Anjolie Ela Menon honoured (Lead, With Image)

The Delhi government Tuesday conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award on leading contemporary artist Anjolie Ela Menon at the unveiling of a mural by her, titled "The Walled City" at the international airport here.

The 25 feet by 8.2 feet mural of a city street of old Delhi is installed at the T3 terminal of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI).

After unveiling the mural, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced the lifetime achievement honour for Menon, strategic analyst Uday Bhaskar who was present at the function told IANS.

The mural presents a slice of life of the old city's Mughal history. Menon is a recipient of the Padma Shri.

Menon said the announcement of the honour "came as a huge surprise".

Explaining the design of the mural, Menon told IANS it is about a "typical inner city street in India".

"This street in a walled city is a microcosm of the Indian street. It is unique to our urban culture that the street is the arena for life itself," Menon said.

"This is where people live, work, travel, ply their trades, interact, romance, play, celebrate and protest. Here human beings and animals co-exist in surprising harmony where tradition and modernity blend seamlessly in a throbbing scenario of sound and colour, creating endless street theatre," Menon said.

The painting has elements that are commonly present in such a street like the juice seller and the ice-cream seller, the roadside barber, monkeys.

The cheerful colours used denote the fact that despite the seeming chaos, an air of optimism and energy prevails, she said.