An Art Tour

of

The Leela Palace Chennai

BASANT - Spring In the Lobby

“This art is called Basant which means the Spring season. The artist Surendra Pal Joshi has drawn

inspiration from the long mustard fields growing on the road to Delhi, and also has influences from poet Amir Khusro’s verses on Sarson, which is Mustard in

Hindi.

In the middle, is the Pai Paisa that dates back to 1945-British India bronze coin with a hole in the

centre.

This painting basically expresses the fact that India is currently experiencing its Spring, having come a

long way from the days of the Pai Paisa to its present strong economy”

Life Circles

In the Lobby

“This piece of art is called Life Circles

and it is prepared by artist Madan Meena from Rajasthan.

It portrays the cyclic nature of life: birth, life, reproduction, death. Everything has a cycle: that

which lives must die. Cycles are a necessary part of life, and they make life all the more worth living.

This painting depicts the Life Circle with the Tree as a representation- From the Beeja i.e. the seed , to

the sapling , the flowering of the tree giving its own seeds to the last stage of the Dry tree has been

shown.”

Padmabati - Behind the Lobby

“This is Padmabati by Jayshree Burman from Kolkata.

The name Padmavati is Sanskrit for "she who emerged

from lotus".

Engrossed in Indian mythology, fantasy and legends, it

depicts Women as the main theme; that they are free and

one with nature; almost to the point of having merged

and magically transformed.”

Acrobat – Near Library Blu

“This piece of art is called the Acrobat

and it is done by the legendary artist

Padma Vibhushan Satish Gujral.

The Bull is the representation of the

“Bullish” economy of India; the

Quadricycle denotes progress and

dynamism, the Trumpet is a symbol of

celebration and pride in our identity.

However, since this state is not very stable

and needs a balancing act; hence it is

titled “Acrobat” .

“Hyper Blooms is A Beautiful Range Of

Stainless Steel Foliage. It comes from the ‘My

Lazy Garden’ collection of Alex Davis, a

Product Designer Specializing In Interior Design

And Accessories.

The “My Lazy Garden” Collection is a Special

Edition Range which is marked by bringing

Natural Brilliance of Elegant Elements To

Lifestyle Accessories. The natural element

which we see here is that of Rose garland.”

“This sculpture is called Mahodara, a modern

art done by an Indian artist from Paris Ms

Sujata Bajaj.

Mahodara incorporates a Mixed Media and

Etching-Collage, with layers of Acrylic and Gold

Leaf on Fiberglass.

Mahodara (incarnation) is Lord Ganesha’s

name and was the one who slayed Mahasura

(King of Demons)

This art has Ganesh’s ears soaring like kites,

yet he remains attentive to each and every of

our wish.

Mahodara – Lobby Lounge

“The Collection of Paintings in Spectra is done by a French artist by

the name of Sophie Jo. Her paintings shows India with the colour &

crowds through her eyes; As you can see, she positions herself from

behind the crowd. She laces her work with subtle humour, and has

kept it quite colourful in keeping with the theme of Spectra which

spectrum of colours.

Paintings in Spectra

Paintings from India show various states of

India – from Assam tea-pluckers, Bollywood,

North India ,Tamil Nadu etc.

While there are also Paintings depicting

scenes from China.

Towards the Pool - Painting

Come back to the Lobby.

Walk to the Elevators and then to the 3rd Floor

“This is a Mix Media art on Archival paper designed by Bihar based

artist Sanjay Kumar.

It is one of his showcase of paintings called “The Silent

Sermon”, which depicts the life of Buddha in the styles of early Buddhist art through various

mediums. According to the artist It is Untitled, as he believes that It

needs to be seen to be understood. It’s for people to perceive what they

want,”

Towards the Pool - Sculptures

“These sculptures are called Moods. They have been molded out of Bronze by sculptor Dimpy Menon from Bangalore. It is one of her several compositions that capture the human form in an array of movements and moods, as the

name itself suggests.”

We will see another work of sculpture by her in our Lower Lobby.”

Towards the Pool - Sculptures

““This artwork has been created by veteran artist K Laxma Goud from Nizampur, Andhra

Pradesh. He has not titled these artwork, however, they reciprocate his predominant

styles like sculpting on bronze and terracotta.”

Peacock Wall

Out to the Swimming Pool and the Octagonal Pavilion

“Our Swimming Pool is located outside on the 3rd Floor. You can see beautiful artwork on Kayatiri stone cladded wall. We have named it The Peacock Wall because of the artwork based on

Peacock feathers”

Come down via Lift to G-Floor

“This artwork is called You Fill Up My

Senses, a title which is Title inspired from

the album of John Denver’s “Annies Song”.

According to the painter M.J. Enas from

Kerala, the sun is a masculine figure and

signifies strength and power. On the other

hand, the moon is considered as a feminine

figure and represents calmness and beauty.

The union of the sun and the moon

represents unity in diversity or the feeling of

oneness.

The intertwined half sun and half moon are

used to signify love and marriage.”

You Fill Up My Senses

This is the gigantic life-size sculpture of a

flying horse, made of fibreglass and entitled

“The Flying Dream”. This horse symbolises

dreams of human relationships apart from

influences from Greek Mythology, where a

flying horse (Pegasus) symbolised victory.

The Flying Dream

According to the artist Paresh Maity, the various colours

reflect the many emotions that prevail between two people.

But a private emotion for many people which is not always

so obvious but hidden is - Intimacy. And on this horse too,

colours that reflect Intimacy are painted at the bottom of the

body. However there’s a mirror on top of the pedestal which

reflects the paintings on the horse’s underbelly.

“This large workmanship has been rendered by

Mr. Prathap Modi, a modern artist from Andhra

Pradesh, and it called DREAMS.

Mr Modi made the Painting about 8 years back

when he was faced with financial crisis.

This Painting etched in wood, depicts a sleeping

man who is dreaming of Money (signified by

Goddess Laxmi) and Power (signified by white

elephants).

-In Indian mythology, the white elephant “Airavata” is

the vehicle for Lord Indira. White elephants can fly and

have the power of producing rains. They are a symbol

of good luck and prosperity and were used as mounts

only by Kings.

.

Dreams – In Jamavar

“This sculpture is called Joy and has been intricately molded out of Bronze by

Dimpy Menon. It is one of her several compositions that attempts to give metal a

form which celebrates life.”

Art in Lower Lobby – From Jamavar towards RBR

“This is yet another artwork by veteran artist K Laxma Goud from Nizampur,

Andhra Pradesh. He has not titled this artwork sculpted out of bronze as well.

Art in Lower Lobby – Pre Function Area

“What we see here is a collection of Tanjore Art. It is a tribute to tanjore Art curated by our

Director of Operations Madhu Nair, who also hails from the Nair family.

Tanjore painting is a major form of classical South Indian painting from Thanjavur district of

Tamil Nadu. Making a Tanjore painting involves many stages, but the ultimate beauty is

reflected when the jewellery and apparel in the image are finally decorated with semi-

precious stones and various coloured threads and laces.

Thereafter take the lift to go the Swimming Pool on 3rd Floor.

Art in Lower Lobby – Outside RBR Entrance

Royal Ball Room – And Concluding

The highlight of the ball room’s design is the Rajasthani Glass Work called Thikri Mosaic, which is on the walls. This Thikri Mosaic continues throughout the

staircase that leads to our Grand Ball Room one floor above. Take the stairs to the GBR entrance and end the tour with any questions/feedback from the guests. “Mr………………This concludes our tour, Would there be anything else that you would be interested to

know?”