Railway rants

Vincent D’Souza

You are Chennai-bound. On a train.

It slows down after Peram­bur. It crawls past Vysarpaadi. It passes Basin Bridge and moves into Chennai Central Station.

What do you see around you, outside the window?

Less of the pleasant, I’m sure we would agree. A polluted, stinking Buckingham Canal. ­Naked bums behind bushes. Scrubland. Scrubs growing between rail lines. Mounds of paper cups, plastic covers and newspaper sheets.
Welcome to Chennai that is Madras.

This is our city; we cannot hide it behind metal sheets. This is our city: we cannot spray jasmine-juices on the Canal. But surely, if this is the window to a city, something can be done to make the first sights welcoming.

I am taking a train from Bengaluru. I spot a Rail Gallery at the station. It is locked. It is lunch time.

I take the underground pass. On the walls, are what seem to be copies of artworks based on Indian Railways and life on trains and at rail stations.

They are worn out now. Some bear stains of spit. Some are folding in. When they were first fixed on these garish blue walls, they caught our attention. Not everybody who doubled up to Platforms 3 and 6 slowed down to glance at these wonderful visuals.

These visuals may not be of the Garden City but they have a place in a public space which welcomes scores of people every day.

As my train moves out of Bengaluru Central (the re-named name is a mouthful), I sight a long stretch of well-maintained shrubs on the outer front of the platform.

A soothing sight on a bright, sunny afternoon. I wonder if we can do something ‘welcoming’ outside Chennai Central.

Something that is simple, sustains and marks this city of ours. Perhaps, the least we can do is to keep this entry zone clean and tidy. And build washrooms for the communities who continue to ease themselves between rail tracks and shrubs.

I would also like Southern Railway to invite our young artists to express themselves on Chennai-based themes and paint on the walls of this rail station. Walls that can turn into art spaces and catch the eyes of tourists and travellers. Perhaps, curate a corner on Madras that is Chennai.

Getting state agencies to respond to community-driven collaborations tests our patience and dampens our enthusiasm.

Metro Rail enjoys communicating on its social media pages. But its officers and PR team go cold when we suggest such initiatives.

They want artists to be part of a food-mela-driven promo at Vadapalani when we suggest that they encourage a team of artists to sketch and watercolour scenes that appeal to them on the Koyembedu-Airport line.

These then could find a place inside the trains and on Metro ­platforms.

Why cannot we replicate this at Chennai Airport?

Its managers spend huge sums installing the dancing Nataraja bronze and talking to Poompuhar to showcase our crafts. Good.

But its managers can also invite the city’s artists and photographers to paint or contribute works themed on our city, its colours, life, times…

The gateways to this city must showcase the city.

And involve its creative community.

And people must stop vandalising photos and artworks.

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