COMING UP FOR AIR

The Air India art collection can finally be viewed at a landmark exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai

- Priya Pathiyan

It can't get more Indian than this. The first exhibit is a glorious Ganesha. Opposite that, a familiar turbaned Maharaja bows his head, ushering you into the high-ceilinged foyer of Mumbai's National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). It seems apt-we're here to see the Maharaja's Treasure: Select Works of Art from the Famed Air India Collection after all.

The once revered, then beleaguered, and recently resuscitated airline is an Indian icon. Over eight decades of its existence, it has also acquired an enviable collection of art (some specially commissioned). Now, the artworks, which were hitherto accessible only to patrons and visitors to airport lounges across the world, are available for everyone to savour.