Bhubaneswar: Internationally acclaimed painter Bijay Biswaal has shown that his heart beats for hockey too! And, he proved it in his own way – creating a ‘humorous’ painting of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik donning a hockey player’s look. The funny caricature of Naveen has earned him both bouquets and brickbats as his painting has not gone down well with some people.

The painting, with a message “come, play in Odisha”, shows artworks of Lord Jagannath and Konark Temple in the backdrop of the CM’s painting.

The Nagpur-based artist took 2 hours to complete the 22x30 inch size poster, which according to him, is a small contribution by him towards his state and the upcoming Hockey Men’s World Cup.

Taking to his personal Twitter handle, the celebrated artist wished “good luck” to Naveen.

The tweet has so far garnered 257 likes, 52 retweets and over 25 replies on the micro-blogging site.

When asked why he focused more on Naveen instead of the sport, his answer was something which will again irk Naveen’s critics. “Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik deserves all praise for taking big initiative to host a mega sporting event such as hockey world cup, which will help further strengthening Odisha’s name on the global map,” Biswaal asserted.

Further denying any agenda behind his ‘humorous’ Naveen’s poster, he urged people to take it (painting) is just another piece of his works.

“As I am staying outside Odisha, therefore, whenever I get a chance to do something for my own state, I never mind using my skills to join the bandwagon,” the award-winning artist clarified.

As per schedule, the World Cup will kick start from November 28 and continue till December 16.

Sixteen teams including India, Pakistan, Australia and the Netherlands are participating in the World Cup

The opening ceremony will be held at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on November 27 and the world cup celebrations event at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on November 28.

Music maestro A R Rahman is slated to perform at both the venues, along with other Bollywood celebrities including superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Who is Bijay Biswaal?

A self-taught artist, Bijay Biswaal, originally from Angul in Odisha, is established in Nagpur of Maharashtra for more than two decades now. Biswaal took voluntary retirement (VRS) in April last year after serving as a Chief Ticket Inspector with the Indian Railways for over 26 years to pursue painting full time.

His “wet platform paintings” are widely appreciated and hugely popular. Bijay’s paintings have been showcased at various art galleries and exhibitions worldwide and have even been praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one of his Mann Ki Baat episodes on July 26, 2105.