Mumbai, Oct 11, 2024
‘Tea Break’ – a sculpted tribute to Mumbai’s huge tribe of ordinary construction workers, will be unveiled at the Perry Road Junction in Bandra west on the auspicious occasion of Dussehra on Saturday.
The ‘Tea Break’ — a series of eight life-size sculptures crafted in fiberglass and metal by sculptress Sangeeta Babani — shall be inaugurated by Bollywood actors Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal in the presence of Mumbai unit BJP president Ashish Shelar, patron Ram Raheja of S. Raheja Realty, Deputy Municipal Commissioner-3 Vishvas Mote and others.
The figurines capture the brief pause of the lakhs of hard-working construction workers of Mumbai, including many migrants, who build big and small buildings but rarely live in them, sharing a tea-break casually together at a construction site.
Babani has shown them in their rare, unguarded moments, like one sipping a cup of Mumbaikars’ favourite ‘cutting chai’, another casually holding a biscuit while lost in thought, someone grabbing the break to catch up his reading of a book/newspaper, and other similar poses.
“Their helmets, symbols of their labour and protection, lie discarded beside them… this short time of pause, though fleeting, reveals the quiet dignity and humanity of those who build the entire city around us,” said Babani.
In collaboration with the BMC, Babani has contributed other sculptures like ‘Quest for Knowledge’ to champion the cause of equal education for all a mural, ‘Think Blue to Go Green’ for environment awareness, and other series that help transform public spaces into places for community dialogue through art.
“I wanted to draw attention to the often-overlooked yet crucial role that construction workers play in shaping our urban landscapes… to encourage questions, challenge societal boundaries, inspire new perspectives, urge society to recognised and appreciate the toil and dedication of the labourers that goes into building the environments we inhabit,” explained Babani.
Raheja said that through this series, they wanted to bring the spotlight on the unsung heroes of the construction industry, the men in hard hats.
“Without them, none of our grand visions and designs would ever come to fruition… through this installation we hope people recognise their efforts and contributions and even spare a thought for them when they take their own tea breaks,” remarked Raheja.
In the past few years, Mumbai has been ‘decorated’ with many big and small sculptures, big and small memorials comprising non-historical or non-celebrities, including one on the astronaut Kalpana Chawla, R.K. Laxman’s ‘The Common Man’, the famed Mumbai ‘Dabbawalas’, one dedicated to children and mothers, etc.(Agency)
