Sketching in Gandhi Bazar

 

This drawing was done outside of the famous Bull Temple. It is a fairly short drive from my home in Central Bangalore. Back in the day, it used to be a big event for my parents to venture out of their Cantonment (Christian) enclave into this side of town, usually to show this area to foreigners. They would enlist the help of one Mr.Raju, one of their few Hindu friends and he would come with a taxi into which the bulky white people would be bundled in to go see a temple and be fed with idlis. Back then, I never thought there would come a time when I would know this area like the back of my hand. I love this side of Bangalore. It has the best sketchable spots, strongest filter coffee, softest idlis and freshest vegetables. And always, speaking fluent Kannada gets me extra best service and instant friends.

During this sketching visit, I espied a boy wearing a colourful shirt sitting on a wall and I took his photograph. 

Later on a subsequent sketching visit, I spotted the same boy wearing the same shirt, but he was holding a baby on his lap, an unusual sight for a young lad in this country. I asked him to pose for me and he did so. (His parents were selling vegetables in their cart nearby). I love the smile on his face in the photo. He stayed like this all through my drawing.

And this is the drawing of him, done live, on the spot.

However, I still wanted to draw his colourful shirt, so I went home and drew him from the photograph. Here it is below -

I think the tender expression on the live sketch captures the essence of the scene better, but I got what I wanted in both the drawings.

I also sat by the traffic lights and sketched this flower seller below. 

As I was drawing this woman, a frail white-haired lady, who must have been at least in her seventies, came up to me and said, "You are keeping yourself busy at your age, that is very good! It is so nice to see you taking such an interest in your hobby!" I smiled. Then I looked up to see her go up to a sleeping cow and touch the cow's tail to her forehead and carry on.

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Priya Sebastian
#priyasebastian