Of People and Places

Part 3 of the conversation with Abhishek Dubey - One that is close to my heart. About the struggle in artists and writers to be true to oneself and to the society we live in. Have you been writing since childhood? Not much. It was in college that I began to write in earnest. We wrote together for Jazba and read a lot. When you start creating something together, it influences you to do personal work too. I started to write by connecting my experiences to the things that I had read about. Finding your voice, finding your own point of view is very slow, but extremely rewarding. It began to be a good practice. As you continue to write, some elements in your writing style begin to improve. Your understanding changes, matures and leads to new insights. I discovered Gorakh Pandey’s “ Bhojpuri ke nau geet ” and thought that they were splendid. His style of poetry influenced me. He was a people’s poet. And he was writing in    my mother tongue – t...

Half way through the safari on Madu river in Balapitiya, Sri Lanka, we had sudden rains which made the boatmen abandon the original plan of visiting the islets and the mangroves. It rained quite heavily and disappointed, we went to the Galle fort for sightseeing and hoped that the weather would be fine in the afternoon to try again. Galle is a beautiful city, but more on that later. All things seem to be for the best. We got to enjoy boating in the Madu river both in the rains, where the water looked lovely and in the late afternoon, where all the leaves looked fresh and reinvigorated from the morning rains and it wasn't as sunny or sweltering. This is a little watercolor sketch I made. We had just visited an island where the locals spoke about growing Cinnamon and when we made our way out of the marshland, one of the boats ahead of us, it made such a charming picture, with most of the horizon covered with foliage from the mangroves. It was like we were in a tunnel ...

Goa diary : 16 August 2016 South Goa is for the traveller. Let the tourist be content with North Goa and all the touristy things it has to offer. We went to the fine white beach of Colva in South Goa in the monsoons. The sky was overcast, men stood in a haphazard line, in shorts and raincoats, funny because some of them were going to wade into the sea anyway to draw the fishing net! The boats drew closer and the men came alive. They brought in the fishing net tangled with seaweed, bits of shells and of course fish. Fishes gasped for air, swishing their tails, and all at once it seemed like the entire beach was filled with them, shining like pieces of tinsel here and there, jumping out of the nets. The stray dogs eyed them, nosing around them in the sand. The crows overhead also waited for a chance to swoop down. A slight drizzle had begun. Undaunted, the men hauled the net in. Women hung around in the background with raincoats and umbrellas, waiting to load the fish into ...

For most people Goa is a holiday destination, a place of endless booze and partying, fresh seafood, expensive restaurants and weekend getaways. Not for Konkanis, though. As a child, I hated the fact that visits to Goa were mostly restricted to visiting the Mangeshi Mutt (temple), with an occasional trip to the beach and I longed for all those touristy things that other people did :) As I grew older, I began to see that a lot exists beyond both these things. A vast part of Goa is unexplored, untouched by the madness that tourists bring with them. Take Chandor, for instance,  a charming village in South Goa. It is a small village that can be explored on foot. In the monsoons, this place is too beautiful for words. Luckily, we had a friend who lives there to show us around. On the way to Chandor, amid stretches of forests, you will see typical Goan houses. The houses have covered porches that face the street, and invariably you will see someone sitting there, reading a newspap...

Summers were all about watermelon in Udupi. We - me and my sister, never felt the scorching heat that used to bother the adults around us. It was all about endless days of playing, running wild and whiling away time. We would strip down to our undies and be duly handed slices of  cold watermelon to eat. We would polish them off slowly. The juice trickled down our chins and stained our drawers, but we ate it with abandon. That's my sister spitting out the seeds like a pro : D It was also that time of my childhood which must have been a trial for my parents, now that I think of it. You know the time,  when your  milk teeth are falling out, and you are increasingly difficult, annoying and doing all the socially inappropriate things that are hilarious in retrospect, but not so funny, especially to one's parents at the time. The Dennis the menace years, I would call them :) So go on and find yourself a slice of nostalgia this summer and let's say cheers to those good old...

Pencil Sketch - King Edward VII This statue of Edward VII in Cubbon Park lies forgotten among many other beautiful works of art in Bangalore. I see a homeless man sleeping under its pedestal, in what little shade it offers from the sun. The marble statue bears the summer heat with composure. I love this statue because of the intricate work on the robes - It's hard to believe they're made of marble, because they capture fluid movement in the folds and creases. This work was commissioned to Leonard Jennings, a British Sculptor, who has executed commissioned works in Kolkata, Patna, Delhi and Mumbai. Every Sunday, Edward VII looks on as a bunch of committed artists get here to do some serious studies in figure drawing and anatomy. Some are on time, some are laid back ( It's a Sunday, after all)  some don't turn up but no matter the size of the group, every Sunday, these artists make it a point to show up, do some figure studies and some of them even go home and de...

Waiting Women with crying babies and old men in little shorts wait patiently for their turn. The garish, brightly painted Anganwadi is brimming with people today.  A school bench is the makeshift waiting room for patients, while little ones play on in their own universe of tiny claypots and pans, beads and slates on the other side of the room. The doctor, in a plastic chair is attending to a drunk man who has a skin allergy. Old men and women, weighed down, bent double, sit on chairs and carpets waiting for the doctor and the nurse to attend to them. A young woman in her teens in a brightly patterned nightie pats her wailing baby to comfort him. This is a small village in Doddaballapura Taluk in the Bangalore rural district of Karnataka.   Every Thursday, People wait in line for the mobile health van. It is a small village and I am alarmed to see few youths. Where have they gone? Working in the farms? Yes, a few.  But most of them are off to Bangalore...

The beginning of summertime in Bangalore is a treat. The tabebuias are in full blossoms,  their delicate blooms falling down in a soft shower on the streets, kids are looking forward to their summer vacation and all the untold pleasure that it brings. Adults are more relaxed and willing to be wooed by the charm of the season. Even working in this season is a pleasure, all you need is a window to gaze out from time to time, to get into a good mood and feel motivated to work! Cubbon Park is at its best, offering perfect spots for family picnics and boxed lunches, nooks under trees to lie down in and while away time with a good book, or take a nap in the warm grass, hoping the ants won't crawl into your underpants!  I have seen many families, replete with grandparents and little kids get huge tiffin boxes full of mouthwatering biriyani. Puliogare, Chitranna, Sandwiches, Upma, Stuffed parathas,Pulau, Bisibelebath, Bhel, boiled eggs, need I go on? So go out and seize the ...

On a trip to Mysore, we met this little fella in Dubare - A frisky baby elephant happy to be let loose for a little while. His mahout was a little kid of  about 8 or 9 years and I thought to myself, Well! Isn't this a great pair. They both ran into the Kabini river for bath time accompanied by a horde of tourists  wanting to  'bathe' the baby elephant while he just laid there in the cold water , happy as a lark , making gurgling noises and flapping his ears. I was one of the tourists and I was also happy to give the little one a scrub. I like elephants. As do most people. But I suppose humans liking them is not a very good thing for elephants themselves. There is a lot of cruelty involved in making them ' human - friendly'. Have you visited the Mysore Dasara and seen the elephant parade? Or seen an elephant in South Indian temples? And admired them because they look so mammoth, majestic and grand? And felt affection and warmth for them, accompanied by a lit...

Maheshwar is an understated place. Maybe, I prefer it that way. After a disappointing visit to Ujjain, being pushed and pulled by people to have a quick glance ( barely) at the deity in the Mahakaleshwar temple, Maheshwar felt like an oasis, because there was space to explore at my pace. The whole Ahilya fort is charming to visit. Very peaceful and quaint. I especially liked Rani Ahilyabai Holkar's residence - one of the most elegant, simple, no-frills palaces I have ever visited. This was a sight that we saw in the courtyard of the Rajwada - A local woman had stepped out of her house in a beautiful yellow and green sari that made it a perfect composition for a painting. I find Maheshwar breathtaking - Definitely worth another visit ( or many more visits!). 

Inside the Thanjavur Maratha Royal complex, in the Royal Palace museum, you will get to see graceful figures in Bronze.  The way they capture the beauty of the human figure with its contours and posture is a treat to see. All the bronze sculptures that are part of the collection have exquisite details.  I especially love the gestures of the hands, every finger elegantly poised, much like they do in stylized theatre or in Classical dance. This sculpture was found in Mayiladuthurai in Tamil nadu. It is named as Thirupurantagar, One of the many names of Lord Shiva. I was amazed to hear of how these sculptures were made. They went through an elaborate process where an intricate wax model was first carved, after which it was covered with clay to form a mould. This was then fired to harden it. The wax melted in the heat leaving only the baked clay intact. The bronze was then melted and poured into this mould. Once it had hardened, the outer clay shell would be shattered. On...

Near the tower of victory inside Ashrafi Mahal, you can find ruins with beautiful stone carvings. Ashrafi mahal was originally built as a Madrassa and dates back to the time the Khilji Dynasty took over administration in the fortress city of Mandu. The Ashrafi   Mahal must have had wide spacious balconies, but   now there are no traces of that. The outer walls have crumbled and the structure is sky clad. You can witness a beautiful sunset if you come here just before closing time. The flight of stairs takes you through the complex and it has been built so that one can have a direct view of the Jama Masjid across the road. This monument, along with the Jama Masjid and Roopmati’s pavilion are close to the heart of the town with its market and small restaurants and sweetmeat shops. I can only imagine the splendour of this square in the old days, especially on a full moon day. Mandu has a mysteriousness I am yet to find in any other place.

Every evening, as I board a crowded BTMC bus to get back home I see weary, tired women mindlessly watching stories on Instagram, Whatsapp and Facebook. They hold on to handrails, squeeze between what little space is left in the overcrowded bus and stand in contorted positions to look at what other people ( often strangers) are doing with their life.Some catch up on episodes of their favorite series and soaps and comedy shows as our benign service providers auto play them one after the other. Bangalore has enough traffic to make sure you binge watch these episodes and if you find a seat throughout your long journey home, well jackpot! The visuals roll back endlessly without you having to do a thing. I get a disagreeable shiver down my back. What worries me is not the fact that they are constantly on their cellphones but that they are zoned out even when they are watching something, reading something, doing something. Our lives seem to be a distracted blur.  Sometimes, when I am...

I had heard so much about the bitter winters of the North but nothing could prepare me for the days I spent in Delhi in Winter. It is a peculiar cold that tries to claw at you- dry and treacherous. In the wee hours of the morning, this is a common sight in some of the streets in Delhi - A group of people huddling against each other trying to warm their bones in little bonfires by the side of the road. What I was so amused and happy to find was that large-hearted people in Delhi  give out vests to street dogs to help them make it through the winter. I have seen many snug gunny bags laid out for street dogs that serve as makeshift shelters.I have seen street dogs with some funky looking jackets and vests - like they are part of some Winter Fashion week :D . Apparently some colonies find street dogs curled up in the embers of last night's bonfire trying to warm themselves. 

On the way back from Nashik to Pune by bus, we stopped at a wayside dhaba for tea. It was around four in the evening and a very beautiful windy day outside. I saw this unforgettable landscape - A goatherd in a red turban surrounded by the beautiful green of the countryside and the goats happily grazing near the trees. As the bus moved away, they almost disappeared until  I could see only a bright red speck in the distance with black dots hovering around it. 

On the road to Thirthahalli from Shimoga, the beautiful Tunga river meanders along, its green water rippling gently in the stillness. We stop a little way further from the Sakkarebayalu elephant camp to get a closer look at the trees that float in the calm waters.   On the other side are dark woods that tower over us – true children of the rainforests around Agumbe. There is a  path among these woods I want to explore, but we are short of time. It is dusk and all colors are merging into shades of violet, umber and grey.   There is a little light reflected in the small clearing at the end of the path and the dense trees that surround it make it look like a halo. And from this clearing comes a man in a bicycle. It is a charming picture and one I hope to be able to put down on paper some day. The tangle of roots from the swamp makes for interesting shapes. There is one that looks like it is raising its arms to the sky.   They may look spooky in the night. A...

I had heard so much about baobab trees and I finally had a chance to meet one at Mandu. Mandu or Mandav is an ancient fortress town in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. It is a place after my own heart with ruins scattered all over the place making it a town of breathtaking beauty. Much more about Mandu later (I haven’t even begun!) Let’s go back to our baobab tree. Fields with yellow and green dot the path to the village and in the midst stand these curious trees.   They have massive trunks that store water. To me, they look like a cross between a bottle and an elephant – and I find their shape comforting.   These trees are native to Africa. I am curious to know how they got here! Apparently, they are among the most ancient trees on earth.  Locals sell the baobab tree seeds, they are called   Mandu ki imli. They taste like tamarind but have this incredible zing and saltiness. I liked it but not a good idea to eat too much of it (My cavities are tingling at...

Lettering by Malavika Shenoy The Buddha is my favourite trope in art and philosophy. If nothing else, the image of Gautama Buddha in repose with heavy-lidded eyes gives me a vast measure of peace. I have seen many statues of Buddha -all of them remarkably beautiful, but none have made as much of an impression on me as the Buddha at Sanchi. It was my first visit to Madhya Pradesh and also my first experience of the famous M.P sun and its heat waves in summer.   We reached Sanchi at midday -the exact time everything is scorching hot and airless. But I didn’t mind very much because it felt like I had stumbled on treasure. The Stupas at Sanchi are on higher ground from the village and look absolutely stunning in the afternoon sun. I think harsh sunlight brings out the beauty of stone and rock-cut architecture where strong shadows and contrasts create magic wherever light doesn’t reach. A lot of it is not as well-preserved as one would like - Colonial excavations and loca...

The way to Nainital from Kathgodam. Uttarakhand welcomed me with her arms wide open, as the bus turned yet another hairpin bend. Her pines glistened in the winter sun and the small mountain streams twinkled at me like her two merry eyes.   Two places have filled me with infinite delight because of their tininess – Gokarna and Nainital.   I cannot describe what I felt when I finally reached the Tallital bus stand.The Naini lake stood there in majesty with the town all around her. From the cycle rickshaw that I sat in, I drank in all the beauty surrounding me. Truly you do not  know what sunlight means to you unless you are out on a winter’s day in the hills. And the sun is so caressing, it fills you with warmth. Picture if you can a tiny teardrop of water, surrounded by higgledy-piggledy houses amid tall trees. Add to that a gloriously clear baby blue sky with dreamy clouds. That is what I saw on the ropeway. It must be so beautiful to see it in the night....

Art on the train Digital illustration is not in my comfort zone so thought I'd take a shot at it :) There was a little girl on my train once She colored a man yellow Took my sketchbook and my markers While an old passenger did bellow “She’s ruining your book, Don’t give it to her Whoever heard of a real live man Being colored completely yellow!” The girl looked at me worried Waiting for a rebuke I just looked at her and smiled So she went back to my sketchbook. She next drew me a landscape A town of yellow houses A four coloured rainbow with two clouds In bold lines without pauses. “Have you ever seen houses so tawdry So out of whack and childish?” The old man scolded and grumbled We paid no heed and enjoyed ourselves While the train in the tunnel rumbled. This was an annoying encounter for me on the train from Hoshangabad to Bangalore. I have met a great many kids in my train journeys and invariably,when they see my sk...