Thomas and my friends, 2025
Children of our generation caught the bug of steam in one of two ways: through Thomas the Tank Engine or by coming face to face with the real machines themselves. For me, it was only Thomas. Steam had long disappeared from main line service by the time I was born. The only steam engines I encountered were in museums: silent, static, forgotten.
That perception changed when I finally stood shoulder to shoulder with a real steam locomotive on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Its sheer size was overwhelming. Steam wrapped around the cylinders, water boiled inside, pipes clanked, safety valves cut through the air. The softness disappeared. What stood before me was raw power and grit. For a moment, you almost fear it.
But then your eyes settle on the round face of the smokebox. Something about it is familiar. Reassuring. Like a face looking back at you. The warmth returns.
I am 20 now, but that feeling has been with me for much longer. Between the ages of five and seven, I spent my childhood asking for a real steam locomotive for my birthday (very reasonable, very practical). Turns out they don’t fit in living rooms, but they do fit perfectly into the space between a five-year-old’s dream and a twenty-year-old standing in the Nilgiris, finally meeting the giants that Thomas promised were out there. Being allowed to witness these machines up close through this project is why it matters so deeply to me. This is not just documentation. It is the first time I have truly met what I spent my childhood imagining.
The project uses two visual approaches to capture this duality: black and white images show the reality of the railway, the machinery, the labor, the physicality of steam. The infrared images, shot to mimic Kodak Aerochrome, render the Nilgiris in surreal orange tones and represent the dreams and thoughts of a young Nitthil, the way I imagined these locomotives before I ever stood beside one.
And even now, no matter how loud it is, how fast it moves, or how massive it feels, that familiar smokebox smile is still there, reminding me that there is a friend standing in front of me too.
Mentored by @madhavan.palanisamy
spent my childhood asking for a real steam locomotive for my birthday (very reasonable, very practical). turns out they don’t fit in living rooms, but they do fit perfectly into the space between a five-year-old’s dream and a twenty-year-old standing in the Nilgiris, finally meeting the giants that Thomas promised were out there.
she’s loud, she’s massive, she could swallow your shadow whole—but that round smokebox face? still smiling back at me like an old friend who kept the promise.
some childhood wishes take a little longer to arrive. this one was worth the wait.
These are a small peak into 5 year old Nitthil’s dreams, a lot more to come from this project.
A special thanks to the office of the CPRO of the southern railways for making this childhood dream come true.
I don’t know — there seems to be this feeling I get when it’s just rained, and I’m at my happy place beside the tracks. There are all these small shrubs slowly taking over my beautiful railway, making it even more beautiful.
I don’t know how to explain this feeling. The word love just feels too easy, and the one thing I don’t want to be is easily defined. But maybe it is love. I don’t know. 🪷
Shot @nikonindiaofficial Z9 with a Carl zeiss distagon 50 f4 and a Nikon E series 28 f2.8
சந்திரன் பார்த்துக்கொண்டிருக்கிறது.
The feeling of loneliness is lingering, it stays you feel it, and it leaves you full.
Shot with Yashika D on @kodak Gold 200
Dev & Scan @cpbdarkroom
குரல் 110
எந்நன்றி கொன்றார்க்கும் உய்வுண்டாம் உய்வில்லை
செய்ந்நன்றி கொன்ற மகற்கு.
He who has killed every virtue may yet escape;
there is no escape for him who has killed a benefit
Mentored by @madhavan.palanisamy@Hasselblad 500cm - 50 f4 CF
@kodak 400TX at 1600 iso
Dev & Scan @chennaiphotobiennale@cpbdarkroom
