Of People and Places

Bangalore, 18 years ago was like a hill station. It was an upheaval of sorts - moving from Udupi to Bangalore. Being teased a little about our accent and way of speaking in school, staring wide-eyed at mothers who came to drop their kids off to school in nighties with a little shawl or dupatta or even towel for modesty purposes! I have seen that only in Bangalore. The number of bakeries and hot chips all across the streets! And the free-handed way in which my classmates spent money to buy snacks or some Bombay mittai (Candy made out of sugar that can be shaped) that they sold in fluorescent colors on cycles outside the school.  The seller would nimbly shape the mittai into an animal or a doll while a bunch of noisy students would hang around, jostling each other and waiting their turn. Another nostalgic favorite was something they called 'coffee beeja' but for the life of me, I can't figure out what that was ( possibly tamarind seeds?) If anyone knows what that is, ple...

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...

Originally built as a durbar, Hindola Mahal is a unique representative of Malwa architecture. It seems to have borrowed elements from different architecture styles and come up with something entirely original.  Its sloping side walls give it a distinct look. The entire complex is made up of arches that let in a lot of light and wind. For me, the colors of this place characterizes Madhya Pradesh. If you look at the landscape, you will see earthy shades of pink,red, brown, ochre and burnt umber and these colors are captured in the monuments found in the ancient city of Mandu. While I sat sketching inside the deserted Mahal ( Monuments are wonderful to visit in the mornings when there are no tourists about)  a cheeky squirrel gave me a lot of trouble. Perhaps he was in want of company too and followed me about wherever I went. I finally had to perch myself awkwardly on a pedestal near one of the arches while the squirrel went around looking for me. He managed to spot me...

A part of the Bhojeshwar temple complex Just outside of Bhopal, there is a little known town called Bhojpur on the banks of river Betwa. My friend and I went on a visit on the way to Bhopal from Hoshangabad. We got down from the bus and took a shared auto to go to the Bhojeshwar temple, and a shared ride it was indeed! The driver was more than happy to accommodate more passengers so that  there were 10 of us, not to mention our suitcase and handbags, all in 1 auto! We were crammed together like sardines, in uncomfortable positions. When I first  caught sight of the Bhojeshwar temple, I was blown away! It is a sparse landscape that surrounds the temple, and the huge structure in contrast, really catches the eye.  It is an incomplete temple, with one of the largest Shiva lingas in the world. You could see it from a distance but if you were to go inside the structure, even if you were to crane your neck you would be able to see only the bottom of the large pedestal...

After a whirlwind trip to Pushkar in an extremely crowded local bus and being hoodwinked by a zealous auto rickshaw driver into a fool's errand to check a spot ( The deal, we came to know later, was to go on a camel ride for exorbitant rates. We refused....Ours was a shoestring budget - the kind of shoestring where you tie a knot and hang on for dear life!!), we were ready to go sightseeing in Ajmer. ( Do visit the Pushkar valley  - The route is breathtaking.) We visited the Ajmer Dargah at dusk.  The road to the Dargah is very crowded and filled with tourists, pilgrims, shop vendors and 'streetfood eaters'. Fairy lights twinkle overhead and  shine in children's festive clothes. The most unique shops are of the loban sellers -  I was astounded by the sheer variety of frankincense/ loban that are there. There were times when these shops looked more like a halwaii/ sweetshop   than those selling joss sticks and perfumed resins! I couldn't ma...

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...

My favourite place to visit in Hoshangabad is Bandrabhan. It is the confluence of  Narmada and Tawa rivers. From Hoshangabad twenty of us would go there on a sketching trip and have a gala time drawing, sketching or just plain wool-gathering. I couldn't believe such a gem existed when I first set my eyes on the place. You need to walk a little way downhill to get there and cross a vast expanse of sand that leads into the river and the wind roars past you, billowing your clothes and hair. Try turning and walking backwards and suddenly everything is calm and quiet just as it was noisy and chaotic a few moments ago! ( I hope nobody was watching me. I must look eccentric doing that!) Across the river there is a temple with a structure in the shape of a  trishool glinting in the sunlight, surrounded by shrubs and bushes. It looks so tranquil in the evening.  Once, when we went in the monsoons, our feet sank down in the sand and slowed us down as it stuck to our foot...

It has been so common for trains to arrive late in Hoshangabad and Itarsi that it makes me nervous to see one that is actually on time. It is as though something is not right with the journey if the train is not late by at least three hours! Once, we even had to stay overnight in Itarsi because the train was late by over 10 hours. Anyway, late trains mean more time for sketching and observing people. Indian railway stations are full of interesting characters, each one unique and with a fascinating history, if you get to speak to them. I scouted for an ideal subject in the hot, dusty train station at Hoshangabad, sketching the man on the opposite platform taking a nap. Close to me, a man in uniform waved the green flag to a passing train that thundered through the station.   I didn’t pay much attention to him. But after a while I had to. It is common in India to be openly curious about something and hover around. And that is what he did. He hovered behind me while I tried...

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. 

The Women who bring rice to our plates Paddy transplanting is done exclusively by women in India. And I was interested to find that in Japan, before mechanization, transplanting by hand was exclusively done by women too while the men supervised them. There was an interesting scene in ' Shichinin no samurai'  (Seven Samurai)   by Akira Kurosawa where women stoop in the fields to plant rice in neat rows by hand, while the men sing and draw water for the fields. In Harlimath too, it is a similar scene and men prepare the land and drive the bullocks to get the field ready for the next batch of seedlings. The hired women workers assemble in brightly clad clothes with raincoats and polythene covers, neatly tied scarves topped by a Hale toppi ( A cap fashioned out of Areca leaf), and a collared shirt buttoned up over all this. They look snug and warm. They are probably going to need it because they will wade knee deep in the cold slush of the fields for most of the day wh...

 This is a little child who comes to play in the park near my house. This is the sight that greets me whenever I see her. One pigtail escaping from the tightly made braid folded into a prim little plait with red ribbons. Pinafore slightly askew. Socks drooping, shoes dusty and her red checkered shirt doing nothing to hold the freedom of her movements as she gleefully shouts and plays on the swing.  Her loose hair with its red ribbon flying in the wind looks like a little act of rebellion, wresting from the day all the free time that she has lost, running from her home to school and back. It is such a luxury for kids to have this kind of time. The Time to do nothing. As Bill Watterson ( creator Of Calvin and Hobbes) puts it, "The biggest gift my parents gave me was a lot of time. There was never a sense that I should be doing something else. That kind of time is just indispensable. It's not a luxury, it's an absolute requirement. You've got to mess around - it...

I spent Makar Sankranti   last January at the house of a friend in Jaipur.   This was the first time I saw a paper lantern in the night sky. The first time I was part of a mohalla kite fight. We spent a greater part of the day flying kites. I should perhaps say I did this platonically, since a novice like me is no match for the veterans who mean business as far as kite flying is concerned.   But to my credit, I didn’t let it swoop low whenever it was generously passed on to my hands :D   All around on the rooftops and the roads, in the scorching midday sun schoolboys, girls and old men flew their kites with so much glee that you could see it was their own soul that was soaring and not just the kites.   We went near hawa mahal for a bit of sightseeing in the evening. To know why Jaipur is called ‘the pink city’ you must go out in the evening a few hours before sundown.     The rosy pink of the evening light and the earthy pink and reds of mos...

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...

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...

On a recent trip to Maharashtra, I saw this kaka and kaki at the Pune Railway station. They must have been on their way to Pandharpur. I have seen devotees making their way to Pandharpur in hordes singing beautiful abhangs, taking their entire family with them. The Varkaris generally make this annual pilgrimage by foot.   Elders and little children walk too, and there is scarcely a break in the singing and music. There is something divine, whether you are a believer of god or not, in voices raised to a common tune, in exaltation of something outside the self. I would like to go with them once. In the month of Ashadh Ekadashi, trains in Maharashtra are filled with pilgrims on their way to Pandharpur. Maybe I will join them. Who knows, I may meet this old couple I saw at the Pune railway station.