The Mountain of Light is a visual poem, film, and installation commissioned by National Museums Scotland in partnership with Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. The work began in response to the Lascar’s Plaque, reflecting on the lives and journeys of South Asian seamen, and weaving together real and imagined scenes filmed aboard The Tall Ship Glenlee in Glasgow.

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In 1992, Glasgow Museums acquired a cast-iron plaque inscribed with the words “LASCARS ONLY” in English and Bengali. Originating from a toilet block at Stobcross Quay in central Glasgow and dating to the 1890s, the object stands as a stark reminder of the city’s maritime history and its entanglement with colonial labour. The term lascar referred to seamen from South Asia and other regions bordering the Indian Ocean—workers employed under exploitative conditions by European shipping companies. In Glasgow, as across the empire, these men faced systemic discrimination: lower pay, harsher treatment, and exclusion from the privileges afforded to their European counterparts. Their labour, however, was vital to sustaining the global networks of trade and empire.

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Within the film, I embody Manimekhala, the mythical protector of the Indian Sea, who drifts through an empty ship, moving through traces of the past left behind. Through her, I imagine the lives of those lost to the waters, her futile attempts to save them, and her sorrow at their suffering. Yet amidst grief, she also bears witness to resilience, the enduring spirit of those who survived.