Any Indian’s normal perception about our country’s railway stations circles around smelly tracks, unwanted filth, loud noises, disturbing announcements and many more unpleasant things. We Indians have actually adapted ourselves to this filth and if it gets on our backs way too much, we seek to crib about it among ourselves and forget it the moment we exit the stations.
It was Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje who finally thought of turning things around for the Railway Stations in Rajasthan. The expedition was started buy giving a makeover to the Sawai Madhopur Railway Station, visited by thousands of international and domestic travellers, given it is also the gateway to the world-renowned wildlife sanctuary Ranthambore National Park.
Before getting onto how exactly the station has been given an artsy makeover, lets learn about what reasons pushed this act of beautification and why did it take so long to be implemented. Indian public has the tendency to be ignorant and consequently litter more. There is this laid back attitude among the general public – one will keep complaining but won’t take any remedial action. Everyone is dependent on others or the Governments to get the things done. In order to amputate this routine amongst people, it will definitely take a great amount of time but fortunately this reforming phase has started with ornamentation of Sawai Madhopur Station.
Sawai Madhopur Station has become a game changer for the image-rebuilding maneuver that CM Raje has introduced. With World Wildlife Fund India (WWFI) as partner, the station has been given a great look by painting the entire walls with flora fauna of the region. The paintings include the depiction of what all the station’s city is surrounded with, especially the highlights of the Ranthambore. This way the tourists coming to visit the place get a welcoming environment right from the station itself and it marks their first step worthy of an experience. We can say, the station’s new imagery displays a summarized version of the entire expedition the tourist came for. The new makeover not only gives the station a cleaner look, but it also promotes tourism for the city and takes Rajasthan on a higher level as a tourist destination. Once people get to know about the painted sceneries made available to witness at Sawai Madhopur Station, an inclination and curiosity to watch it live, arises. It gives another extra edge to Rajasthan Tourism all together because to even imagine a clean and creative Indian Railway Station is next to impossible. But again, times changing and more new projects such as these are next in line. Bharatpur Railway Station and Kota-Nizamuddin Jan Shatabdi are examples of the future renovation projects.
It’s should not be surprise if the colors of vibrant Rajasthan imprints in its railway stations too. These colors not only decorate the walls, but also energize the ever so dull spirit of the mundane stations. They brighten up the surroundings and give a neater look. By following the traditional admiration for paintings and designer walls, started earlier by the long listed rulers of Rajasthan, the railway stations have taken up a successfully proven path.
Along with the Sawai Madhopur Railway Station, stations at all divisional HQs shall be decorated with paintings based on arts of Rajasthan.
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) January 21, 2016
Another aspect to this activity is the encouragement and promotion of local art and culture of Rajasthan. CM Vasundhara Raje plans to expand this brilliant showcase of art at the most innovative showcases. It is said that the Jaipur Railway Station will soon be embellished with Jogi Art, Jodhpur Railway Station with Phad paintings, Bikaner Railway Station with floral motifs from Badal Mahal and Udaipur Station on the theme of Mewar School of Art. The Ajmer Railway station may see innovative concept of secular calligraphy, Bharatpur station may be home to paintings of the world-famous birds and Kota Station shall be decorated with paintings based on Bundi School of Art theme. It is important to note that Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu had also mentioned and admired these vibrant stations in his Budget speech.
Hopefully this undertaking will be adopted by other states as well and one day there will be a positive symbolic attitude in public’s mind whenever they talk about Indian Railway Stations.
