Most of these gaps are either in the shape of windows or look as if they are the entrances to housing societies. Behind them, there is always a tree. A mural by a Spanish artist plays around with this architectural feature and gives it a new meaning. Made in 2015 by Gonzalo Borondo, the mural was inspired by a painting that recalls Venice. It has large columns, which keep getting smaller as it moves towards the open space. In the middle of these pillars, a boat floats on water, moving towards the banyan tree growing through the gap.
Passage of time
“Right opposite the wall is a maternity ward of a hospital,” Rana explains. “Borondo wanted to reflect that on the wall. The tree in the middle, growing through the gap, is meant to represent life and birth. He attempts to depict the journey of a child from the mother’s womb to the world. The boat is a metaphor for the child’s journey that he is about to begin.”
The magnificence of the painting seems to have worn off. The paint has peeled off and no boat is in sight. Some of the columns—not all—remain but the painting is, for all practical purposes, now lost. “Unfortunately, a lot of these old buildings may be demolished by the government in the next three years. The plan is to replace it with complexes and high-rises eventually,” rues Rana. Once a pale, dull wall, speckled with posters and chipping paint, it has, however, generated quite a bit of engagement from the locals. Revisit these smartened-up lanes before some of these walls are gone forever.