Little shops in India sometimes carry the most surprising stuff. This wee place looked like it only sold toothpaste, sweets, and biscuits, the lady standing here asked if I wanted chai and girmit, a bhel-like snack in Northern Karnataka. Of course I did!
I sketched this next (Government approved) shop in Fort Kochi for the yellow shirt that read “India Tuktuk”. You know you’re in a touristy part of town when you see a t-shirt like that.
The sketch of a busy snack shop is from a trip to a busy market with this year’s workshop group and I spent most of the time being amazed by how adept they had gotten at sketching these complex scenes and at working in busy places just 4 days into the workshop! All the interactions, cups of chai, videos taken of our work, and questions we were asked were part of the experience (and that’s besides the sights, sounds, and smells, all of which I believe find their way into the sketch on the page) .
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More posts in this series from India coming up. You can see earlier posts in the series here:
• The Study Hall of Dreams and Hopes
• Crawford Market
• Washing Linen, Fishing Marlin
• Small Spaces
Gateway to India is a 10-day workshop based in India that I run with my co-instructor, Zainab Tambawala. The next session is in late January 2025. Workshop details will be announced by March 2024. If you are interested in joining us, write to me at suhita@gmail.com and let me know!
Sketch Away: Travels with my sketchbook 