We had traveled to Nepal in December last year. While the Nepal trip will be covered in subsequent blogs, I have attempted to cover our journey from Mumbai to Kathmandu in this blog with a focus on the fantastic art exhibition at T2 international terminal of Mumbai airport.
Jai He is an over 3 kms long installation of art works representing the close to 5000 year history of Indian art and culture. There are over 7000 works of art by 1500 artisans and a fair number of antiques and heritage objects as well.
I was very keen on checking out this installation ever since this terminal opened in 2014 but never had the opportunity. Therefore when my wife and myself traveled to Nepal, we made it a point to provide a good hour or so to admire these exhibits.
Jai He is a labour of love put together by curator and art expert Rajiv Sethi and encouraged by the Reddys of GVK. The terminal is itself designed in a manner based to represent the peacock in terms of the peacock plumed type roof and also the motifs on the carpet.
A board at the airport above with a list of Gujarati snacks which is testimony to the large number of Gujaratis travelling abroad 🙂
The exhibits include Tanjore paintings, china mosaics, fabulous wood work, totem poles and modern exhibits depicting ancient legends such as the Pushpaka Vimana ( a type of aircraft mentioned in Indian mythology)
The sheer variety and beauty of the objects de art on display is so overwhelming that one feels that one is in a great international museum rather than an airport and that flying is an activity incidental to the place and that the main purpose is art. T3 at Delhi where we reached to take a connecting flight to Kathmandu does not even begin to compare once you have enjoyed the experience at T2 in Mumbai. T3 was however beautifully decorated with displays for Christmas and the New Year and I have captured some of the festive spirit in the pictures taken below at T3 in Delhi
After a much delayed flight to Kathmandu, we were finally on our way and had some fabulous views of the Himalayas on the way. A point to make here is that as per the Bureau of Immigration in India, Indian children under 18 years of age can travel by air to Nepal with only a photo ID such as a school ID card in case he or she is accompanied by one or more parents with valid passports.
We were forced to cancel our son’s ticket at the last minute since his passport had expired and we missed seeing this. Also, Air India true to its incompetence, refused to confirm this simple fact although the Bureau of Immigration , Delhi did confirm this and we did not want to take a chance.
We finally reached Kathmandu after a 15 hour air trip from Mumbai courtesy Air India . Air India should be the last airline of choice as the service is only going from bad to worse. We had a similar 15 hour return journey .
We did have a comfortable stay at the Hotel Tibet in Kathmandu although there were challenges aplenty as regards food, road blockages, etc during our trip to Nepal given the Madhesi blockade at the time. More about these in subsequent blogs.
Jai He is an exhibition that will cater to about 40 million passengers a year. Contrast this with the Louvre’s 10 million visitors per annum or the British Museum’s 6 million visitors and this will possibly be the most visited art museum in the world albeit restricted to passengers. We admired the way this has been done with a free hand being given to the curator Mr Rajiv Sethi by the Reddys of GVK.
There is a similar set of exhibits in the arrivals section of T2 albeit much less in number although more modern in terms of themes based on Bollywood, etc. My request is that anyone passing through this terminal needs to provide atleast an hour to admire these art works that have been put together so lovingly.
JAI HE !!!
P.S: All Air India flights out of Mumbai including domestic flights depart from T2 and hence in case one has the inclination,the time and is willing to risk flying Air India, one can take a domestic flight with Air India and check out ‘ Jai He’.
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