Every airport has art.
Most of it is beautiful. Some of it is forgettable.
Then, every once in a while, you come across a piece that makes you stop, put your phone away, and simply look.
That happened to me recently at the Reserve Lounge in Goa Airport.
At first glance, it appeared to be a colourful religious print of Lord Hanuman. But the longer I stood there, the more I realised it wasn’t just a painting. It was an illustrated Hanuman Chalisa. Forty verses, each accompanied by a scene from Hanuman’s life, with a commanding image of Hanuman carrying the Sanjeevani mountain at its centre.
It wasn’t merely artwork. It was a story.
For centuries, the Hanuman Chalisa has been more than a prayer. It has been a companion for travellers, soldiers, sailors, students and anyone stepping into uncertainty. Across India, it is recited before long journeys, before difficult decisions and before moments that demand courage. Hanuman represents strength without arrogance, intelligence without pride and devotion without expectation.
And perhaps that is precisely why it belongs in an airport.
Airports are places of transition. Every person passing through is carrying something. Excitement. Anxiety. Hope. A reunion. A farewell. A new job. A holiday. A return home.
Hanuman’s own story is one of journeys.
He leaps across an ocean in search of Sita. He becomes a messenger when communication seems impossible. He carries a mountain when he cannot identify the one herb that can save a life, reminding us that when we cannot find the perfect solution, wholehearted effort still matters. Throughout the Ramayana, every journey he undertakes is in service of something greater than himself.
Perhaps that is the quiet symbolism of this artwork.
The illustrated panels surrounding the central figure remind us that every great destination is made up of many smaller moments. Every challenge, every encounter and every leap of faith becomes part of a larger journey.
Whether or not its placement was intentional, it feels remarkably fitting.
An airport lounge is where people pause before the next chapter of their journey. And what better companion for that pause than Hanuman, the eternal traveller, messenger and protector, whose greatest adventures were never about reaching a destination, but about serving a purpose.
Sometimes the most memorable part of a journey isn’t outside the airport.
Sometimes, it’s hanging on the wall while everyone else walks past.