Monday, August 13, 2012

Sketching The Spirit of A Place

India Art Journal July 22,23,24,25 by Meera Rao

Nagasampige belongs to the magnolia family. It is an unusal and rare flower and I was thrilled to find a tree on one of my walks around the neighbourhood. The flowers were all high up on a huge tree and I barely managed a close up of one. The seed pod looks like a huge cantaloupe! I was able to collect one inner part of the flower - the part that looks like a hood of a snake(naga) and hence the name. It is a very fragrant and beautiful flower. The biodiversity in India is mind boggling!

On July 22nd Indian parliament selected a new President, Pranab Mukherjee and I had to document the event. The reference photo was in the front page of a leading newspaper The Hindu. Its democracy at work in the  world's most populous country :)

It is quite a common site to see people double and triple riding on bicycles and motorcycles in India :) And the kid in the back was really very skinny!

 I was surprised to find the public phone box in an alley with a bench and pole tied to it securely and a make shift cover to protect it from rain(barely)!! These days just about everyone owns a cell phone but since noticing this particular one, surprisingly, I have spotted a couple more phone boxes in the neighbourhood. 

Its totally by accident that there is so much orange in this page :) I don't plan the pages and decide at the last minute what to sketch each day and it is whatever catches my fancy at that point :)

16 comments:

Unknown said...

This is really awesome that you chronicle these things, from political events that demand center stage... to the little things that catch our eye and give us pause to appreciate their beauty. Please keep doing that!

padmaja said...

Different aspects covered on one single page, yet they look so cohessive together! Nagasmapige is one more miracle of God that is beyond our mind's comprehension!

Meera Rao said...

katherine, Thank yo so very much for your support and comments,I really appreciate it. I am amazed at what I find in the city now that I have acquired 'sketching' eyes :) and I yes, my goal is to sketch a vignette daily for the duration of my stay! Somedays are very hard to find time and I end up staying up very late to finish the sketch of the day.

Meera Rao said...

Thank you Padmaja. I took up the project of daily sketch journal as a way to keep me engaged in art in some form during my stay. But I see beauty and joy in things everyday - helping me enjoy my stay a lot !

Anonymous said...

thanks

Meera Rao said...

My pleasure, ;)

Introverted Art said...

Meera, you sketch book is looking more beautiful by the day. I love the woman on the bicycle with her son.

Jay Davies said...

Very nice. You've sure been prolific out there. Putting my photo-of-the-day project to shame. (With extra shame added for doing nothing since.) Keep up the good work.

Meera Rao said...

Thank you ;) people riding double/ triple to a bicycle or motorcycle is quite common and I had to capture it ;)

Meera Rao said...

Jay, thank you very much. I hope to keep it up the rest of my stay here and the journal should just about be full by then! As you very well know somedays it's quite an challenge to find time or an idea / subject to sketch! You do have a wonderful collection if from your project !

Lisa Graham said...

Your journal is so awesome Meera. I wish I could flip through ALL the pages when it's finished. It will be a real work of art!

Meera Rao said...

Thanks Lisa :) I am tickled at the way the journal is shaping up. Let's hope there will be a way for all to flip through the journal some day when I am finished with it ;)

ashok said...

enjoyed this Meera..

Meera Rao said...

Thanks Ashok !

omar said...

very nice sketches!

Meera Rao said...

Thanks Omar! Glad you stopped by :)

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