I didn't obtain access to a scanner until the day before I left India, and then I was so busy gorging myself on a final round of dosas, stuffed lady fingers, and parathas that I ran out of time to post the scans. Bummer. Here are a couple of images from the little spiral-bound (+ pen and tiny watercolor set) I carried with me everywhere I went.
Imaginative sketches made during my "Delhi belly"-induced confinement.
Inspired by the craggy hills surrounding the village of Palampur.(I didn't have time to make a sketch on-site, so I had to rely on memory.)
Statues from the home I stayed at in Hyderabad. The Shahs had countless antique paintings, carvings, and statues lining the walls, floors, and ceilings.
And a quick sketch of one of those bloody autorickshaws that contribute so much to noise, pollution, and traffic deaths in India. But in the middle of the night on a crowded freeway lined with 8" speedbumps, riding in the back of one of the little devils WAS an experience...
A sketch made from a rooftop terrace in one of the nicer parts of Hyderabad. The distant skyline was interesting, if a bit smog-obscured, but I was more interested in sketching the boulder field occupying the lot across the street. In the following weeks, I began to notice the boulders in other parts of the city. I saw a troupe of laborers working over a particularly massive stone with pick axes and jack hammers, and although their efforts did not appear to be affecting the stone in the slightest, the scene made me a little sad. Another hastily erected, nondescript commercial monolith hardly seems a suitable replacement for the massive, ancient, precariously stacked stones that in recent years have become an increasingly rare sight within city limits. But in the grand scheme of things, it's just a rock... right?
Who doesn't want a portable lotus pond in the shape of an elephant?
I met an amiable bonsai pro at a large outdoor garden festival who seemed to equate my interest in drawing bonsai--a perennial favorite subject of mine--with a deep understanding of the craft. I tried to explain that I had never actually miniaturized a tree, but he was already inviting me to tour his private, not-for-sale bonsai forest. I ran out of time and didn't get to see the bulk of his work, but the 50-odd trees on public display were pretty neat.
View from the window of my bedroom. The purpose of the cage wasn't clear to me; perhaps it keeps out the birds.
