While most are aware that Air India (AI) is a giant in the global transport industry, they do not know that it also has the special ability to ship patrons back to the 9CE.
Air India maintains a stunning collection, generally called the Maharaja Collection, of over 2000 artifacts, including woodwork, decorative clocks, and sculptures dating back centuries, reported Times of India (TOI). M F Husain, Anjolie Ela Menon, Jatin Das, S H Raza, VS S Gaitonde, and K A Ara are some of the collection’s most famous artists. Air India also said that it possessed a number of paintings from the likes of such artists before they skyrocketed to fame.
J R D Tata, the founder of the airline, is credited with curating the expansive collection, most of which is safely stored in Mumbai’s AI building.
Art that has graced the walls of AI’s offices all over the world, from London to Cairo, now hangs in the balance of the Indian government’s decision to privatise the airline, with no interested bidders in sight. The artworks will possibly be handed over to the Ministry of Culture for display and better preservation in the National Gallery of Modern Art, under an ‘Air India pavilion,’ according to TOI.
Although Air India has displayed this exquisite art bank globally and promoted Indian heritage, it must now wait on administrators for deciding the exhibition’s future.
You can read the full Times of India report here.
Feature Image Courtesy: pinterest.co.uk
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