Of People and Places

A little illustration inspired by the bus ride from Kathgodam to Nainital. I saw lovely mountain streams, valleys of giant trees and felt immensely at peace with myself. I was travelling solo, surrounded by a large family from Delhi. The children were ill-mannered and noisy.The man next to me was apologetic. "I usually come with my bike gang - we all ride royal enfield bikes." He said ruefully, as if regretting his boisterous family and longing for the quiet companionship of his fellow bikers on the sun kissed roads. And again, on the shared tempo rides from Nainital to Bhimtal and Naukuchiyatal - these pines greeted me,  over spectacular views of the mountains,  while we turned the hairpin bends at breakneck speed! I wondered what it would be like to just go, descend into the valley and bask in the sun as the clear mountain stream rushed past me without a care in the world. Wishful thinking! So, I turned to art.And decided that it makes for a perfect illustrati...

Last weekend in Mysore, my sister ( a die-hard thatte idli fan) went around the streets asking for thatte idli. One of the guys,regretfully gesturing with his hands said - "we only have the regular small idlis madam!" Sadly, we had to come back to Bangalore with our wish unfulfilled. Our Thatte idli fanaticism has always been met with raised eyebrows, rolled eyes and bored looks that seem to be saying " Oh these tatte idli crazies are here again! Why can't they just eat regular idlis and be done with it." Two places we have loved eating Tatte idli at  - A cart that is seen in the mornings near M.N Krishna Rao park, Basavangudi Pavithra idli hotel , Kyathsandra, Tumkur. Which is your favourite joint? 

We saw this beautiful couple in Kandy. The Sinhalese Buddhist wedding attire is very eye-catching and glamorous. The bride looks like the legendary heroines we hear of in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata ( Not sure if my illustration does justice, so do check out pictures online) - sparkling away in her wedding finery. The dress is similar to the Indian saree, called Osaria/ Kandyan Saree, but it has a neriya - a short piece of cloth that wraps around the midriff and unlike the Indian saree, the midriff is only partially covered.  I really love the jewelry worn on the hair - it makes them look royal and dignified. And the groom's attire is unlike anything I've ever seen before. The jacket is beautifully embroidered. If anyone can tell me more about how these traditional garments evolved and their history, I'd be happy to hear from you :) Do comment!

The beauty parlour close to my house is run by a Miss Trunchbull like personality, with whom we have only just managed to break the ice after three years. Usually, she ignores us as she expertly trims someone's hair, or does this weird walk like an Egyptian thing with her head when she is threading our eyebrows, or sharing some juicy gossip with someone who has presumably known her for more than three years. But the other day, she smiled at us and that transformed her face. It was a brief smile but it made her less intimidating. She is super efficient, barking out orders at the other girls who work there - mostly from the North - Eastern states and Nepal. They seem intimidated by her too. They are relaxed when she is not around and they laugh and giggle and horse around. I was getting a much needed pedicure to come back with some new, 'glowing' feet and one of the employees who had just walked in popped this red slab of sticky looking candy into the beautician's ...