Bihar’s Madhubani railway station gets an arty makeover, attracts admirers

The almost forgotten Bihar’s Madhubani railway station has come back to life with Madhubani paintings adorned across the place, which has been done by some 230 local artists who came together to redecorate the station and give it an artistic makeover.
Madhubani art, which is essentially a form of folk art belonging to Bihar, is known for the manner in which unique geometric patterns are used to create colourful paintings.

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As much as 7,000 sq ft area of the railway station was painted by these artists, who did the job on a voluntary basis, without charging any money for the same. However, help was provided to them in the form of painting equipments that were provided by the railway authorities. For completing these Madhubani designs, these artists used fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, matchsticks and natural dyes and pigments.


The makeover project of the Madhubani station, which is one of the oldest railway stations in Bihar, was undertaken as a part of the Indian Government’s Swachh Bharat campaign.

Railways spokesperson Gannath Jha, who is one of those officials responsible for this makeover project, revealed that the artists used the Madhubani paintings in order to depict the day-to-day life of the people in the region along with the other aspects of their culture and society.

Post the makeover, the Madhubani railway station has become a magnet for travellers who admire the traditional form of art.