I've lived in the Defence Colony neighborhood of New Delhi for over 2 1/2 years. But it was only last month that I discovered a hidden feature of my neighborhood.
I was standing on the traffic circle - a key landmark of Defense Colony - waiting for a shuttle bus to go into the office. Because I don't have a car and all public transportation was stopped due to the COVID lockdown, the shuttle bus was my only available mode of transport. I suppose I could have tried walking the 4.5 miles, but most Delhi streets had barricades where I would have been stopped and questioned, whereas the shuttle had sanctioned permission to transport limited staff.
So, I was standing there waiting and noticed something in a nearby tree. I walked closer and realized it was a cartoon face on the tree trunk! I chuckled and took a photo. Several weeks later, I was walking back from the shuttle bus and noticed a different tree with a different face!
With the lockdown eased as of May 18, I took a walk this weekend to check out this hidden-in-plain-sight public art in more detail. Within the traffic circle is a lovely park with trees and grass and playground equipment. And around the perimeter of the park are over a dozen of these trees with funny faces or animals perched within the branches.
So much art and culture has been shut-down by COVID, but this is certainly a case of COVID revealing art to me!
