Sawai Madhopur, the tourist city which is home to the Ranthambore National Park, looks unlike any other station in the country. The Sawai Madhopur railway station in Rajasthan has become one of the most beautiful stations in the country, with spectacular paintings and graffiti spread across its walls. The objective is to spread awareness about conservation among tourists in Ranthambore.
A team of local painters from the Ranthambore School of Art gave the station a spectacular makeover with paintings, graffiti and cut-outs depicting the flora and fauna of the region.
Touted to be the first of its kind in the country, the project is being funded by the World Wildlife Fund India (WWF-I).
The paintings are of darters, tree-pies, hyenas, bears, leopards, and, of course, tigers. The famed old Banyan Tree of Ranthambore National Park is also depicted in the paintings and in its artistic form, the tree’s roots spread wide over the roof and across walls. The myriad creatures like squirrels, peacocks, woodpeckers, kingfishers and bulbuls, that are painted as if thriving on the branches of trees, look extremely lifelike.
Part of the project also includes a similar transformation of the Bharatpur railway station in the state and painting the coaches of the Kota-Nizamuddin Jan Shatabdi, a train which is frequently used by tourists to Ranthambore. These two phases will also be funded by the WWF-I.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)