Watching people travel is particularly an easy inspiration for most artists. You get to observe an array of personalities and take mental note of their idiosyncrasies and many artists have been using these ‘characters’ to weave a variety of stories around them over the years. Closer to home, we have Cyrus Daruwala’s hilarious illustrations of Mumbai’s rail commuters, replete with people like ‘The Judger’ and ‘The Daredevil.’ Another such artist who dwells in the capital is Diwas Bisht, an animation film maker, illustrator and concept artist from the National Institute of Design. As a regular commuter of the Delhi metro, he witnessed many funny nuances of his own and created sketches every city-dweller could easily relate to.
Right from the office-goers, the college students, the lawyers, the occasional Africans, the kids, the laborers, Diwas Bisht included all them in his photo story ‘Mind the Gap.’ You can view some of them below.
I. In the hot summers of Delhi and in many other cities in india, you often see girls cover themselves up with dupattas with nothing but there eyes sticking out... to protect their skin from the harsh sun... which at times makes for a striking appearance.
II. All you see in the metro is people on their phones and tablets... their worlds confined to the screens of their devices... messaging, listening to songs, watching movies but most of all.... playing candy crush...
III. I often observe little kids come into the metro , just grab hold of a pole and start swinging in circles... without a care in the world... happy as they can be.... often in stark contrast to adults who always look too tired , constipated or busy...
IV.The first coach in the metro is reserved for the women....So all the men, from the young to the old gather up and set camp in the next coach... and stare..
there’s always this one couple... who stand on either side of the end and chat away...
Bisht also released his first episode called ‘’Falling Asleep’ as a part of the same series.
Images courtesy: Diwas Bisht via Behance