Mangaluru : The Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) ushered in the Christmas spirit with an open to all passenger engagement arts and craft activity at the domestic departure hall on 22 December.
The opening day of the two-day Do-It-Yourself (DIY) engagement was a big draw with the passengers who responded enthusiastically to artists Sapna Noronha and Amnah Khatri in creating their own self-made Christmas ornaments and greeting cards.
The duo of Sapna-Amnah presented the passengers with a broad canvas in terms of materials and allowed their festive imagination to take over. The result surprised even the most reluctant passengers, especially the elder ones who wondered if they had what it took to touch their creative selves all over again. The fact that passengers across a wide age-spectrum participated in this activity with gusto held a mirror to success of the event.
An interesting facet of this activity was the keenness that a mother-son duo showed in coming up with a Christmas greeting and Christmas ornaments respectively. An elderly woman who was a bit hesitant initially ended up doing two Christmas decoration pieces and was pleased as punch with the output. Children especially liked the activity and were keen to come up with their own decorative pieces, which they got to keep for themselves.
Passengers opined that the DIY activity was refreshing change from either browsing their smart phones or catching up with their reading in the time they normally waited to board their respective flights. Sapna said her mantra to conducting such workshops is to give the participants a free run and not impose her ideas on them. “There is an artist in each of us and I appeal to this artist to bring out their best self,” Sapna averred.