Sacred and Secular

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 19 by Meera Rao

In India all living things are looked upon with gratitude since time immemorial.  Many trees and plants are held as sacred and used in religious ceremonies and many others are cherished because of their medicinal and health benefits. 

2013 India Sketch Journal July 13 by Meera Rao

 The Peepal/Aswatha/Bodhi tree -Ficus religiosa - is one of the most sacred trees in India.  Worshipers of different faiths whisper their desires and tie  either yellow or red thread, cloth around the tree trunks in hopes of seeing it realized. Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment under this tree.  The leaf is dried and used by artists as a canvas with beautiful images painted on them.  My niece caught me on one of my walks doing a double take to pick up a leaf on the road side -- and here it is sketched  in my journal. 

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 19 by Meera Rao

Shigekai  - Acasia Concinna - literally 'hair fruit'   is another tree which is considered to have medicinal properties and the fruits, pods, leaves barks are dried powdered, made into paste and  then used as soap or as hair care.  It does not lather much but is considered very good for skin and hair.  I remember once when we had moved to a new house the yard had a Shigekai tree and I tried to use it to care for my hair - not much success I might add :(  Now I see that  there is a shampoo available with my name on the bottle except unlike the lady pictured, I have short very curly hair!!!! 

Price is what you pay, Value is what you get

India Sketch Journal 2013 July 12 2013 by Meera Rao

A cart by the road side, a few fruits or vegetables and a whole day to sell them makes one a shopkeeper.  They tout the freshness and how special the produce is by mentioning where its from. Absence of price tags means changing prices depending on the customer -- regulars get a break while novices and others are an opportunity to make a bigger profit :)  But it is a hard life and as the poses of the vendors show they catch a nap or rest any which way they can. 

India Sketch Journal 2013 July 11 2013 by Meera Rao

Lots of tropical vegetables are now both grown or available here in the USA but as I mentioned before something about the tropical soil and weather, they definitely taste different (better!) in the tropics.  I remember when growing up teasing my  grandmother when sighed as to how  vegetables from certain villages tasted better than others and it is ironic that now I have come to the same conclusion ! 

India Sketch Journal 2013  age 18 July 11-12 2013 by Meera Rao

Price is what you pay

Value is what you get

~Warren Buffett~

Feast for the Senses

2013 India Sketch Journal  July 9 By Meera Rao 

African Tulip tree or Nandini is probably the most well represented of any image in my journals during my stay in India- the only flower or subject that I sketched more than once.  I have sketched the tree, the flower, the seed pods, and birds sitting on it enjoying its nectar! I read that nectar as well as the water that pools in the flower cup is a favorite of many birds - their refreshing tea? 

2013 India Sketch Journal  July 10 By Meera Rao 

In an effort to cut down on my coffee drinking, and reducing milk consumption, I have been enjoying 'tulsi' tea -- hot and cold.  Now that I am back in my home in USA, I use fresh tulsi leaves from the garden to make my tea and love the flavor and aroma.  Of course it was the perfect beverage to sip these past ten days as I nursed the bad cold, cough and fever - gift of the long airplane journey! I will continue to blog the rest of the sketches from my journal slowly but surely. 

2013 India Sketch Journal page 17 by Meera Rao

To Savor The Tropics.

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 16 by Meera Rao

A major perk of tropics is the variety of delicious fruits and vegetable that are available throughout the year!  Just google tropical fruits and vegetables and you will amazed at the variety, colors, shapes and sizes of the produce! And the number of creative ways those fruits and vegetables have been cooked or prepared and served is mind blowing :) 

 2013 India Sketch Journal July 7 by Meera Rao

The Jackfruit is the king of fruits because of its size and that means ingenious ways of consuming it too! The fruit leather is delicious, and the desserts prepared from it seems endless.  My aunt often prepares these special sweet dumplings wrapped in teak leaves that gives it a wonderful aroma, color and flavor. A sketch of jackfruits and vendor from a few pages earlier can be seen here. 

 2013 India Sketch Journal July 8 by Meera Rao

More and more seedless varieties of fruits are available in the market and when I cut this pappaya I was pleasantly surprised to see the star shaped black seed studded center with orange around it.  I quickly took  a couple of photos and then pulled out my sketch book for a hurried sketch before I proceeded to cut it for breakfast :)  My mother-in-law usually likes her food at the allotted time but now has come to accept that I might pull my camera or the sketch book right in the middle of cooking or other chores and has come to accept that food, snack or drink may be delayed because of my passion and obsession :) 

Spot on the Sidewalk

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 15 By Meera Rao

Most of the sidewalks are taken up by various  kinds of vendors - talk about niche marketing :) Often pedestrians do a delicate dance of walking -trying to avoid walking through a sidewalk shop's staked out area as well as the busy streets with teaming with all different kinds of vehicles! 

2013 India Sketch journal July 5 by Meera Rao

'Pani Puri' is a delicacy from north India and those vendors have the longest lines and best business! They sell  crisp fried hollow balls -puris that are then stuffed with tomatoes, onions, chick peas, green chillies coriander and dipped into spicy minty water. As much as I love the dish, I won't eat at any of these road side places because I am afraid of upsetting my stomach! I did not have a good view of the mountain of puris but you can check out my sketch from last year if you are curious. 

2013 India Sketch journal July 5 by Meera Rao

I passed this vendor and similar ones many times and couldn't figure out what he was selling.  Moreover I noticed  all his customers were men- and I always walked on the opposite side of the street to avoid that crowd.  When I asked my niece she laughed and said "No, Aunty, they sell 'paan' ingredients and tobacco products!" Then one day when running an errand, I was able to take a photograph from across the street, as unusually there were no customers around and my zoom lens caught the warning on the cart. "Paan" is another delicacy and not just eaten by men, but best not bought on the streets!!!! 

Clock work

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 14 By Meera Rao

I don't plan my pages at all and just sketch whatever catches my fancy each day. But I have been surprised to discover how there is always some connection between the two sketches once I start blogging about them. 

2013 India sketch Journal July 3 By Meera Rao

This cow like clock work comes to this door looking for food as the lady of the house always saves the vegetable peels and waste for it. But the last few days even though the house is locked up and the family has gone on vacation, the cow still comes in the morning and waits at the door for an hour or so before it gives up and walks away in search of food!

2013 India sketch Journal July 4 By Meera Rao

This tiny shop looks like a relic from bygone era with the owner providing a service that is a rarity in the age of digital clocks! I could see some antique clocks on the walls, and clock & watch parts everywhere! I am sure that shop has some unique treasures! 

Fresh and Handmade

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 13 by Meera Rao

The pace of life in Mysore is laid back and a bit leisurely  - especially in the old part of Mysore where our flat is located.  Things just can't be hurried!

2013 India sketch Journal July 1 by Meera Rao

These ladies were waiting patiently for fresh ground flour at a made to order grain grinding place. Food tastes different/better when one uses fresh ground flour, fresh produce from the farms brought in each morning and ofcourse is eaten away right  :) I hope these tiny, tiny Mom and Pop specialty shops won't disappear as more and more stores sell factory prepared and packaged flour and other goods and western style supermarkets take over. 

2013 India sketch Journal July 2 by Meera Rao

The shop selling earthenware pots is very small and the pots were stacked to ceiling. Grandma in charge was sitting very comfortably on padded gunny sacks. She was selling pots of all different sizes.  My childhood memory is that, the water kept in those pots stay really cool and food cooked in them is especially delicious! I am tempted to try using them rather than the stainless steel vessels that my kitchen is stocked with. 

Staying Connected

2013 India sketch Journal June 29 By Meera Rao

 I found it very interesting to watch this worker patch a neighbour's garden wall. He was there for a couple of hours taking care of different holes and damages and spent the entire time on his cellphone - one hand to the ear and working with the other one on the wall, getting sand, mixing cement  etc. :) I suppose thats how he keeps connected and gets his news as opposed to the folks in the following sketch  of a roadside newspaper stand.

2013 India Sketch Journal June 30 By Meera Rao

This sidewalk stand had a temporary look to its permanent makeshift arrangement ! The newspaper stand had nonfunctioning wheels, was propped upright with a few wooden poles and there was a line going from the rickety rain/sun cover to the near by tree on which hung some magazines. Some newspapers were stacked on a couple of wooden crates. There were a few bananas in a basket and a small bunch hanging off a string from the same rickety rain cover. I noticed there are always a few elderly men milling around but hardly any buying and selling happening.....

A look at page 12 from my sketchbook : 

2013 India sketch Journal Page 12

Creative Solutions

2013India sketch Journal Page 11 by Meera Rao

One of the most interesting things to observe while on the road is how and what things get transported ! People use all modes -carrying by hand,  loads on head, on motorcycle, bicycles, bullock carts, 'lorries', trucks, auto rickshaws and anything else with wheels ! They get very creative as to how something/anything is transported from one point to another.  Here is one from last year's sketch book. And another

2013 India sketch journal June 27 by Meera Rao

I never cease to be amazed as to what I see transported in auto rickshaws and the clever ways it gets loaded and carried.  I caught this one carrying a ladder slipped and resting on the handle of the side view mirror on one end and being held by the passenger on the other end. 

2013 India sketch journal June 28 by Meera Rao

Motorcycles and scooters are affordable for most people and those vehicles get a good workout. Most common are where  whole families- father, mother, two kids can be seen traveling happily :) - one kid in front of father the driver and the other on mother's lap both riding sideways -not mounted on the seat ! I chuckle when I see someone carrying a huge desk top computer or old version TV. This guy was carrying two enormous gunny sacks full of cauliflower balanced precariously.   

I am way behind in posting  and don't see myself catching up anytime soon. I somehow manage to sketch something everyday. They are never perfect and am learning to accept whatever I sketch.  But I relish the fact that I am sketching and practicing each day despite the hectic schedule here in India.  

Call or Write?

2013 India sketch Journal Page 10 by Meera Rao

Staying in India for months means I had to get a cell phone number. They are pretty strict about cell phones since the tragedy in Mumbai Taj Hotel. After gathering up and submitting all the required documents, I acquired a new sim card and a new number.  I was really excited to open the cell phone, replace the sim card and activate the phone for India. I sketched the phone, and the simcard (tracing around the actual older card that I took out) while I had it open.  Then I went googling for information about 'sim' cards.

2013 India sketch Journal June 25 by Meera Rao

Wikipedia gave me the following information: A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module (SIM) is an integrated circuit that securely stores the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices (such as mobile phones and computers).

A SIM circuit is embedded into a removable plastic card. This plastic card is called a "SIM card" and can be transferred between different mobile devices. A SIM card follows certain smart card standards.[1] SIM cards were first made the same size as a credit card (85.60 mm × 53.98 mm × 0.76 mm). The development of physically smaller mobile devices prompted the development of a smaller SIM card, the mini-SIM card. Mini-SIM cards have the same thickness as full-size cards, but their length and width are reduced to 25 mm × 15 mm.

A SIM card contains its unique serial number (ICCID), international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), security authentication and ciphering information, temporary information related to the local network, a list of the services the user has access to and two passwords: a personal identification number (PIN) for ordinary use and a personal unblocking code (PUK) for PIN unlocking.

You may read more fascinating stuff about SIM cards, its history, design,  formats etc here.

2013 India sketch Journal June25 by Meera Rao

As I had mentioned earlier, I have a clear view of the family across the road in their daily chores from my third floor balcony. I have sketched the various members past summer and this year in various activities [sorting rice, combing hair, etc  - check the four links for now :) ] almost every evening this girl does her homework sitting on the front steps. On this particular day she was wearing the traditional long skirt in silk with gold and red brocade border, and flowers in her.  Right afterwards, I saw her leave with her Mother to attend some function.

Regarding "call or write", I guess for me now its partly 'sketch' -  how about you?