Royal Winter Fair 2013

Back at the Fair, after three years! Nothing like the heart warming smell of poop on a chilly day.

There was a lot of meandering -through the crowds of farm folks, enthusiastic children and adults, and the many stalls( either for or of the animals). There was also a lot of food sampling, and some amount of drawing...

The fair seemed a bit smaller- there were no chicken and turkey to be seen. I missed those colourful fellows in the rows of tiny little cages...

Farm fresh cheese and fruits...there was a new kind of apple sliced up for tasting. I don't remember what it was called, but the lady was very impressed with my apt description of its taste as a combination of the flavours of 2 other kinds of apples.

'Sassy' the cow's got the whole world on her back...

Doesn't the pattern on her back remind you of continents on the white expanse of the sea?

NEW YORK

I recently went to New York for an internship. At the risk of possibly over hyping this city, I venture to write about my summer.

As I was writing, I realized that the exciting people, events and stories from this summer were too many to fit into one blog post. And so, with the magic of internet and blogging, there will be more posts to follow!

It was my first in the city that I have heard and seen so much about, in movies, books, the news- romanticized and criticized.

 

Happy people, Sombre people, Tight dresses, Retro.

Subway rides are a good way to experience the population- energized tourists, sleepy locals, animated school groups, stinky hobos and many more.

Sometimes you just know when someone isn't from the city: 

Cowboys from down south

 

Some lunches were spent out in the grass in Washington Square Park, just a short walk from the studio where I worked. Common sights included: the fountain, the pigeon man, red sunbathers, a tap dancer and chess boards! It was an entire show, accompanied by background music, sometimes by a man in a green dress with a guitar.

Brick houses and arched doorways

This is a city that really never does sleep at night; every hour at every street, sometimes bubbling with energy, sometimes simmering. The late night transit is the best I've encountered at any big city.

Although the wait for the straggling service is painful, and one can feel the day's tiredness catch up, it brings out some very interesting people and situations.

During one of these late night/ early morning travels, when a train was indefinitely delayed, one subway musician shined. His music went from being just chords in the background, to the centerpiece of the platform. The commuters' frustration from the wait for the train was drowned by his tequila sunrise. Just as we began to climb the stairway to heaven, a light from the tunnel shone, the train came, and we all got in.

I wonder if someone stayed back to hear him sing....

Shadows, colour and feet

 Experimenting with light and planes using tones and colour.

People and feet are interesting.

Stretch

The well-rested morning stretch

Orange Lights in the Green Night

A scene from earlier in the summer at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

Do you got a fish over your head?

She's got a fish over her head.

Upstate New York

Where there's trees and fresh air 

Twice Daily

Neem toothpaste leaves my teeth feeling healthy and sparkly. Its also green in colour.

A common image from my childhood:

(The similarity in colours is a complete coincidence!)

People on the streets chewing on a neem stick. I used to look at them with disgust. But now, packaged in a plastic tube and cardboard box, its the revolutionary new thing!

Summertime beachin'

This adorable young girl in would carefully take her little blue bucket, filled with water to the brim, back and forth from the water to the sand castle construction site.

Listening and learning

Last week I went to some Q&A sessions between creator and audience. Its very interesting to know their story and how they came up with the ideas, from concept to finish.

At an independent bookstore in Soho, there was a book promotion for a new memoir by theater director Jack o'Brien, co presented by Ethan Hawke (which was primarily the reason I went).

A couple of things o'Brien said that stuck with me- "Don't play the game, coz there is no game" and "...do what you love- you might be hungry, but at least you'll be happy"

Also, apparently Ethan Hawke is everywhere in New York, and it isn't a big deal- well, its a big deal for me and it was exciting. I tried to draw him, but failed (blame it on being star struck), here's a blurry phone photo as proof:

Nicolas Winding Refn, came to the Apple Store at Soho to talk about his recent film , Only God Forgives (which I'm yet to see). Contrary to his intense, violent films, Refn is a super chill guy that really seems to enjoy what he does. You can check out itunes.com/meetthefilmmaker, where this talk and many more at that Apple Store are available for FREE!

Computer Chess came out last week! I watched it in a small theatre at an independent cinema, where there were dudes wearing hawaii shirts selling and stubbing tickets. As a bonus, director Andrew Bujalski came in at the end of the show for a little Q&A, along with the producer and one of the actors (who was very quiet and kept nodding in agreement of everything being said).

Events such as these, where the creator meets their audience keep ma' creativity flowing. Keep 'em coming New York!

Where did you go to: UglyBoy

I love him, but we are on a break.

[ This project is currently hibernating, staying away from the sun, cooling off under water ]

Summer solstice by Manhattan bridge

I missed seeing this because of my super smart lack of planning abilities. Instead ended up lying on the grass watching Manhattan on the longest day of this year. Not too bad.

The MTA Man

Doing his job

Surveying the NYC Subway

Keeping us safe

and sound.

I animated this while listening to music by 'The Knife'. As a last addition, I decided to add their music to the video, just for kicks!

MTA Man from Aparajita R on Vimeo.

Park Time

 

Walked around and sat on the grass.

First Impressions: New York City

The first sketchbook page of the city, and several others:

 

 

My first impression- NYC is very much like what the movies puts it (her, him?) out to be. And I love it.

Scribbling colours and words

Some studio time doodles. 

This is a fun brush to use! 

Almost like real crayons.

Not really. 

Cuttlefish

These creatures are AMAZING!

Apart from wavy tentacles, unparalleled camouflaging abilities and shiny patterned signals, they're also capable of this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p005bpsl

A brief intermission: Toronto

This is a cool city because of:

well built men with motorcycle gloves solving small sudoku puzzles
little indian communities
hipsters
jazz bars
cheap movie tuesdays
sketching wednesdays
cafes and markets
crowded streets and stinky subways
 the lake
cool roommates

libraries and biking!

 

 

 (These were some sketches from an Indian function by a Bengali community. After the prayers and puja, there was dancing, singing, a dramatic drama and of course delicious food!)