Pune

One of the great things travelling abroad is the possibility to meet other sketchers. When I knew I was going to Mumbai I decided immediately to visit USk correspondent Sanjeev Joshi. He lives in Pune, only 4 hours from Mumbay what for India is quite a short distance.  Pune has an important industrial sector and is also know for its Ashrams.

Sanjeev was an awesome host. He invited  Michael and me for a dinner at his home, where we met his lovely wife. We got one of the best meals in the trip. The next day he took us to a very peaceful temple courtyard in the middle of a very busy market area. I think this is one of the places you can only know if you are a local.

Sanjeev paints some pages of his sketchbooks before he gets out sketching. The shapes he makes are very interesting.  He uses some calligraphic tools for that.  I made a picture of it but I lost that image when my cell phone broke.

Above is  Sanjeev's drawing.

And below is my watercolor:

Sanjeev also took us to the studio of the paitnter Milind Mulick.  I will write a post about him and his work next  but meanwhile you could take a pick at the link above.

Thanks to Michael Evgi for the pictures, and thanks Sanjeev for showing us Pune!

Gateway of India

Mumbay,

On the morning I walked along the promenade to visit the Gateway of India. That beautiful structure built  as an arriving point for boat passengers, was ironically the place chosen by the British troops   when they left forever the subcontinent after  many years of colonial rule.

The light at that early hour was magnificent enough to convince me to seat far away to my destiny to do a watercolor. From my point I view I could see the Gateway of India on the right and the Taj Mahal Hotel on the left (the one that suffered the bombings) But my main subject was, as I mentioned before, the light.

When I just had started doing the first washes, a small crowd started forming around me. One of the guys, an Omani, leaned on the wall to watch too. He had such an elegant presence and with that turban it was perfect for my image that immediately  included  him on my painting. I am very proud to say that I got his face very well, and the enthusiastic approval of my public confirmed that.

The scale of the building is impressive as the image below shows. It is decorated with a mix of Indian and British elements. A similar architecture you could find in most of the buildings of the Colaba area, therefore is very popular  by tourists.


I played around many times with that motive. Lots of people visit the place. It is a magnificent background for any people studies. 

Riding trains in Mumbai

We arrived to Mumbai with the plane.  After short trip with the Rickshaw we took the famous  Mumbai trains. It was quite an adventure. Some wagons were extremely crowded. The wagons doors stayed open all the time. Regardless of the danger some people preferred to travel close to them and enjoyed the view.

We arrived to Victoria station, where  I sat for a while inside to do some sketches.The building itself is an architectural jewel, but is was so crowded outside that it was impossible to find a spot to sit and draw.

Sketching should not be stressful. I repeat to myself when I travel, that I draw for myself, for sharing with others and that I am not making a tourist guide.

Therefore I draw only when I can enjoy it..

At the beach in Alleppey

In small cities people were very curious towards foreigners. Everybody wanted to start a conversat ion with us or wanted to have a picture from us or with us. 

 
This kid came to us and sat on our site on the beach. I could hardly understand his English.

Many kids in red uniform came with their school. They played with the waves on the shore. They were all fully dressed.

Middle age men waking on the beach. They wore a mundu, a piece of cloth wrapped on their waste. It can be wear long or short. It looks very comfortable for the weather in India.

Friendly people in Alleppey

We just met friendly people in India and most of them were happy to get drawn.

A guy selling watermelon. I was fascinated by the intensive green from the channel in the back
A guy posing with some kind of sword make of straw. In the back the channel full with water plants glows under the sun.

Two guys from the ferry company. The one of the right is the one that sells the tickets.

The Backwaters

We took the ferry from Alleppey to Kotayam and back. It is 2 hour ride there. and 2 more hours back.

There a some fancy boats for tourist, built in a traditional way. But we preferred the normal ferry.
The locals use the ferry as a way of transportation. Some american and European travelers were also there.

Some local women on my left

There are many houses in the channel.  The small channels are full with water plants. The waters don't move much so it gives the impression of a green garden. The woman on the image just finished a bath on the channel. She took the bath fully dressed.

Alleppey or Alappuzha

Many cities in India got two names. There is the colonial name and there is a new name based in  historic or the phonetic similarities with the old name. Important is that the new name is an Indian name. Problematic is that old names resist to be forgotten. So you are forced to deal with maps and signs with two different names all the time..

We went south from Fort Kochi heading for the Backwaters. Alleppey is a city in the coast. Channels crossed the city  and connected to the hinterland.  

The city still keeps a traditional architecture architecture . Modernity has not yet destroy the city identity. We visited the India Coffee House. An institution in Kerala. The one we visit had a beautiful old interior decorated with many photos of Indian political leaders. The waiters wear some traditional clothes with a colorful decoration in their hats.

The markets are full of spices. The sellers got more and more prepare for the tourist.This guy Sanel could praise his goods in 4 languages.(English , German, French and Spanish)  I asked how he learned and he said talking to the tourists
. 
In Kerala the communist party has  always been very strong. Therefore the state doesn't have much industrie  The constant strike had scared possible investors. On the other hand their analphabetism is almost 1%. Most of the money come from people working in the Gulf countries and now the increase of tourism also offers a new economical income.