Art knows no barriers. Hundred-and-fifty quilts that adorn 2,000 sq ft of the recently inaugurated T2 terminal of the Mumbai International Airport Pvt Limited (MIAL) bears testimony to this statement. Designed by 35 women of the Samrat Ashok Nagar area in Chakala, Andheri, this artwork titled Wrapping the Runway is 200 feet broad and 11 feet high and is a part of India Global, one of the six thematic compositions of the art programme titled Jaya Hai that is on display at T2.


The women, who belong to the Siddi community and originally hail from the interiors of Karnataka, had to complete the artwork within three months last year. Pics/ Abhinit Khanna 

The artwork is the brainchild of Rajeev Sethi, scenographer and principal curator of GVK. He got the idea for roping in locals for this project and giving them an opportunity to display their talent when he saw some quilts (godhadis) designed by them drying on clotheslines at Samrat Ashok Nagar in Andheri East. He found these quilts unique and approached the residents expressing a willingness to buy them. Sethi says, "Godhadis fit perfectly in the theme of India Global, depicting to the world our rich cultural heritage in terms of handicrafts."