Another Mysterious Monolith Has Popped Up in India
March 15, 2021When people living in the Bandra neighbourhood of the western Indian city of Mumbai ventured out for a morning jog on Mar. 10, they were greeted by a smooth, tall, three-sided stainless steel monolith.
This structure closely resembled the mysterious monolith that first popped up in Utah in November, and has since been spotted in at least 30 countries, including Romania, France, Poland and the U.K. It is also the second such monolith spotted in India, after a similar structure was seen at a park in the western Indian state of Gujarat in January.
While the monoliths in other countries have been shrouded in mystery and suspense—including a theory that it was a sign of alien life inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi film 2001: Space Odyssey—those spotted in India have been mimic attempts by local artists. In Gujarat, the Symphony Ltd, an organization which owned the park one installation was found in, revealed they had installed it to capitalize on the buzz these structures were generating.
As for the Mumbai monolith, codewords written on the side revealed coordinates for national parks in India, like Ranthambore and Kaziranga.
The Indian Express reportedly spoke to the sculptor behind the installation in Mumbai, who chose to stay anonymous so that the focus remains on the artwork.
“The purpose of this monolith, just like the several that have cropped up around the world, is to spark a conversation about wildlife conservation,” the artist, part of a global creative movement, was quoted as saying.
“The beauty of the monolith series that have cropped up around the world is that they are not all by the same artists”.
Despite the artist coming forward to specify her intent, some social media users continue to speculate about what the monolith actually means.
The mysterious monoliths have been compared to previous unexplained phenomena, such as Peru’s Nazca lines and the crop circle phenomenon.