New Life..

Spread 26, a photo by teshionx on Flickr.

When I had informed the world of Sooryansh's arrival with a sketch, my friends asked me whether I had taken the sketchbook into the labour room...
YES!! I did! Check out the sketch before this one!
And no, I didn't draw when I couldn't!! That would be the silliest thought! Better call that a no-thought! But for the rest of the time, I noted down memories of Sooryansh's arrival, including details of how we named him..

The Day before Sooryansh arrived..

Spread 25, a photo by teshionx on Flickr.

Oooh! The day - and the night - before my little Sooryansh arrived.. I was always with my sketchbook! I drew anything I could see.. Whenever I felt uneasy, I would draw! Whenever I needed to relax, I would draw! I even took my sketchbook to the Hospital.. I could not part with it when I was so tense and nervous!!

I drew the beanbag! And I drew my nurse when she was tucking me in the sheets and attaching all those monstrous monitors!! And I drew a slightly nervous Manu, while we waited for my pains to grow!
My nurse smiled and wondered aloud, "How do you do that with so much pain!?" and I couldn't help but wonder the same! But it had some meditative effect..

I felt as though art was my religion! I just submitted to it.. Sketching proved more powerful in relaxing me, than a few holy mantras would have.. Why why why didn't I recognize this power before!?

Bengaluru Bandh - 6 Oct '12

Bengaluru Bandh - 6 Oct '12, a photo by teshionx on Flickr.

Taking a break from my moleskine sketches, I am posting the sketch I drew on the Bandh day. There was a statewide bandh declared last Saturday, the 6th of Oct, as a protest against release of Cauvery Water to Tamil Nadu.

The roads were more or less deserted. Public transport was called off, and cabs too had to stay off the road. I drew the mob that held the state flags and stood on the junction on Outer Ring road, shouting slogans. They looked a little disturbing, though the whole thing was carried on smoothly, barring when they lit something and threw it right at the middle of the junction. Then, all I could sense in my heart was a slight fright..

There was some smoke from something that was set afire. It looked pretty disturbing, but was well contained. Maybe a cloth or something.. There were cops on the road on the junction right in the front of my house. I sketched a few people out on the roads too.. There were just a countable few women on the road on Saturday. They, too, disappeared by around 10 am.

I drew as fast as I could. Added some color to the flags, and then waited for the coast to clear so I could paint the rest of the scene. It was a cloudy day, thankfully!