New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is famous for its architecture and culturally rich interiors that welcome travellers around the globe with their first glimpses of Indian culture. Out of its many fancy decorations, a large conch shell, revolving slowly on a vertical axis has become a “must-see” feature on the airport's premises.
Recently, Sunetra Choudhary, the National Political Editor of English daily, Hindustan Times took to Twitter and called the religiously sensitive conch shell at the IGIA “uglier than the carpets” there.
Oh my dear lord @DelhiAirport , this is even uglier than the carpet. Please remove pic.twitter.com/JkMI2MzVdy
— sunetra choudhury (@sunetrac) January 12, 2020
Choudhary’s post did not go well with the netizens who decided to brutally troll the journalist over her “religiously insensitive” remark on the public platform.
On Monday, hashtags including #DelhiAirport and #ConchShell started trending on Twitter in India.
Majority of this country is getting polarized. One of the reason is people like you who ridicules one community's faith while romanticizing with the other. pic.twitter.com/JhkXRyfB1U
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) January 12, 2020
Sunetra.. do you know what is the meaning of ur name?
— Sona🐾 (@sona_sebin) January 12, 2020
Sunetra means Beautiful eyes..
But u have the most ugliest vision.
Ur parents done a grave mistake .
Real connection and effect of bad community#DelhiAirport @TIinExile @sunetrac pic.twitter.com/o1PugquOB1
— Sandeep Nirvan (@Sandeepnirvan_) January 13, 2020
The ugliest person alive #DelhiAirport pic.twitter.com/a2diEpVQbk
— मृत्युंजय 🔱 (@Alduin17692153) January 13, 2020
#DelhiAirport
— मृत्युंजय 🔱 (@Alduin17692153) January 13, 2020
On the left side we have the beautiful shankha recently installed in Delhi airport. On the right side we have sunetra (secular Hindu) who thinks that shankha looks ugly and should be removed. Every like & Retweet I get on post I'll consider it a slap on her face ♥️ pic.twitter.com/FXynlyWyvX
The controversial stir that Choudhary’s tweet created has made #DelhiAirport to trend on Twitter in India. People who do not wish to get sucked into the matter simply shared videos and pictures of the decoration appreciating the beauty of the article.
What a beautiful rotating Shankh #DelhiAirport pic.twitter.com/3RxZWxV3dq
— Priatharisini (@priatharisini) January 13, 2020
BEAUTIFUL Giant rotating Shankha/Conch at Delhi Airport 😍❤ As per Hindu Religion the sound that emanates from the #Shankha eliminates negative energy & induces positive energy & its blowing is ritual part of daily prayers #DelhiAirport #Shankh #Conch pic.twitter.com/2ehw1lpx2z
— Rosy (@rose_k01) January 12, 2020
WOW !!
— Barkha Trehan (@barkhatrehan16) January 13, 2020
So beautiful !!!
In Hindu religion, Shankh, is of great importance and symbolizes luster, brilliance, purity and auspicious beginning.
Thanku #DelhiAirport for displaying Indian culture & traditions.
Sharing this with my family and friends.... pic.twitter.com/s1fVhXigsB
In every-day Hindu prayer rituals, the conch shell, which is called a “Shankh” in the Hindi language is blown loudly because its sound is believed to eliminate negative energy from the surroundings and replace them with peaceful vibes.
As part of further beautifying the interiors, the revolving shell was installed at Terminal three of the IGIA in October 2019.
Other attractions at the Delhi Airport include colourful graffiti-clad pillars, magnificent palm postures of “Yoga mudras”, copper and brass meditating Buddhas, life-size figures of elephants and a curved ramp showing the various different positions of the “Surya Namaskar” – the Indian sun salutation in morning yoga rituals.
View this post on Instagram• Shot By @AashnaMalanii 📸 . 📩 contact@aashnamalani.com | 🔍 #AashnaMalani
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IGIA, which is one of the busiest airports in the world, handles 20-40 million passengers every year.
In 2018, the Airports Service Quality (ASQ) programme ranked the New Delhi airport number one in the world for the quality of its services.
Currently, the IGI airport has a capacity of 62 million passengers and by 2030, the airport's capacity is expected to reach 100 million travellers through its planned expansion programme.
