The artistic journey of a railway man from Nagpur

Bijay Biswaal, travelling ticket examiner, Nagpur division of South East Central Railway and employed with the Indian Railways for the past 25 years has a story to tell. Apart from being employed with the railways, Biswaal, is an artist and his work has been praised by art enthusiasts on social media.

15 Jul 2015 | By PrintWeek India

According to the Facebook page, Salem Division of Southern Railway, "The Indian Railways is proud of Biswaal and that he is part of the industry."

So? What makes Biswaal special?

Biswaal had a vision to look at the railways from an artistic point of view, the noise which a train makes while entering into the station and also while exiting the station, the chaiwala offering chai to the travellers. These everyday slices of life moments have been captured by Biswaal. These have inspired him to produce a series of paintings in watercolours.

He has been painting for a very long time and still remembers borrowing charcoal and chalks from his mother and sitting down and drawing at the age of five. He got his first watercolour set at the age of 19 years.

However, it was after the Salem Division of Southern Railways shared a few of his paintings on their Facebook page that fame knocked on his door. His artwork was appreciated on social media sites. Appreciation came gallore for Biswaal. According to railway department sources, Biswaal, had a different take. He said, “But, I have no plans of leaving work to pursue art, as I am already doing it. My job allows me to travel places and helps me observe the railway stations, trains, people in and around the platform and many other things which I capture in my artwork.”

Salem Railway Division is a railway division of the Southern Railway in India. It was established as a new division by bringing together sections of the Southern Railway in western and central Tamil Nadu that were formerly under the Palakkad Railway Division.