Discovering this set of street art was sheer luck. Serendipity indeed.
It was around 10 am on a Saturday morning in Bandra last month. I had just finished seeing and photographing the set of artwork on the compound wall of St. Peter’s Church on Hill Road. I still had those images of on the theme of child sex ratio and sex selection on my mind when I stopped near a roadside tea stall to put away my camera gear.
On noticing my camera, one of the men standing there said in Hindi, “Don’t put your camera away. There is a lane full of ‘paintings’ like this a little further down the road.”
“Do you mean the ‘paintings’ on Chapel Road?”, I asked.
“No, no. There is another chhota road here which has paintings. Very beautiful paintings.”
“Thanks. I’ll have a look.” I didn’t tell him, but I was a little dubious about this piece of information. I had walked down the road many times and never come across any lane like the one he had mentioned. Also, my good friend Google had never mentioned it, in the sense that all image searches would lead one to the wall art on Chapel Road.
Still… as I walked down the road, I kept an eye out. And then I saw it. If I had not noticed a flash of turquoise blue and red and then looked again, I would have missed it. What I had always assumed was the entrance to a housing society was actually a lane so narrow that if I had stood with my arms spread out, I would have touched the walls on either side.
This was Nagrana Lane. From the entrance to the lane, I could see a meandering, crooked lane bounded by high walls on both sides. One side of the lane or rather one wall was covered with art — vibrant, colourful wall art that seemed to flow with the contours of the wall.
A lush canopy of frangipani and bougainvillea at the entrance to Nagrana lane cast shadows on the walls adding to the effect and becoming part of the artworks themselves. The light fragrance of the frangipani and a cool morning breeze made it just perfect and welcoming to explore the lane. See what all secrets the lane hid !
Is the green colour from growth of moss or is it part of the paint?
Look into my eyes, the face on the right seems to say…
Will the umbrella help against the colourful rain?
Random art? Structured art? Does it really matter when it is so beautiful?
That sunny patch of yellow… made me so happy 🙂
So pensive, so calm, so contemplative, so beautiful…
A collage of some of the more fascinating works found at Nagrana Lane…
All the wall art at Nagrana Lane has been done by Harshvardhan Kadam of Inkbrush N Me (you can see the signature in the 4th picture). I loved every single one of them, especially the profile faces, which convey a range of emotions. I found from the Inkbrush website that there is a set of Kadam’s wall art in Pune as well. (Note to self: The next time you’re in Pune, you know what to do).
Isn’t it is amazing what a little art and colour can do to change your surroundings? Lift your mood and make you happy. I wonder why we don’t have more of public art initiatives around us.
Or maybe there are such initiatives and I’m just not aware of them or not seeing it. It’s a happy thought that perhaps there are many Nagrana Lanes, hidden and unknown and just waiting to be explored. 🙂
More Street Art from Mumbai: The writing on the wall | Nagrana Lane’s secrets | Bollywood on the walls | A fantasy world at Chapel Road | The St+art invasion of Bandra and a curated walk | Street art @ Reay Road
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Awesome!
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That they are 😉 And there are more to come. Wait and watch 🙂
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Wonderful wonderful post and it made my heart so happy to see these paintings as well as the ones in the previous post. What a welcome change form the posters one normally encounters asking us to vote for thugs.
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The next time you’re in Mumbai, take out some time for visiting Bandra to see these works of art. And there is more to come on the blog 😉
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Such works give character to the city…
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I agree. I just wish there were more of this across the city instead bieng concentrated in one area in Bandra.
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Beautiful. I actually like these more than the paintings from your first post 🙂
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That they definitely are 🙂
But I wouldn’t compare the two sets of wall art, Anu. They’re different and for different purposes so each one works well for that. The second style would not have worked for the campaign and vice-versa. Wait for the next 2 sets of street art that I’ll be putting up and you’ll be able it more clearly. 🙂
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This is beautiful! It actually made me happy going through your post and seeing the wall art…Hope to see more of them…
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Very glad you liked the post, Ilakshee. There are more such posts coming up. Watch this space 🙂
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At first I thought that they were made by various individuals though there was a similarity to them, but when I came to the part about the artist, I felt the way you did. Some colour and art around us are sure to lift our spirits. So why don’t we have more of it instead of ad banners?
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“So why don’t we have more of it instead of ad banners?”
That will remain one of life’s mysteries, Alarmelvalli. At least a mystery for you and me, I think. I am all for more of this around us instead of having politicians and their messages screaming down at us from all sides.
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Beautiful images! Thoroughly enjoyed this post, Sudha! 🙂
There are many such lanes/roads in Bangalore with graffiti/paintings on them. It is a joy to view them. You inspire me to go out and explore, photograph these paintings and write about them.
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Thanks, TGND. Very glad that you liked it. Street art is a different experience altogether and while I must admit, that I didn’t really start of liking them initially, I love them today. They do bring in welcome relief and joy in a grimy and crowded city like mine.
And yes, you must write about the street art in your city? How else will we share the joy that these things bring to us with others? 🙂
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I did a post a long time back on some street art outside Lal Baugh. Not sure if you saw that. Here’s the link: http://thegalnxtdoor.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/ww7-street-painting/
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Thanks for sharing this, TGND. I saw this in Bangalore when I visited in Feb 2012. But I was travelling in a rickshaw, so was not able to have a look at them properly. Thanks to your post, now I will 🙂
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Beautiful artistry. Amazing.
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Welcome to “My Favourite Things”, Harish. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Do keep visiting. 🙂
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Yes, I have seen these hastily, when my cousin took me to visit an aunt behind St. Peter’s. I always meant to go back there, but did not get around to doing it. I did not know that it was called Nagrana Lane.
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Glad to know that someone I know knows Nagrana Lane. With almost everyone say Who? What? Where? I was dangerously close to thinking I had imagined this lane.
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