Finding shikaras and murals in Srinagar

Floating works of art and a mammoth wall at the University of Kashmir find their regional zest with Asian Paints and St+art India

03 Sep 2026

Team ELLE DECOR India

You could be living in one city in India, yet when you travel to another, escaping a sense of newness would likely be difficult. However, for a country so mammoth and across different geographies, there are certain encounters that make things feel familiar in spirit. Think, the sheer beauty of art and craft, the nostalgia of heritage and importantly, the locals themselves, who continue to shape and reinterpret them. Travelling a few hours from Mumbai to Srinagar felt something similar. The occasion being the Dal Lake and the University of Kashmir itself, where Asian Paints along with St+art India and XXL Collective, pieced together a fascinating imagery of Srinagar, where the mountains hold the city and life hums around the endless periphery of the lake.

Photography courtesy of Asian Paints

Floating on the lake

To truly experience Dal Lake, one has to ride a shikara. The wooden boats are as much a part of Srinagar’s landscape as the water they glide across — from ferrying people to floating markets, gardens, and homes long before they became a fixture on any traveller’s itinerary. But Aks-e-Kashmir sees them in a completely new light. Asian Paints and St+art India assembled forty local shikaras to reimagine their canvas in vibrant colours and motifs inspired by regional clues created by contemporary artists Owais Ahmed, Sheehij Kaul, Zahra Javed and Shweta Sharma. The shikara is deeply woven into Kashmir’s cultural identity and by turning these boats into moving works of art, Aks-e-Kashmir connects with the region through a symbol that has belonged to its landscape for generations.

Deep, pigment-rich hues of the Asian Paints Royale Glitz let the timber show through as it catches the lake’s light differently at dawn than at dusk. Handcrafted wooden canopies draw from the natural tones of Asian Paints Wood Finish. While inside, Ador and Pure Royale fabrics are used on the custom-woven upholstery. “At Asian Paints, we have always believed that the most meaningful way to celebrate a place is by celebrating what makes it uniquely its own,” says Amit Syngle, Managing Director and CEO of Asian Paints Ltd.

Photography by Pratishtha Rana

Photography courtesy of Asian Paints

Look up to the wall

If the shikaras bring Kashmir’s artistic identity onto the water, nature and knowledge become intrinsic to the facade of the University of Kashmir. Asian Paints along with XXL Collective navigated to the Allama Iqbal Library to cover a colossal 11,500 sq ft wall expanse with a series of murals. Under the tenth chapter of Donate A Wall, a decade-long initiative that has since turned 24 walls into public art across 18 cities, the reviving of the university’s library facade brought them to Kashmir for the first time.

Conceptualised by Srinagar-based architect, artist and urban planner Zoya Kashmiri and brought to life by local artists, the mural takes its cue from the university’s motto, Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya, which means From Darkness to Light. The idea feels fitting as it connects the artwork to the joy of learning and discovery. It becomes part of the students’ everyday experience, encountered on the way to class and between lectures. Painted with Asian Paints Apex Ultima Protek to hold its colour through Kashmir’s shifting weather, the mural is built to stay part of that daily route for years.

“For XXL Collective, this has been about expanding the role of public art beyond walls and static sites and showing how design can enter living systems with sensitivity,” says Arjun Bahl, Co-founder, St+art Foundation and XXL Collective.