One of our favorite places in Delhi, Full Circle Bookshop in Khan Market closed down due to the lockdown. I loved their curation, and spent hours every week browsing through it’s shelves.
This drawing is from my last visit there in Feb2020.
Tag Archives: delhi
A free day
Sometimes it’s important to just to get out of the daily grind and recharge my soul by looking at some art. Way back in 2017, this was one of those days.
I took the elevated road past Humayun’s tomb and went to see a show at Vadehra Art Gallery.
Just the ability to do this, which I’ve also done while living in Bombay and Malmö, is a pleasure and a blessing.
A new year
What better way to welcome the new year if not with food and drink. I’m sure the Anteater would agree. From the last 2 years I found that food has been such a recurring theme – If I’ve not Instagrammed it, I’ve probably drawn it.
Here’s a “rare” family Friday dinner. My in laws were visiting and we went to Amalfi in GK2.
Here’s the food I ate on a quick weekend trip to visit my family in Kolkata. I always think that love in Indian families is all about food. Most of us didn’t grow up with verbal articulations of love, and we demonstrate our love, especially in families, by cooking for and feeding our loved ones.
Most of the food below was made by my Ma and Chhotoma.
“Whoever eats fish curry with roti?”
Said my mother
I gained 2 kilos with all that love!
This is a drawing I made while eating by myself and reading a poem one day. I forgot what I was eating and I can’t even remember the poem, but I enjoyed it enough to draw about it!
What if I could gather all the people who taught me to love around my dinner table? We would drink coffee and eat pizza.
Antara would be chopping onions because she’s always doing something, and whenever I chop onions I think of her. Snehasis would be listening to his wife and observing the world to make fun of them later. Ananya would be under the table reading because she doesn’t always like to socialise. Lekha would be sitting quietly and smiling in happiness. Atul and Reshmy would be having some long and complicated conversation where they would both not be listening to the other. Viv would be drawing happily. I forgot to draw Orin but he is the one person who forced his way into my life and made me love him.
Let’s hope 2019 is all this, and more.
More people
Like most people who draw, I look for opportunities to draw from life – mostly at airports, in the subway, wherever I’m waiting.
Here are some recent ones from last month.
Getting where we’re going
[Sometimes in the living of every day
I often forget about the life of it
the intentionality, “the composing of the life”
that I once set out to do. The daily bustle,
that once emerged from me –
often swallows me up
until all I can do is hold on for dear life
to banal rituals
so that I don’t lose myself.]
For pacificleo.
You can’t keep acid…and other stories
We went to see Nalini Malani – A Retrospective. I found it surprisingly thought-provoking. The pieces exhibited in the hall where the Wedding Dress was displayed were the ones that resonated the most with me. Listening to Shades was nice as well.
Next was a group show called Is That What You Think. Some of the pieces were interesting – because you really could figure out the narrative behind the artwork if you try. Like the piece by Vivan Sundaram which didn’t make sense at a cursory glance, but as I moved around the room I really began to open up to the feelings that the artist might have wanted to express. One – a piece of video art showing rolling waves was a transporting experience though I didn’t really understand it. Lightning Testimonies was an interesting way to watch the films, and that’s not the least of it. (And by the way if you want to see the drawing larger just double click on it – and then remember to return to this post!)
And here’s a page from a personal journal – I got this beautiful Dreamvilla postcard from Rukminee.
Writers, Etc at Alliance Francaise Delhi
The Alliance Francaise in Delhi has a regular event where writers are interviewed. I went to attend one of them in March.
It’s rare that we get an interview of a cartoonist/author and this session – had Indrajit Hazra interviewing Vishwajyoti Ghosh.
I really enjoyed it. And Indi Hazra was not as accusing as the speech bubbles make it out to be!
For more on Vishwajyoti Ghosh read this interview in TCJ and follow him on Twitter.
Weekend art
From my March sketchbook.
LINKS
Bangalore Art – There was an interactive dance show that we couldn’t find anywhere, not even online later
Mughal Gardens – Did you know Delhi has these amazing gardens? Now we have to wait for next year.
Rashtrapati Bhavan – That’s where the President stays.
Nityan’s show – my very talented friend is also a great artist.
TRANSCRIPT
Weekend Art (Kelas)
We went for Bangalore History and couldn’t find it.
BB: Oh it’s not even mentioned here.
We went to Mughal Gardens and it was already shut!
Finally we went to hang out in Rashtrapati Bhavan. And the call of coffee was too strong to ignore.
BB: Not all kelas (flops: pun) – We went for Nityan’s show last night
Me: Trust you to draw a silver lining on my dark cloud…
On the Metro, hairdos and some
Most of the women that I see on the metro have long hair, but these ladies really stood out.
Sometimes there are women who spend their commute doing something else other than on the phone. Here’s a girl who was reading a religious text and chanting throughout her journey.
This girl spent the journey staring at her reflection on the window behind me. I forgave her, she had just lost a gold ring.
inktales 