The journey is often seen as more intriguing than the destination in any story. Whether it is a journey headed towards new beginnings or endings, the journey itself holds a lot of emotions and contemplative moments of reflection.
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To make these more contemplative, Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru has organised a 90-minute guided art walkthrough at Terminal 2, between 10.30am and 12pm till December 10, in collaboration with Unboxing BLR HABBA.
“It’s a celebration of Bengaluru. The idea is that people should be aware that there is an extensive art programme at the terminal and it is in place so that people can enjoy it as they are travelling. When the terminal itself was being designed, it had four key pillars: The terminal in a garden, sustainability, technology, and the art and culture of Karnataka.
The basic objective is to make travel more engaging, simple, and a stress-free experience, because one of the roles that art plays is that it relieves tension and gives a sense of calmness,” says Yamini Telkar, head, art programme, Bangalore International Airport Ltd.
This art celebration is curated exclusively for domestic and international passengers on their date of travel which they can sign up for on the BLR airport website. The terminal operations team and a representative from the art team will be present for the walkthrough, accommodating a capacity of up to 15 passengers per day.
“We have 60 artworks by 43 artists, which are inspired by two things. One is of course the art and culture of Karnataka, and the second inspiration is the navarasa, which is the representation of all the nine human emotions. When people travel, they go through a lot of emotions, it could be moving to a new city to study, meeting parents or an emergency in the family. That became the crux of it,” Telkar adds.
Some of the highlights are V+Mana by L N Tallur where the artist has reimagined a Vimana, which is a play on the word aeroplane along with the temple gopuram (roof) which is also called Viman. Telkar further adds, “Another highlight is the Sensorium of Wonder, which is a Bidri work, a traditional art form from Karnataka from Bidar.
We teamed up with a design studio Gaatha to create a five-foot by three-foot panel that is double-sided. On one side, there’s a topographical map of Bengaluru and the other side of the work is a traditional depiction of birds and arches.” Along with this, the terminal also showcases artworks from renowned artists. Like the tapestries featured at the T2 boarding piers by SG Vasudev in collaboration with master weaver S Subbarayalu; Spiral of Life by the master puppeteer Anupama Hoskere and Flights of Wonder by Ravikumar Kashi who has created it by using Channapatna wooden toys, representing the traditional toys in a modern form.
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For Telkar, the terminal is like a gateway into South India. “Bengaluru as a city is quite special because it straddles both the worlds of tradition and innovation. So when anybody comes into Bengaluru, the terminal is the first point where passengers can experience all these elements. It’s a reflection of Bengaluru, and I hope that when people come to see the art, they get a flavour of what the city is made of.”