Tag Archives: india

Event, sketchbook

A happy new year with last year’s sketchbook

As always I’m wishing everyone a happy new year in Feb because that’s when it really hits me. Happens to you also I’m sure – so a very happy new year. Last year I had a great year and a great sketchbook, most of which I was too lazy to scan. So here goes.

I think it was October (?) that I happened to go to the book launch of Gandhi before India by Ram Guha.  Until the session began, I amused myself by drawing the people in the audience. If any of you reading this post go to book launches, please don’t stop – I love drawing faces of book lovers – a refreshing change from the blue line Delhi metro commuters.

2013-rg01

and here are some insights from Mr Guha about writing biographies:

1. Never anticipate

2. Look for sources that emanate from the person himself

3. One must flesh in the secondary characters

2013-rg02

Standard
Life, sketchbook

Weekend art

From my March sketchbook.

art-kela

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…

Standard
People, travels

The children of the village

So, another day we went to Dhordo village in Kutch to meet some of the craftsmen.

While everyone was admiring the crafts, I went to draw the kids sitting outside and making bead necklaces. Each of them make and sell their own handicrafts to earn pocket money. While I was drawing, all of them gathered around and then took turns for me to draw them one by one!

kids

Standard
sketchbook

Calm in the air ends with Periyar

Calm in the air | Calm in the air, Kochi and Silent Valley | Calm in the air, Silent Valley and Alapuzzha | Calm in the air, Lake Vembanad
Bengalis, as everyone knows, are notoriously bad at other Indian languages, specially if they’ve grown up in Bengal, and my uncle is no different. And faced with Malayalam, he devised his own version:
24-sketchbook-kerala
Anyway, from Kottyam we went on to Periyar Forest Reserve. The road was beautiful – bordered with tea gardens and rubber plantations – and the aroma of spices greeted us the closer we got to the forest
26-sketchbook-kerala
27-sketchbook-kerala
28-sketchbook-kerala
28A-sketchbook-kerala
29-sketchbook-kerala
I was drawing more nature on this trip than humans and the brown boy objected. “What’s the point of drawing nature? You can’t even do justice to it! I hereby direct you to draw only people.” So I tried, somewhat, on the last day.
30-sketchbook-kerala
And of course, the best part of every holiday is when you’re recounting the stories to your friends – just like I’m telling you now.

31-sketchbook-kerala

Standard
sketchbook, travels

Calm in the air, part 4, Lake Vembanad

Calm in the air | Calm in the air, Kochi and Silent Valley | Calm in the air, Silent Valley and Alapuzzha

We took a local ferry from Aleppy to Kottayam, on Lake Vembanad. It was absolutely breathtaking.
20-sketchbook-kerala
The ferry would stop at these villages, every few minutes or so – just like bus stops – and people would get on and off. To tourists like me who’d never been to Kerala it was really new.
21-sketchbook-kerala
We passed hundreds of houseboats, and here is Anirudh telling us to read an article about Kerala later on –
22-sketchbook-kerala
And there were tons of birds – and I kept drawing and drawing trying to capture their motion
23-sketchbook-kerala
And amid all this beauty, someone was snoozing away
25-sketchbook-kerala

Standard
sketchbook

Calm in the air, part 3, Silent Valley and Alapuzzha

Part 1, Calm in the air

Part 2, Kochi and Silent Valley

So, on to part 3 of the now-long forgotten Kerala holiday.

We didn’t do much more in Silent valley, except go on a safari. Here’s a place which reminded me of Spirited Away.

16-sketchbook-kerala

We also saw a couple of animals (I drew these from memory, so they may not be true to life).

17-sketchbook-kerala

Then we went on to Alaphuzzha, or Aleppy as it was called in English, a few hours away by car. It was all about the backwaters, tapioca chips and coconuts.

18-sketchbook-kerala

19-sketchbook-keralaYes, the retreating monsoons, my sketchbook. Happy Kerala-ing.

Part4 tomorrow.

Standard