Life on the local: Argentine artist returns to Mumbai Central to give final touches to mural

At Mumbai Central. (Express photo)

Argentine artist Pablo Ramirez (53), who painted a “Namaste India” mural at the Mumbai Central railway station in 2016 returned to the heritage station premises last week saying he could not have left India until his task was finished.

Ramirez had finished painting the wall under the dome yellow, green and black in October, 2016. But last week, before he packed up for his home in Buenos Aires, he revisited the station to give final touches to his mural and stretching it over to another part of the wall.

The mural showcases Lord Ganesha with pigeons offering flowers to welcome him.

“I wanted to create a piece of art that would essentially reflect or represent people in the station… welcomes them, and that is why, you will notice the hand gesture of ‘namaste’ at the centre. A mural is meant to represent your surroundings and identity of people who look at it everyday.” he said.

The mural was created after Ramirez was approached by Hamara Station Hamari Shaan, a railway beautification initiative headed by an NGO called Mumbai First and Making a Difference (MAD). “It was two months after reaching India in the April of 2016. They asked me to paint the mural in just five days. When I reached on the first day, I was taken aback to see bamboo scaffoldings all around the dome that I was clearly unable to climb. I had them remove the scaffolding and started with the painting,” Ramirez said.

The artist has taught in various art schools in Argentina. With Mumbai Central station witnessing close to a lakh commuters per day, the mural was aimed to “greet” them. Last week, Ramirez extended the painting on another station wall, which credits the artwork to the Argentine Consulate that sponsored his work.

Ramirez claimed that he was touched by the warmth of the people in Mumbai and adores the “masala chai”.

He was helped by his wife Andrea Alba Gonzalez, also a painter, and the Deputy Consul at the Argentine Consulate in Mumbai. One of the memories he will take back to Argentina is of commuters who offered him a helping hand while he worked at the station.

Kashi Zoe, who visits Mumbai Central station, said: “The mural makes the wall come alive. It is amusing to stand in front of the wall and see the shades of colours. Each time, the wall tells a different story.”

But Ramirez believes that the mural needs restoration. “I understand that there can be no regular check on people dirtying the wall. But I hope the paintings will keep them away from doing so.” Ramirez hopes to return to India and wishes to create a large ceramic mural of Rabindranath Tagore, for which he has already completed his preliminary sketches.

(Inputs from Dhruv Johri & Pia Krishnankutty)