Abandoned Laundry Shop

Another one of the several street sights I captured in Chennai during my PhD days over there, made into a sketch. This one is a closed down laundry shop (from the writing on the wall that says "Ramesh Ironing and Dry Wash"). Here is the sketch.

Abandoned Laundry Shop

A Close 'Companion' From Hyderabad

Everytime I am home in Hyderabad for a short vacation, I go for my evening walks in the colony in which I live, and I walk on this one road, which has on its side an old Standard Companion lying parked there for who knows how long. It's been a nice subject for my photography, thus triggering my fascination for clicking old cars. Here's my photographic 'Companion' in a sketch.

The Good Ol' Chennai Local

In the five years of my Ph.D in Chennai, I used to spend my weekends exploring parts of the city. On many occasions, I used to take the local train to go out. The Chennai local isn't a madly crowded one, like its Bombay counterpart, thus, a ride in them is quite a joy ride. One day, I decided to randomly go for a ride in the train upto its last station (Chennai Beach) and come back in the same one to my stop (Indira Nagar). On the way, I clicked a photo inside my bogie, which I made a sketch out of. Here's the sketch.

The Good Ol' Chennai Local

Bird With a Swag

There was this red-vented bulbul, which I had spotted on a pipe, with one leg on a bolt. Had clicked it, and decided to make a sketch from that. Here it is.

Chowmahalla Palace

One of the four Mahals (mansions) of the famous Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad, which is a short walk from the Charminar. 

Sketch details: Pen sketch. Used Staedtler's 0.4mm pigment liner for the entire sketch.

Pondicherry

Almost everyone who's visited Pondicherry would have visited the Paradise Beach, Auroville, Rocky Beach, and walked through the French lanes, which have the colourful buildings. I had spotted one such, with an Ambassador car parked next to the building, and clicked it. Decided to make a sketch of it. Here it is:

On a street in Adyar

The streets of Chennai have interesting sights worth clicking. One day, I had gone for a walk through the lanes of Adyar, and saw an old Lamby (Indian Lambretta) lying abandoned outside a shop. Had taken a picture of it. A few weeks ago, I saw that photo and decided to make a sketch from that.

Somwhere in IISc Bangalore

Trees are one of my favourite subjects, when it comes to nature photography. In mid-August, I visited the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India, for a couple of months. It was one of the prettiest campuses I had seen. At one spot over there, I spotted an interesting looking tree, clicked it, and sketched it using a pen. Here it is:

Enjoying the Sea!

Almost every beach in Chennai has a bunch of boats moored at some point at the beach. When not in use they make for great benches for people to sit on to enjoy the evening by the sea.

Charcoal on paper.

The Good Ol' Chennai Local!

In the 5 years, I have spent in Madras, I have travelled quite a lot in the cream and dark green local trains of the city. The locals here are an alternate lifeline of the city (the main one being the buses). But the locals have their own charm, especially the MRTS (Mass Rapid Transit System) whose trains run on an elevated track passing through the gigantic stations, like a serpent getting in to a hole in a mound and getting out of its other end. You get a nice view of some of the surroundings (especially on the Eastern side). Below is a sketch of a local at Indira Nagar Station (one of the elevated stations). Used a fountain pen to do the sketching.

The Chennai Local.

Somewhere in Edinburgh.

   When I visited Edinburgh with my sister on September 2015, we had gone on one of the free walking tours of the place. We walked through one attractive downhill street with pretty buildings around it, Victoria street. It's said that the Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter is based on this particular street. I had clicked it then, and recently made a pencil sketch of it. Here's the sketch.

Some street-side in Madras.

A new pencil sketch of a cycle parked against a bunch of  standing logs at the side of some street in Chennai. Had taken a picture of this long back and then decided to make a sketch of it. Here it is.

A street scene.

Somewhere in Mamallapuram

Sketching is another hobby of mine apart from photography. A few days ago I made a sketch of a dry tree which can be seen on top of the huge rock above the Pandava panels in Mamallapuram (aka Mahabalipuram). Here it is. :)

The Dry Tree.