Best history in paperwork

has collected over the years,it is his collection borne out of his hobby to capture the history of transport.

This senior mechanic with BEST,who has been in service for 25 years,has made over 200 models of BEST buses out of laminated paper in the last four years. Having covered almost 90 per cent of BEST fleet designs,he recently moved to trains and has plans to capture all the trains in the Indian Railways. Pimpale’s love affair with automobiles began when he was very young.

“This subject is such that every child has an attraction towards it and I was no different. My childhood drawing books were full of sketches of cars,ships and planes,” he says. The hobby slowly matured into modelling,with the

most obvious choice of material being metal,but Pimpale chose to be different.

“I wanted to challenge that,do something different. So I began using paper,which is eco-friendly and light weight,” he says. It takes Pimpale approximately 40 hours,with the help of three softwares to draw out a single bus sketch. A train takes even longer,taking up to 60 hours,due to intricacies involved in conjuring the wheel structure. “I use a computer for its accuracy and perfection,but the cutting,folding and pasting is all done manually,” he says. However,the first

step begins with research about specifications and dimensions. “Being a BEST employee,having access to information is easier as I can source measurements from the BEST museum or from books. For trains,I rely on photographs and information from the internet. Thankfully,recently,the Railways were kind enough to grant me permission to visit the yard where I could take physical measurements of trains when required,” he says.

Being well-versed in the history of transport has given Pimpale interesting tidbits. For instance,during war time when the buses had to be painted green instead of the trademark red.

“The buses were painted a matte finish green so as to avoid being detected during air raids,” says Pimpale. Or during the Second World War in 1939 when the RTO had suggested making open-deck buses due to a paucity of spare parts. Or when buses carried messages on social issues. Pimpale has even made models of trial buses such as “Duck Bus”,which was supposed to begin in the city. “It was an amphicoach bus meant for tourism which could ply on water and road like the buses in Chicago,” he says. And special buses like the one used for the Twenty20 World Cup victory

parade by the Indian cricket team in 2007.

Toiling away at work from 7 am to 3.30 pm working on bus maintenance and repair during the day,this self-taught artist thanks his family and colleagues for their support.

“My wife is an artist herself,a Warli painter,” he says. His efforts have borne fruit with an exhibition of his models being held in early 2011,which got an overwhelming response. Some of his models are also on showcase at the BEST museum in Anik depot. As for the time and money he invests into his hobby,(Pimpale makes 5-6 models a month at the cost of Rs. 200 per model),he says,“It is all worth it when I see the joy and surprise on the children’s faces.”

The main purpose of Pimpale’s art is educational and he is in the process of designing multi-level craft kits of bus and train models for the younger generation,from the school to the college level.

“Children spend their time watching cartoons or playing video games. These kits will impart knowledge as well as provide entertainment,” he said. Another idea is to generate income for his employer by turning scrap BEST buses into permanent art galleries,for which Pimpale has already prepared a feasibility report,which will be presented to the General Manager of BEST soon. His dream is to have a paper sculpture museum in the city. “Paper art is rare and if the works of all artists of this genre could be displayed,it would indeed be a wonderful value addition to the city. I’d happily donate all my models to be kept there permanently,” he added