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Mumbaikars can now see the moon up close

Asian Paints & Sideways in collaboration with St+art create a Lunar Dome at Nehru Planetarium

Mumbaikars can now see the moon up close
SHARES

Visitors to Nehru Planetarium will now be able to witness the Moon in all its glory. Conceptualised by Sideways and Asian Paints, the Lunar Dome has been brought to life by artists from St+art, and will be up for viewing for the next few months. This will be one of the biggest moon installations to be created in India and it is about 44 feet in diameter. A viewing gallery has also been set up at the Nehru Center for viewing experience, the entry to which is free. It will be open from 11 am to 9:30 pm, on all days of the week. The Lunar Dome is also a commemoration to the Chandrayaan missions and a hat-tip to the scientists at ISRO.

Nehru Planetarium houses some awe-inspiring space installations and has been hosting astronomical events to spark people's interest in science and space for decades, making it the perfect site for the moon landing. The artists have attempted to capture the Moon in all its might, giving us a glimpse of its Southern Hemisphere as well.

The artists Gulammahmad Bukhari who also goes by the name Sharad has attempted to capture the Moon in all its might. He started painting in 1978 with experience in canvas oil painting, wall painting, sketching, abstract painting, panoramic painting and more. A universe of techniques and styles is at Sharad’s hands and vision which translates into a variety of projects throughout his long career. Over 40 years as an artist, he has worked on 500 walls all over India and made about a thousand canvases. 

Mr. Arvind Paranjype, Director, Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai said, “I am quite delighted to see the art work that has come up in collaboration of Sideways & St+art and supported by Asian Paints Ltd. Just like undying spirit of ISRO, team of these young professionals worked diligently to bring to reality their dream 'a tribute to ISRO' in a unique manner.”

Hanif Kureshi, Artist and Creative Director of St+art India Foundation said, “Painter Sharad is one of the very finest spray painters from Rajkot. We invited him to work on this structure as he specializes in creating planets and galaxies. The biggest challenge of the project was to paint a moon on such a space and scale. We had to install over 2500 bamboos to make the scaffolding to reach the top. The rain also played a huge part in this challenge”  

Mr. Amit Syngle, COO, Asian Paints Ltd. said, “We are thrilled to partner with Sideways & St+art once again on this special project at Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai. It is our tribute to the brilliant scientists and researchers at ISRO on the historic Chandrayaan 2 mission. It was a significant milestone in India’s space journey and we are very proud of them. With the creation of this Lunar Dome, we hope to give visitors a small experience of the Moon in all its glory. We at Asian Paints wish ISRO many successful missions in the future, to the moon and beyond.”

Mr. Abhijit Avasthi, Founder, Sideways said, “ISRO, with its ingenious approach, has always taken on complex and challenging missions, even with limited resources. They have been a huge inspiration to all of us. So much so that at Sideways, we have dedicated a room in our office to them. The Lunar Dome is a small gesture from our side, to thank them for the pride they bring to each and every Indian. It was rather fulfilling to collaborate with Asian Paints and St+art India who shared the same enthusiasm for the initiative.”

While talking about the challenges that the artists faced while painting the moon, Paranjype said, "It was supposed to be a 10-day work but because of the incessant rains that Mumbai received, it took almost three months to complete. Every time they would start to paint, it would rain and wash off their work".

Another interesting trivia that Abhijit shared was that they had planned to complete the artwork on the day Chandrayaan mission was to be completed. Since Vikram was to land on the south-side of the moon, the artwork too features that. 

 

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