Life as a Game of Snakes and Ladders
This work draws inspiration from the ancient Indian board game Moksha Patam, now known worldwide as Snakes and Ladders. Traditionally, the game symbolized the moral journey of life, where ladders represented virtues and snakes embodied vices. I reinterpret this concept to explore the unpredictability of human existence—its growth, setbacks, and cycles of learning.
In my installation, I have used fabric as the primary medium to narrate the passage of age and experience. Each square on the board is crafted from a distinct piece of cloth chosen to represent a specific stage of life. Soft, pastel, and cartoon-printed fabrics signify infancy and childhood; bold, patterned textiles reflect youth and vitality; while muted and simple tones evoke the calm maturity of old age. Fabric, for me, carries memory—it absorbs time, identity, and the traces of human presence. Through texture, color, and pattern, it reveals the transformation of life itself.
The snakes and ladders serve as metaphors for the moral, emotional, and circumstantial turns of our personal journeys. Ladders symbolize progress, virtue, and fortunate opportunity—moments when effort or destiny lift us upward. The snakes, conversely, represent the inevitable challenges, mistakes, and regressions that force introspection and resilience. Together, they form a visual narrative of ascent and descent, mirroring the rhythm of existence.
Through this work, I reflect on life as an unpredictable game—where every rise is fragile, every fall instructive, and every move uncertain. Like Snakes and Ladders, life unfolds through chance and choice, yet it is within these unpredictable shifts that we encounter growth, understanding, and renewal.