The Bakul Foundation and the East Coast Railway (ECoR) organised Water on Wheels: A Public Art event at the Bhubaneswar railway station on Saturday with some of the best young artists of Odisha giving expression to their concerns about water issues.
The artists painted live on canvas in front of the reservation and booking counters. The sight of so many professional artists painting in an unusual but crowded area generated curiosity among the people assembled in that area as well as people going and leaving the station. The artists and Bakul volunteers engaged the public on the water issues. Some artists also collaborated with the public in creating the art works.
ECoR DRM Sailendra Kumar Singh, SDCM Hl lumhang and CPRO Jyoti Prakash Mishra and Sujit Mahapatra of the Bakul Foundation were among the guests.
The future plan is to give a new life to these art works with their reproductions in the railway coaches to sensitise people in the process.
The participating professional artists were Pratap Kumar Jena, Smrutikanta Rout, Pinaki Mohanty, Marut Kumar Rout, Smruti Sai Mishra, Arjun Singh and Priyoum Talukdar. Besides, many child artistes from ECoR families also participated in the event.
In his collaborative art work, in which spectators also participated, Pinaki played on the difference between usage of water in the cities and villages. In cities symbolised by taps, water is often wasted as the taps are left open. In villages symbolised by tube-wells, water is taken only when needed. The spectators expressed the need to conserve water, plant trees, recycle and reuse water.
Marut Rout had his canvas painted entirely black except for a triangle marked in red indicating danger and containing a water drop.