A Colorful Cover-up watercolor and ink by Meera Rao
India Art Journal 2015
It looked like a giant colorful caterpillar from a distance making me stop in my tracks. A long multicolored striped cotton floor mat (jamkane in local Kannada language) covering a vehicle protecting it from the hot sun and any mess dropped by birds sitting in the near by tree! It was by the front door of a school and my guess is that the car belonged to some 'important' visitor. A dog was happily lying down by it too.
I had sketched those mats a few times before - it was covering the stage platform and risers in a 'Yakshagana' performance where the musicians were seated. Those mats come in different sizes and are workhorses - spread on the floor at functions for people to sit on, at many homes and on most train journeys they are the base layer for bedding for people to sleep on, for covering a pile of boxes or suitcases to keep dust away in some homes, as yoga mats etc..
A Colorful Cover-up, 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal