Reality Check!

 

India Art Journal Sept 6 2012 by Meera Rao

The house next door has a solar tank on its roof top and this is a pretty typical scene in and around Maisuru - conservation in electricity and water is quite widespread and people have adopted the solar water heaters widely.  Shortage of water, electricity, gasoline, and cooking gas is very acute in India and conservation and global warming is on everyone's mind!

 

India Art journal Sept 7 2012 by Meera Rao

 

This 'petrol bunk' is a landmark for giving directions to our flat and the orange accents of the building  contrasts starkly with the green of the trees all around it! 

 

 India Art Journal Sept 4,5,6,7 by Meera Rao

 

Here is the page with all four sketches together.  As I have mentioned before, I am way behind in posting and hope to catch up now that I am back in my home in USA.  I was fortunate to land in DC just before the airports were closed on sunday for the 1000 mile wide hurricane Sandy!  We drove back home to Poquson yesterday as Sandy left the area towards New Jersey.  I am very grateful that Sandy spared us major damage especially since we were not around to secure the house! Other than some flooding and debris in yard, our house and property is in tact; we have power, water and other amenities :) As others hard hit by the hurricane cope with the destruction my heart goes out to them.  I am deeply thankful for our luck as I  get busy unpacking, getting to laundry, mail, house back in working order and of course cleaning up the yard!

 

 

The following sketches are from july 10 -13 getting individual attention  from my original post The Kitchen is a Country. 

 

India art Journal July 10 2012 by Meera Rao

 

India Art Journal July 12 2012 by Meera Rao

 

India Art journal  July 11 2012 by Meera Rao

 

India Art Journal July 13 2012 by Meera Rao

Reminders of The Ancient Past.

 

India art journal Sept 4 2012 by Meera Rao

I did not see this scaly anteater in person, but it made the news for a couple of days! It emerged from the forests in a nearby village and scared the inhabitants since no one had seen a specimen until then.  The police captured the animal and handed it over to the forest department officials who identified it as the Scaly Anteater, tagged it and released it back into the wild. I am not sure who was more scared - the rare scaly anteater Pangolin or the villagers! But the excitement till it was identified was well documented :)  I read that despite their looks the closest relatives are the carnivorous mammals cats and dogs and not reptiles! The  scales are sharp enough to wound lions and tigers and are made of compressed hair. 

 

India Art Journal Sept. 5 2012 By Meera Rao

Right in the centre of busy section of the neighbourhood is a Buddha Vihar - a Buddhist Temple with a beautiful golden Buddha statue.  The temple is an unexpected quiet place for reflection and meditation right in the middle of noisy hubbub with its serene blue walls accented with orange trims and marigold flowers artfully arranged on  the black shiny alter. I enjoyed visiting the place whenever I felt lonely or lost. 

Two more sketches below from earlier pages of the journal as well as the whole page look at the journal sheet with sketches from Aug 3-sept 3 2012.

 

India Art Journal July 8 2012 by Meera Rao

 

India Art Journal July 9 2012 by Meera Rao 

India Art Journal Aug 31-Sept 3 by Meera Rao

Wheeling!

India Art Journal Sept 2 2012 By Meera Rao

 

 

India Art Journal Sept 3 2012 By Meera Rao

 

The idea is transportation whether it is an old man trying to move his wares on a bicycle or shiny two wheelers on sale, waiting to catch someone's fancy!  I am always in awe as to how many different kinds of vehicles share the road in India from fancy cars, various size trucks, buses, a fleet of all different kind two wheelers from bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, three wheel autorikshas, bullock carts, horse carriages and a few ingenious transformations of some kind of a motorized or other vehicles :) It is indeed a wonder the traffic moves at all!!! 

 

And a closer look at a tropical fruit and and a vegetable sketches from july that didn't get individual attention earlier :)  

 

 

India Art Journal July 7 2012 by Meera Rao

India Art Journal July 8 by Meera Rao  

I am having trouble cropping, sizing or otherwise editing my posts on the very moody computer here in India. Hope to correct a few of these quirkes when I get back to my own computer later in the month. Right now I am happy to be able to find the time to sketch and  share whatever I can of my adventures :)  

Everyday Pleasures

India Art Journal Sept 1 by Meera Rao

 

Here is another 'newspaper reader' that I came accross early morning sitting in front of  yet to open row of stores.  As noted in the earlier post  I am fascinated by the number of people reading the daily paper in all different places and postures!  







India Art Journal Aug 31 by Meera Rao

 

No part of mini sweet pumpkin goes to waste! The inner meat is cubed, cooked into tasty sambar or some kind of curry, the skin cooked and ground to paste with coconut gratings into a delicious chutny and the seeds are roasted and happpily munched on!!!

 

The sketches below are once again from the first few pages of my journal which I didn't post individually.  The red acacia flowers were abundant in early july but now I see the yellow variety blooming all along the roads.  I read that the use of the flowers in paints, perfume and medicine dates back centuries.  Please check my post A blessing a Day for more on the these two sketches.

 

India Art journal July 4 by Meera Rao 

India Art Journal July 5 2012 By Meera Rao

 

I finished my 100th daily sketch on Oct 5 but am really behind in posting them - hoping to catch up in a few weeks! I am totally thrilled that I have managed to sketch each day during my stay here despite the hectic schedule and hope to keep up untill I head back home end of this month. Please do leave a comment let me know what you think of my efforts. 

Moving slow But Changing Fast

India Art Jornal Aug 30 by Meera Rao

 

It is not unusual to see cars and cattle sharing the road. The bullock carts have been around since ancient times and still used to transport people or cargo when modern vehicles are too expensive or even not supported by the existing roadways. Googling I discovered these are called as carretas in Costa Rica, and Mexico.  Check out this clip of Punjabi style bullock cart racing or read a delightful little story here :)  There are even schemes "Rent a Bullock cart" for farmers who can not afford a cart  but do have live stock to pull them. 

 

 

India Art Journal aug 29 by Meera Rao

 

There are some grand old houses in the neighbourhood with beautiful ornate wood decorations on the varanda rooflines, pillars, doors and window awnings. This particular house is very elegant and was undergoing renovations when I first saw it. Now it has been somewhat hastily but not completely  restored and convereted to a young boys hostel.  The blue boxes are the newly retrofitted electrical fuse boxes and did you notice a switch between the door and the window?

 

 

Below are the full journal page look at the sketches from Aug 27,28.29.30 : 

 

 

India Art Journal Aug 27,28,29, 30 by Meera Rao

 

 And one more page: ( my ancient computer here has decided it won't justify the margins nor give me a bigger size of the photo below.... sigh!  but then its letting me post :)

 

India Art Journal Aug 23,24,25,26 by Meera Rao

Energy Sources

India Art Journal Aug 27 by Meera Rao

 

India Art Journal July 2, by Meera Rao

 

My most favorite part of staying in India for the past three months has been the variety of tropical fruits I get to savor :)  Sita Phala- Sugar Apple, Pomegranates, Mangoes, Jackfruits, mini bananas, guava, sugar cane, papaya, musambi, etc. etc -- the list is endless with each fruit unique in its taste, texture, aroma, size and color :)  Check out this link if you would llike to look at some photographs of exotic tropical fruits :) 

 

India Art Journal Aug 28, by Meera Rao

 

This interesting looking contraption is UPS or Universal Power Supply - that is an essential backup for power failures which unfortunately happens many times a day. It is a must for computers if  you can't afford to loose data and usage. It supplies temporary power for an essential light bulb or two or more may be even a TV! The UPS charges when the power supply is on for use when the electricity supply fails. Most shops, malls, apartment complexes in addition to UPS also have back up generators. More and more individual houses also depend on one.  Earlier in the year,  there was a major power grid breakdown in all of northern India that dominated the news media's attention. I guess its the price to pay for growth and demand when both outpaces planning and supply. I had to sketch the UPS at our place and immortalize it for all the work it does quietly ( well, it beeps once to let us know when it comes on or goes off!)

 

The following two sketches are once again from the very beginning of my journal getting their primetime spot all by themselves.  You may click on this and this to read about them. 

 

India Art Journal July 3 by Meera Rao

India Art Journal July 4 by Meera Rao

The Old and The New

India Art Journal Aug 26 By Meera Rao 2.5x4"

 

According to WikiHow, 'Herding cattle is an art and science that requires patience, knowledge of flight-zone, and a bit of bovine psychology'   But I bet  herding on a motorcycle is pretty unique to urban India :) I have seen this often since my stay in India the past three months - mostly around sundown.  I am not even sure how the cow and the herder find each other in the urban jungle!!! The cows are still seen on the streets in Maisuru and unfortunately they suffer through living in the urban area - dealing with traffic, and eating plastic bags and garbage that is strewn in the streets. Sadly, not much is being done about it and somehow the owners think its perfectly fine to let the cows out as if the cityscape is countryside pasture :(



 

India Art Journal Aug 25 2012, by Meera Rao. 2.5x4" 

 

Maisuru city has many ruins of old bungalows and houses waiting to be either renovated or swapped for shiny new multistory buildings that are sweeping the landscape.  Soon after the rains though, in and around the falling bricks and crumbling buildings are jewel like blooms and lush greenery! The combination of fresh foliage, flowers and tired old remnants of building has its own special charm.  

 

Once again, I am posting a sketch from the earliest lot giving it indiviual spot :)  You may read more about it here. 

 

 

India Art Journal July 1 2012 by Meera Rao

 

P.S :It is sheer coincidence, but is there an irony here that I have sketches relating to herding and airports in the  post! :)

 

Have You Read the Paper Today?

India Art Journal Aug 24 2012 by Meera Rao

 

The Indian Express noted in an article in jan 2012 that 'Circulation of newspapers in the country grew by 8.23 percent in 2010-11 as per the 55th Annual report of Registrar of Newspapers for India(RNI)."  This is significant especially in light of the decline faced by the print media in the West.  The article points out that out of the 14,508 newspapers published in all the different Indian languages as many as 11,775 are owned by individuals. Circulation runs into crores of copies and number of readers even more!   Further in the article: "With a combined readership claim of its 12 editions reaching 37,46,929 copies, Times of India was the leader among multi edition dailies the RNI report said. "  What astonishing numbers!!!!

 

It is a common sight to see people engrossed in reading on the steps,  on the park benches, crowded into the tiny branch libraries, waiting in the bank.... Ricksha, taxi drivers waiting for the customers; Store keepers, vendors can be seen reading the paper whenever they get a few minutes. I was curious to know what the literacy rate is in India and discovered that as per the Population Census of India 2011, the literacy rate in India is 74.04% up from 65.38% in 2001. With it, the people's hunger for information has also gone up!

 

I love watching people reading and have sketched a couple of pieces so far - like the old man I saw early one morning on my walk, sitting on a bench by the road, his bicycle by his side completely engrossed in the paper.

 

And here is sketch from June 30, 2012 getting its due : ) 

India Art Journal June 30 (Sketch 2) by Meera Rao

Please check here for more information on it.



Jewel of the Tropics

India Art Journal Aug 23 by Meera Rao 2.5x4"

I drink the water from tender coconut, the natural energy drink,  almost every day.  I stop by a streetside vendor who now starts hacking at the tender coconut as soon as he sees me walking down the street. I like to drink it right out of the coconut and don't like to use a straw :) While I am relishing my drink the vendor fills a bottle for my Mother-in-Law. 

The water is absolutely refreshing - especially after I have been out marketing and running errands under the tropical sun! The coconuts on the sidewalk are a sight to see -- piled precariously high, with touches of yellow, green, red and oranges. The vendor skillfully removes one just right for the customer as per request - with lots of water or with some water as well as some white jelly like tender coconut flesh.  The list of health benefits of tender coconut is long and ancient but I don't need any convincing! In Sanskrit, coconut tree is named "kalpa Vriksha" -  the tree that gives all that is necessary for life ! Check here if you need proof :)

He who plants a coconut tree plants food and drink, vessels and clothing, a home for himself and a heritage for his children."

- South Seas saying

I have been told by those who have seen my journal that I am not doing justice by just posting the page with four sketches all together! So at the urging of my well wishers, I have decided to post individual sketches as well as a photo of the page after I post them singlely.   I am going back in time too. So here is my very first sketch from the journal all on its own :) You may check here to read more about it.  Please do let me know if you think this works!



India art Journal July 30 Sketch 1 by Meera Rao

Playing, Working, Dreaming, Praying!

India Art Journal Aug 19,20,21,22 by Meera Rao

"My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between I occupy myself as best as I can."

~Cary Grant.

Playing, working, dreaming and praying seems to occupy most of the people as they go about their daily lives here - not in any particular order though.  There is a school near by and  I see children in their crisp white and Khaki uniforms happily playing, talking and gigling as they walk or bike. On most evenings though the alley behind our building becomes the cricket field with a stone or two standing in for wickets. The boys only need a ball and a bat to play and I love watching them from my balcony.

A big gypsy family has taken over the sidewalk in a street close by. They have set up three or four tents where they live, sleep and make plaster casts of various masks and statues.  Every day I see them working, cooking, playing or sleeping as I walk by on my daily errands.  They display and sell their wares right on the sidewalk too so we have to walk down on the road in that section of the street! But the bright blue tents, the ladies in their colorful sarees and the statues in bright paints with gold accents have definetely changed the look of the street!

Around the corner from our building is a big compound with a grand old palatial house in ruins (word is that it belongs to the royal family that once ruled the state) that seems to be undergoing some renovations recently.  There is a colorful 'lorry' in a corner that definetely can't rule the roads anymore.  But that doesn't seem to matter to a young boy whom I often see sitting in the driver's seat and turning the steering wheel vigorously dreaming surely of roaring down a highway :)

Roadside shrines are everywhere.  Soon after nagapanchami festival of the serpents, the neighbourhood beautiful black stones shrine for the serpent god under a huge tree was drenched in red kumkum and yellow turmeric. Every day devotees leave flowers and lit lamps, incence.  Walking past it somehow always reminds me of the ancient wisdom of respecting  all life and infuses me  a with sense of spirituality