Unspooling Beauty and Mystique

Photography By Meera Rao 

"Clouds come floating into my life,

no longer to carry rain or usher storm,

But to add color to my sunset sky."

Rabindranath Tagore,  'Stray Birds' 

Corner Florist

2013 India Sketch Journal July 19 Meera Rao

 

2013 India Sketch Journal July 20 Meera Rao

 

This corner florist really brightens up the dusty drab sidewalk with colorful and fragrant flowers. I was impressed by what a brisk business he had making flower bouquets and arrangements.  All he had was a bright blue tarp and a little shack with blue paint to match.  But it made for a lovely corner lifting my spirits every time I went by on my errands! I decided to sketch it on two days giving the corner and the shack its own space in my sketchbook :)

Different Loads

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 21 by Meera Rao

2013 India Sketch Journal July 18 by Meera Rao

Often I see men carrying a decorated shrine on their shoulders and on a pilgrimage.  They depend on the good will of shopkeepers and others for their meals as they walk toward their destination, a holy place or temple, as a personal penance.  I am not sure which deity he is carrying as the fresh flower decorations completely covered the icon. 

2013 India Sketch Journal July 17 by Meera Rao

This person was carrying a load of a different kind -- a cooking gas cylinder - to appease a different desire - that of the stomach.  It was uncanny how both had a look of determination as they walked. 

Shrines and Seams

2013 India Sketch Journal  July 14 by Meera Rao

Road side shrines dot the streets - some are just a small niche in a wall, or a small platform with an idol under the shelter of a tree, and some are little structures built with stones and bricks as proper miniature temples as in the sketch above.  These don't have a priest but the neighborhood community members take care of daily cleaning, adorning it with fresh flowers and keeping it spruced up. As always, these shrines are reminders of the spirituality, gratefulness for the benevolence of the Universe. Here  is a sketch of another shrine from my 2012 sketchbook if you are curious. 

2013 India Sketch Journal  July 15 by Meera Rao

Sewing Mends the soul - Author Unknown

There is such heavy demand for electricity that routinely people in India experience power outages. Bigger stores and offices have their own generators for times likes these but the little mom and pop stores like the tailor shop in the neighborhood still operate old fashioned sewing machines etc that don't require electricity to run. They can run their business and earn a livelihood. Check out the tailor using the old fashioned sewing machine here and a sketch of the UPS (universal Power Source) here 

2013 India Sketch Journal  Page 20 by Meera Rao

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel ~Anon. 

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!