Title - Cartoon art at City Railway Station

Visitors to the City Railway Station on Thursday were surprised to see a Rail Cartoon Gallery being inaugurated at the station on Thursday. It is a part of the SAFAR (Support and Appreciation for Art and Railways), an initiative by the South Western Railway Women’s Welfare Organisation on Platform Number 5.

“Bangalore City Railway Station is perhaps the first in the country to incorporate an art gallery through which artists can reach out to millions of people who pass through the station,” said Divisional Railway Manager S Mani while speaking to Express.

Commenting on the vast variety of people who pass through the station everyday, Mani said, “Indian Railways represents the country’s population like no one else. All classes of people can be found on a railway platform and this provides an amazing audience to showcase talent.”

The cartoon art camp is the fourth such initiative by South Western Railway and its previous initiatives like painting exhibitions at the main concourse have received much praise from citizens. “Cartoons are different, they can be cheeky and funny. Paintings are sometimes serious but cartoons will always make you laugh,” said Pratik, a traveller.

Working hard on Thursday were 10 well-known artists of the city. They were engaged in drawing caricatures, cartoons and even spot portraits of curious onlookers. “These works will be displayed in the Rail Cartoon Gallery. We have just one simple rule, no politics. Making fun of railways is allowed in a good way,” added Mani.

Some of the cartoons already on display poked fun at many stereotypical railway experiences like travelling in a general compartment or haggling with the TTE for a seat that most Indians would be familiar with. The camp went on till afternoon after  which the works were laminated and put on display.