Colaba wall art honors 26/11 bravery, celebrates Mumbai’s resilience

At unveiling, celebrating valour and resilience. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

A wall at Colaba near the Wodehouse Gymkhana and diagonally opposite the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) became a canvas to celebrate courage. A new artwork was unveiled late Monday evening, on the eve of 16 years of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. This wall art commemorates the bravery and sacrifices of those slain in the three-day siege in 2008.

This is so that we never forget," said Pallavi Gurjar, director of Artarena Creations Pvt Ltd who hosted the tribute. Gurjar said, "It is all about location. We surveyed a few walls and chose this one near Budhwar Park. This is very close to where the terrorists landed in their boats and then accessed the southern part of the city where they wreaked havoc and a trail of death."

The artwork on an egg yolk yellow background, features hero cop Tukaram Ombale, the late Ratan Tata, doctors, nurses, the head chef of Taj Hemant Oberoi, NSG commandos and more. Gurjar added, "There is no stirring of any negative emotion. This is a reminder of the resilience of the city, the unity of India." Gurjar reminded that the wall art also features a QR code. "One can scan it and get a link to a patriotic song called 'Mera Desh' which was released yesterday at the unveiling. If this becomes a selfie spot, especially for Gen Next, it will ensure that youngsters too, know about this difficult part of the city's history."

The challenge

The work, "Is in the style of academic realism," said Dr Douglas John who anchored the initiative. Dr John is head of the department, Sir JJ School of Art, Architecture and Design Deemed to be University. Dr John added, "The challenge is to convey a message very quickly, seconds to a minute in a buzzing city. The choice of colour is very vital. We need to think whether this is a temporary mural or a permanent one. All this is factored in and this work is direct, thoughtful and meaningful."

There was design developer Shardul Kadam, lecturer JJ School of Art and the team of creative advisor Lakshmi Narvekar, with young artists Omkar Mohite Ajinkya Hindalekar, Shubham Chavan and Gaurav Pimpalkar, who all saw the work come to life.

Kadam said, "It was not only the men in uniform but citizens from every industry, like hospitality, and medical professionals who fought so well. I recall several friends being in the vicinity of the attacks that day, there were art exhibitions going on in some galleries in town. I was near CST station sometime that evening on 26/11 and then rode down to Dadar on my two-wheeler. It was there that I heard there is some problem in the city. First, it was said there was some gang war. Then we learnt it was a terror attack. I thought to myself I was just there 20 minutes ago. My friends were hiding behind the door of a south Mumbai cinema. There are so many thoughts like how our policemen put their lives on the line, some losing them too, smashing negative stereotypes about the force."

Kadam added about the artwork, "The yellow background brings a richness to this art, we want to show Mumbai's 'raunak' came back eventually, we should always remember our heroes and victims' families too." Local activist Bella Shah added, "This is evocative art and shows how infrastructure can become a canvas. Passers-by we are sure will snap a silent salute in their mind to brave hearts who fought so gallantly in our darkest times."