Enjoy an arty journey

Railway stations are often criticised for being unkempt but not any more. With the latest art installations at Hazrat Nizammudin Railway Station’s entrance, the walls have a new face.

Talking about this beautification, Ashwani Lohani, divisional railway manager, Delhi division says, “Such special art installations at stations are a totally new concept in India and have added a new dimension to the station.”

The artwork which was installed recently has been titled ‘Journey’ and are works by artist Naresh Kapuria. Explaining the theme of these installations, Naresh says, “I conceptualised the theme of journey, to depict the never-ending journey of life and train. Trains move from one destination to another, passengers come and go, some even miss their trains but trains will continue the journey endlessly. My installation is a tribute to the diligent and confident journey of a train.”

Depicting a train with human faces conversing with each other and a few painted lamps, the installations give a feel of the bygone era of steam engines. Describing the installations, Naresh says, “We have a moving train along with several human faces and lanterns. This public art installation will provide an interactive and welcoming atmosphere for the travellers.”

But the reactions from travellers’ is mixed. While going to Chandigarh from Delhi, Dr Sahib Singh stops over to looks at these installations.

He says, “It is good that the approach towards railway stations is changing. The installations depict the journey of passengers like me.”

A student from Mumbai, Shivani Kulkarni says, “The installations depict conversation among people travelling in the train. It is a good idea to provide a new and improved look to the railway station which is otherwise so filthy.”

While comparing the railway stations of other states, Rajesh Nathile, mechanical engineer from Pune says, “A concept like this is completely new to me. It is good that they have introduced art to a railway station in order to beautify it but the size of these installations should have been bigger for them to be noticed immediately.

However, a confused Himanshu Sharma from Agra says, “The theme is a little confusing to be understood at first glance but it’s good that something is being done to beautify the railway stations.”

The idea of displaying art at railways stations is essentially a Western concept but is slowly finding a foothold here too. In 2010, artwork was installed at the New Delhi Railway Station and now the railway authorities are planning to install a few at the Old Delhi Railway Station as well.