Art as a way of being

My friend Sunil Malhotra asked if I’d like to go and see the open-air art gallery of the Lodhi neighbourhood on my last day in Delhi. We spent the morning visiting street after street, admiring the fabulous colours and beautiful images painted on the walls of residential buildings.  In 2015, a group of 50 accomplished artists from around the world started transforming the ordinary walls of Delhi into these extraordinary artworks.  This article originally appeared in the Resurgence & Ecologist magazine.  Since then they have been successful in not only bringing art to people but also revitalising the street life of this close-knit community spread across five square miles. Nirvana  When Sunil first mentioned street art I was curious, but I could not have imagined the breadth and scale of it all. It is more than street art – it is whole neighbourhood art. I saw the images of traditional Indian icons such as sacred cows and lotus flowers. I saw the decorated faces of classical dancers, vernacular cultures of village women, and a Love Tree in a magnificent red colour. There was eco-art to highlight the plight of endangered animals and to warn people about the impending catastrophe due...