A sketchbook in hand, and no other plan: Mumbai

The chaos and palm trees

The sea and local trains,

 Smell of fish in her crammed streets;

 Sight and scent of heavy rains.

In this post are whole mismatch of some sketches I did during my short stay in an amazing, chaotic, flavourful, noisy, sometimes smelly, always alive city- Mumbai, Bombay, call it what you may.

 

A considerable amount of each day was spent in commute- although sometimes strenuous, I always looked forward to observing:

Obeserving people

Listening in on their conversations

A glimpse into their personal lives

Be it obnoxious men with mischievous eyes

Or big hipped, beautiful gossiping wives

Many late nights at the Wadala station

pushed and pulled amongst people 

rushing to make their connection.

(My most distinct memory is of this brave girl that smacked a guy that tried to harass her. She verbally and physically abused him, as the entire station cheered her on. This episode lasted less than two minutes, after which everything was back to the usual- rush, push, squeeze, settle.)

Sketching the artists at CATWEAZEL!

 

March 28th, 2013.
A warmish Toronto spring evening.
I went with absolutely no idea what to expect. A passing glance at the flyer mentioned live performances by anyone who wishes to do so. It was held at Smock Cafe (an absolutely adorable place mostly for little ones and, every now and then with events such as this, for older folk during the evenings). People talking amongst musical instruments, some alcohol and food being consumed, CDs up front and british accents echoing in the room- ingredients for a pretty great night? YES!

 

The crowd was super friendly and welcoming. The cozy setup tied together with the lack of a microphone added a personal touch bringing the audience both physically and emotionally closer to the strong vocal and instrumental performances. 

It was nice to see people come out to perform, lose all inhibition and sing their songs. I didn't anticipate drawing, but luckily I had a tiny sketchbook and was able to capture some scenes!

There was also an engaging reading/ enactment of a T.S Elliot poem-The  Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. It was super interesting to hear and watch this whole new dimension being added to this poem of several layers.

 

This was Catweazel's second event at Toronto. The next one will be at the end of April, so if you're in Toronto, make sure to check it out!