My First Stall

So last weekend I put up my very first stall at Kitsch Mandi in Bangalore. I'd been mulling over the thought for a while and had also done a small 'live-painting' stint at the previous event (which was the major deciding factor) so I thought I'd better do this.

A few weeks of planning and lots of visits to the printer ensued. There were moments of panic (where I thought no one would buy my products) and moments of extreme joy (when I had the printed stuff in my hands) ! Slowly the D-day arrived and I had these butterflies in my tummy the night before, wondering what exactly would happen. Also, the weather was a terror. After 3 days of sunshine, I wake up on the morning of the event to see dark clouds looming overhead. I just kept hoping and praying that it wouldn't rain. Thankfully someone up there was listening.

The event was quite a success. After a lot of apprehension, the first customer came along and then another and another. Business was slightly slow but quite steady. It was great to see people appreciate my work and at the end of the day I was quite tired but very happy :)

This is a link to view all the images from the event: Sunny Skies Starry Eyes

Here are some of the products that were on sale and if you happen to want to buy any, just leave a message.

A6 Diaries with blank, ruled or colourful neon pages to choose from

Bookmarks

Fridge magnets 

July: the month that was

July was a slow month. Thankfully the great Bangalore weather compensated for it. I spent all the extra time I had in doodling, illustrations, painting, and other artsy-crafty things. Here's how it rolled:

Books: 
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - A book set in the times of the gorkha uprising in Sikkim. It begins in the peaceful foothills of the Kanchejunga and slowly moves on to describing one of the most violent times witnessed in the mountains of North Bengal and Sikkim. I loved the book and the way the author describes the lives of all the characters that are slowly altered by the situation. Great, enjoyable read.
Toba Tek Singh and other short stories by Saadat Hasan Manto - A collection of beautifully written short stories, mostly around the partition of India. One of the stories (Toba Tek Singh) has been narrated brilliantly by Zia Mohiuddin HERE. Must listen.

Movies:
The Jane Austen Book Club - A lovely movie, more so because I do love Austen and her tales. I might just take up reading all her works once again. A sweet movie I say.
Arthur Newman - A movie about a man who runs away from his old life. I've been on a Emily Blunt marathon. I find her quite gorgeous and she acts well too. Colin Firth has done a good job.
Your Sister's Sister - Another Emily Blunt movie about the relationship between two step sisters. Nice, feel-good movie.
The Royal Tenenbaums - Oh I'm simply in love with Wes Anderson's movie making style. I loved this one; the quirky, eccentric characters and story et al. I'm making it a point to watch all his movie, one by one.
Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya - Very miss-able movie, best watched at home on a very dull day to kill boredom. Loud songs, not to my liking at all, except of course the very catchy 'Saturday Saturday'. Saving grace: Alia Bhatt's good looks and the fact that it was a fast paced movie.
Stuck on Love - Oh I really liked this one and it has a lovely soundtrack too, some songs are surely gonna be played on loop for the next few weeks. It's a story about a family and their relationship and about 'love'. One time watch and a very enjoyable chick flick.
Enemy - From the maker's of the really good 'Prisoners' and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, I was expecting a lot but I really did not get the story. It was either really twisted or didn't make any sense at all. The end was completely bizarre. Watch it, if you figure it out, help me do so.
The Squid and the Whale - I thought this was another Wes Anderson movie but turns out he only produced it. It was a queer movie about a family, two brothers whose parents are separated and the emotional changes they face. Quite interesting, though a little strange.
Moonrise Kingdom - Oh Wes Anderson. I really wish he makes many more movies. This is about two misfit kids, who run away together and their little adventure. It is a really wonderful movie.
Admission - Starring Tina Fey (which is why I watched it) this one is a silly feel good type of movie. It is about an admissions officer from an A-league school. Sweet. Also, Paul Rudd is one of my favs.

Wow, I think I watched a record number of movies in July. Yay !

Travel:
We were just back from a really long vacation, almost completely broke and so July was peacefully spent at home, except for one short trip to Pune for our niece's mukhebhaat (first real food) ceremony. Dunno how much she will remember, but we sure ate some delicious food.

We also took a short trip to Chennai. The fella had some work and I tagged along. We had a really good time except for the terrible sunburn I got back.
We reached early morning and after dropping our bags off, headed straight for the beach. It was a lovely, cloudy morning. I took a little walk, dipped my feet in the sea and pulled out my sketchbook. Oh, I really wish to live by the sea someday.

We were also able to visit my childhood home, 30 kms outside Chennai, Avadi. The place had changed a little but we met a lady who used to live there years ago and she remembered me. It was so overwhelming. She was almost in tears when we spoke about the good old days. I'm so glad we finally made that trip.
This is one of the trees near our home in Avadi.

We also discovered a little hillock near Banerghatta. Not the most ideal spot as there were quite a lot of people around, thanks to the two temples in the vicinity. We managed to find a quite spot and sat there enjoying the lovely breeze and the beautiful sunset.

Highlights:
The kittens have really grown up now. All except one have been adopted and have gone away. We are left with this tiny little grey furball, who we call Shakira. She's been crying quite a lot ever since her siblings left. She was really terrified of us for some reason, and only recently she has warmed up and allows me to cuddle her. Her favorite place to sleep is the fella's helmet. Oh also, it seems that the mother is pregnant again !

July is now over and after quite a slow month, work-wise, I now have lots on my plate and stuff that I'm really happy to be involved in. So here's to a busy August !

May: the month that was

The entire month of May was spent waiting for our big Leh trip in June. Counting days, planning, dreaming and waiting.

Books: zero :(

Movies:
Strangely I hardly saw many movies in May. Here are the ones I did watch.
Million Dollar Arm - Fun movie, really good acting by some of the Indian actors. Feel good movie. (3.5/5)
Shaadi ke Side Effects - My god. This movie was a complete torture. I wonder what the director and script writer were thinking. Such stereotypes and lame jokes. Time completely wasted !

Travel: 
Being summer, we did not travel much. We went to Bombay for a friend's wedding and from there I took off for two weeks to Jaipur, to visit the sister. In Jaipur too, I mostly stayed indoors. There were a lot of dust storms and thunder storms during my stay. Here is a typical summer sunset:

Bangalore also had some beautiful sunsets that I got to witness from the Hosur Road flyover. Brilliant sights.

Highlights:
The kittens are growing fast and healthy :) It's wonderful to watch them scampering around the place.

I got to do a really interesting freelance project, which involved illustrating for a book of poems. It was great fun, even though the deadline was really tight. Here are some samples that weren't used. Hopefully the book will be out soon and then I can showcase the final images.

Thankfully the summer is officially over and we are back to great weather in Bangalore. Yippie.