They are slow and steady but they never compete to win the race. They have attained a heritage status in a place like Kolkata, which is approximately 320 years old itself, so they certainly are iconic. However, they face the threat of extinction in the contemporary world. No matter what, tramcars will always remain special to a certain set of Indian cities. A very few cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Nasik, Kanpur, Patna (famous for its erstwhile horse-drawn tram cars) and Delhi can boast of having had this electric mode of transport. Keeping with this theme, artist Purnendu Mandal presents a kaleidoscopic view of Kolkata Through Trams — a solo show of his paintings at the culture capital’s Chemould Art Gallery, curated by Kolkata Art House. Dyed in both acrylic shades and oil chromes, the tram series is an eye catcher. The colour palette gets profusely unleashed upon the canvas. Originally from Shyam Sundari village of Manik Chak post office in the Maldah district of West Bengal, Mandal is currently living in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh. He had previously worked here as an art teacher for four years, and now works as a freelance artist, holding regular exhibitions of his paintings around the year. He owns a studio inside a three-room rented flat with one room completely dedicated to his art. On his preoccupation with trams, Mandal says, “I always find them interesting. Irrespective of the weather conditions or the time of the day I am travelling in, trams have never failed to catch my fancy.” He adds, “It’s interesting to note how it snakes its way through a traffic-congested street on a continuous motion. Trams may be a considered tardy in today’s age, yet they consistently recreate that element of nostalgia from the good old 60s-70s era. It has an old world feel to it like the yesteryear double-decker buses.” Mandal was initially attracted to some rural vignettes and transmitted the same in his works. Retracing his childhood memories, he recalls having conjured up a collage on paper rockets, darts and boats that we all have made as kids. A complete series on his “simple, innocent school-life spent in the earthy settings” and a separate “dream” series had become strong motifs of his artistic displays at one time. Earlier, he had also exhibited a special series on ‘horses’ at the famous Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai. Now the focus has discernibly shifted towards city-life and its salient features. In his next exhibition, he intends to explore the tram theme further. “Due to their pace, trams are often considered to be outdated. Authorities contemplate gradually phasing them out like the hand-pulled rickshaws, especially on Kolkata roads. But I don’t want this over-a-century-old carrier to be wiped out for good. It should remain an integral part of our daily lives,” says Mandal. The current project sees him having clicked pictures of trams running in several zones of the cityscape and then projecting his own imaginary streaks blended into 50 percent of the collection. “In my next project, I’d like to paint a composition wherein countless trams will be queued up to rest in a row. What happens if one fine day, all of them just refuse to move and turn into an immobile, historic asset forever ” he asks, raising a potent question.
