Forest guard Rohit Shukla paints for wildlife conservation
Seoni: Once mocked for playing with mud and scolded for dirty clothes, 46-year-old forest guard Rohit Shukla now uses his paintbrush to protect the jungles he once sketched in. A childhood winner of drawing contests nicknamed ‘Gandhi’ for his portraits of the Mahatma, Shukla joined the MP Forest Department in 2008. Encouraged by IFS officer Rajnish Kumar Singh, he has since created around 1,000 paintings, cartoons and caricatures on forest fires, tiger conservation, and tribal lore from the South Seoni division — the land that inspired The Jungle Book.
His work won him breakfast with President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan in 2023 and praise from Amitabh Bachchan at a 2019 Nagpur exhibition. His paintings have featured in three editions of Delhi’s ‘Silent Conversation’ tribal-arts show, with pieces acquired by the Czech ambassador and Reliance Foundation.
A two-time winner of the state’s Van Prani Sanrakshan Puraskar, Shukla’s art now appears in WWF campaigns, NCERT books, and forest department T-shirts. Three new acrylic works are set for the upcoming International Big Cat Alliance Summit in Delhi.
“90% of the creations marking National Forest Martyrs Day are by Rohit Shukla. He is a treasure for the MP Forest Department,” said Singh, now DFO of Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve.
