purana lamp-post

As I was driving home one evening, I saw an old dysfunctional street lamp tucked behind new shiny ones. One in many is always somehow left on the road when installing new ones, I don't know why. They just stand there doing nothing. I must've seen one of those a thousand times, but this time, it caught my attention, can't say why.

dialogue box animals

Getting bored isn't really too bad, well, when the result of scribbling in boredom is cute animal drawings. That is the fun of scribbling, lines-circles-rectangles-triangles-speech bubbles-rotating speech bubbles-distorted speech bubbles-animals! Just when you see something taking shape within those random strokes, there is this moment of joy and excitement and boredom suddenly disappears. Then you have a task at hand, mine, in this case, was drawing these baby animals out of speech bubbles. I call them Dialogue Box Animals. What are their dialogues, I haven't figured out yet. I am thinking of developing this into an interactive toy of some kind for my cute little nephew and nieces. Hopefully I'll figure out what exactly soon enough. Until then,  keep scribbling...

the frenchman who lost his heart

No I do not know any Frenchmen, in fact I have never known anyone but Indians. I think this thought is inspired from the movies I have been watching -- three movies in three days, coincidentally all three protagonists were deep, passionate, creative, sensitive and French! and the food shows I watch, where no one ever stops talking about French food and how they put love into everything, even in their cooking. Well, it is not a happy love story this one, but does it matter? Isn't one person loving better than no one being in love at all.

pretty little things - 3

A yacht is hardly a little thing, but pretty? oh yeah, mighty pretty. Okay so this one is not exactly sailing in placid water or under a clear sky, but a yacht is beautiful in any case. This is the third illustration in the series I started drawing sometime back. The first two can be found here and here. 

remote east

During a trip to the east, I saw these deserted railway platforms from the window of my train. It was unusual to see no one running with their luggage to jump on the train, no hustle-bustle of a busy station, no food stalls, no vendors selling beverages, toys, books, cards, or anything else, a characteristic feature of train journeys in India. These platforms were just slabs of concrete standing unsheltered next to the railway tracks. They belonged to the many small towns and villages of one of the most densely populated states in the country, but had no occupants to prove that. Through the old yellowish glasses of my window, these appeared to me like places from another age.

memories for life

One day I return home from work to find a surprise parcel from a friend - 40 miniature photo postcards he specially designed for each one in our group, the best moments picked up from our time together in college. Couldn't resist sharing them. Hrishikesh Shinde I cannot tell you how amazing the feeling was to see this wonderful gift :D How brilliant of you to use old memories to create a beautiful new one, to cherish for life...

I have to figure out a way, as amazing as these postcards, to display these in my home. It would be a shame if these had to lie in some dark corner of my cupboard or drawers, to be looked at only once in a long while.

See how tiny these wonderful postcards are.

Jobless

He inspired me to write 'Jobless'. He was a shoe-shiner who sat on the street which led to my work-place, in Pune. It has been a couple of years now, I have changed cities. I do not know if I will find him in his spot if I visited again. I never talked to him, I just saw him sitting in the same spot, day after day, without much activity. I never tried to stop by and use his service, but his image is long since set in my mind.

follow by email

Now you can get notifications by email whenever I make a new post. All you have to do is type your email address under 'follow by email' on the right column and hit submit. I thought that followers would automatically receive notifications. Seems like I was wrong. There were other (more complicated) ways to do that before, but I prefer making arty stuff than digging my eyes in the computer to try and get around them. But well, I didn't have to go through that, blogger started this service. :) 

There might be one problem though, you might receive the complete post rather than just a notification. I hope blogger will solve this issue for me (and the likes) or I will have no option but to look around for alternatives. Ugh, this computer stuff is so not inspirational.

pretty little things - 02

Here comes the next illustration in my series. I am a non-smoker, but beautifully crafted smoking pipes sure make me gaze at them, may be even at people who hold them :) These little things of beauty are example of perfect balance in design. Following the general belief that smoking kills, I like to call this exquisitely made object, 'a beautiful killer' :)

pretty little things - 01

This project, is not really a project. I just made a list of a few things I find beautiful, and started drawing them. Using a computer to render my drawings was fun and exciting. I am no illustrator, but a little doodling here and a little scribbling there always makes me happy. If you are not an artist either, try spilling some ink or finish up a stick or two of crayons on paper aiming to achieve absolutely nothing, and you'll know what I mean. Here is the first object of my fancy from what I hope will become an interesting series of illustrations.

being with brahmaputra

I have been travelling these last two weeks. I didn't see as much as I wanted to, but then who needs      
satisfaction when curiosity and desire lead you to better. Although I stayed in three contrasting cities, I will write about just one destination that gave me immense sense of peace. The Brahmaputra, in Guwahati.

India and Indians are known for their sacred belief in the river Ganga, and you do feel spiritual when you stand on the ghats of Haridwar and watch the saffron flames soaring against the strong winds, during the prayers at the dusk. But few people are heard talking about the mighty Brahmaputra. Brahmaputra is a 'nad', a male river, (unlike most Indian rivers which are feminine, 'nadi') and is loved, respected and feared by the people who inhabit its banks, just like a father in a family is.

The river flows through three countries and several centuries, and in its vast expanse, one can sense the maturity and experience it brings along. Its ripples make me think of the lines on a forehead of a knowing elder, even an ancestor. But the paradox lies here, as I find myself so attached to this river, it makes me realise how insignificant and small a part I play in the universe. How tiny I appeared standing on the banks of Brahmaputra; it is no wonder, this river can so easily fill one with such joy and peace; it is not just a river after all, it is a son of the almighty.

The pictures I share with you do not do justice to the majesty of the Brahmaputra and the life on its banks. But then, I am not a photographer, excuse me for that ;) I hope my words, however, give you some insight into what I experienced as I breathed the air that floated over this magnificent water body.

fan-light

Thank you to all my friends for your kind words of appreciation. I am off to Delhi and Guwahati for a couple of weeks, holidaying :) Hopefully I will have some nice pictures to share with you all from the trip.

Before I take this break, let me share this project I finished recently. It's a fan-light (as I call it). This was an old (and a bit ugly in white and pale yellow) plastic pedestal fan I had for about a decade. It was broken and was practically waste. It was so neglected that I never even cared to dump it, until a few weeks back, when I thought of utilising it in some way. This piece is built out of old stuff, broken fan and lights from last diwali. The only thing I purchased fresh was the metallic paint I coated this fan with.

Now this weird but cute thing stands in my room against this dark wall and glitters so sweet, I put it on just to gaze at it :) 

fabric flower dangler

When I started making these flowers, I didn't know what I was going to do with them. I saw a diy tutorial to make the flowers, rummaged my craft-cupboard to find these cute checkered fabric pieces, and set off with the process. Once the flowers were done I went with the first impulse and made this little piece of decoration. I have this hung on my cupboard door for now, may be i'll find a better display later.

I misplaced the diy tutorial and have tried unsuccessfully to hunt the internet for the source. If anyone comes across a tutorial please paste the link in the comments. I will recognise my source and will be glad to share it with all of you. 

anniversary gift for my parents

Here comes my first project. This is a wall clock I designed for my parents wedding anniversary. A clock might sound like an odd gift, but I think the message it carries makes it just right. The decorative lettering says "being together makes beautiful times". Every passing second makes the next one better when you are with the one you love, is it not? I wrote this message and drew the lettering. The lettering was then laser-burned on mdf board and the hands and machine fitted in to complete the clock.