Kutch and Delhi

This post has been waiting for quite some time to go up, partly due to lack of developed camera roll and mostly because of such a fatigued work schedule. I think when you take a month long break from work, you have to pay the price. Although, I don't really mind being in my room working all day, but this rush leaves you a bit old. Talking about the work break, I used my camera in limited amount and sketched only when I got the urge and boredom to. So, I have a few shots of Kala Dunger and White desert (the slushy white moon surface look a like where you can lose a foot at times deep into the mud beneath the salt layer) from Kutch. I spent one afternoon in the blinding sun and a night in the freezing car at White desert. Surrounded by so many barricades and concrete in our usual routine, the white desert footing was an unveiling of the surrounding cages, horizon was an endless thin line, not a jagged paragraph of buildings and dug up roads. The morning at Kala Dunger enveloped with an array of small hills and it's slowly disappearing shadows in the sunrise was saved warmly in the memory pockets. Here are some shots from Kutch - 

White Desert in the night time.

Kala Dunger

During the latter part of the travel, I left the camera inside and did a few sketches here and there. Since I packed very limited art materials due to luggage constraints, felt tip pens were my only weapon of choice.  I think the uncompromising yellow pages of my book tried their best to compensate for the little glamour. 

Samia at Jahanpanah City Forest

Hauz Khas

Baba

There are some other things that need to be blogged about too, hopefully soon. Lot of work to row through for now. 

Gujarat and Goa

The last time I had gone to Ahmedabad, Gujarat was for CEPT exam, which I dropped midway and went to Mount Abu. That was seven years ago when summer was at its peak. But the last month's visit had on and off monsoon showers and good company to leave me very fond of the city. I also made visits to Anjaar and the neighbouring places during the trip and was amazed by the number of temples that exist. And these were not just some roadside worshipping places put together with a bag of cement and few bricks, these were lavishly spent temples with marbles soaked in intricate architecture. A Swami Narayan temple or Jain temples could be found at a stone's throw distance. I went to one which was on the outskirts of the Bhuj carrying my manual SLR camera. In that vast fortress sized temple I couldn't find my muse. Clearly, Gods and idols had left my wonders ages ago, but the human vulnerability towards it still amuses me. Next to the temple there were workers cutting and varnishing metal rods to be used for the extension of the temple premises and I spent my film roll capturing them. My photographs carried way much more expectations from them than the marble structure sheltering Gods.

Once I was done with Swami Narayan temple, I went to Praag Mahal in Bhuj. An old gate located in the end of a thin road welcomed me to the decaying palace. I wasn't sure if it was the earthquake or just the sheer history of the building that had left it gracefully destroyed. The ceilings were half exposed and the exhibits coated with dust actually complemented the age of the building. In parts one could see the renovation work in progress but it was the untouched aura and smell of the place that helped in the display almost making it a time capsule.

The sad state of Indian monument preservation is that not many are done with good attention to detail. Aaina Mahal, the palace next to Praag Mahal had hints of preservation work done but with a callous approach. Paintings framed with cellophane sheets and exhibits labeled with amateur use of sketch pens gave it a school project work appeal. I believe one should do it with extreme care or not do it all. Let the whole thing age naturally but don't powder it cheaply to hide it's age. 

After Bhuj, I went to Mandavi which is situated near the sea. The open landscape of a sea had always been a treat to me while taking photographs. The white space and the liberty to compose the photographs with few constraints are the hidden joys of a geeky graphic designer when he embraces the sea. Had a camel ride too :)

And then from one beach to the other - Goa for Design Yatra. But more than Goa, it was the conference that really blew my mind. To meet such good speakers with amazing work in a span of three days was overwhelming. It left me inspired with some self doubt to battle with. The other good memory to hold on to was the visit to Hotel Venite, sitting in a tiny balcony eating Goan sausages. Thanks to Ojasvi Mohanty for introducing me to this place.

These two trips left me a lot to ponder with. New plans are shaping up and it definitely looks promising. I think I have filled up this post with many things, the post in the upcoming months will shed good light on the new beginnings I am heading towards. And how I dare to end this post without mentioning Brownu. I met her in Ahmedabad and for the two days I spent a lot of time with her hair all around. It was like visiting my childhood days when I had Lucy (Alsatian breed, bit ferocious to strangers but I literally grew up with her).

Mansapur

Mansapur is my nani's place (hometown of grandparents from maternal side) in Bihar. It is situated near the borders of Nepal and is close to Sehersa town. A couple of weeks back I packed my bags for Mansapur. The last time I had gone there was thirteen years back. I was in my seventh standard then and now I am out of college. A decade and more is a good amount of time for things and landscapes to change and I have a very vivid memory of my spent summer vacations here. It's like a map that has been preserved well in the shelves of my memory and as soon as I reached there, I unfolded that map and started checking the mango tree under which we sat protecting the mangoes from the thieves, the well in front of the house, the canal in which I used to play with my cousin and brother, the shelter for cows, the guava tree, the room with sitar, tabla and harmonium and many more fragments of this map. But the one thing I was really eager to see was my dad's Yezdi. I found it parked in the backyard and covered under plastic sheet. I uncovered it and stayed there looking at that old silver coloured bike. It still had the sidebox attached to it and the number plates still said 'Kumar'. 

Soaked with nostalgia I decided to draw the bike. Later I moved onto meeting the relatives and gorging down the simple food with mangoes as dessert. The many generations of the family are very tightly knit to each other and one can't escape making a visit to them. Even after thirteen years there were a few faces that didn't require an introduction. One of them was Dukha Mama and his wife.

Front facing side of the house

Backyard

There were many whom I would have loved to draw but once you have entered one house you can't leave without eating. Hence, a lot of food was consumed that resulted in hours of long sleep. The slow breeze and humid air helped very well in making the sleep thick.

The few days just passed away in a glimpse of re-brushing the fossils of past but it felt good to reaffirm how beautiful those summer days used to be.