19th February 2016- Qutub Minar sketches

Visiting Qutub Minar area is a visual experience. You need to go there as many times as possible.

Sketching onsite is an indescribable experience, especially when you are surrounded by beauty all around. I yearned to sketch every little detail, every pillar, columns, arches et al. But one day is not enough for all of them. More trips to look forward to. Stay tuned for more sketches! :-)

‪#‎qutubminar‬ ‪#‎sketching‬

Noida Series 1- Mayawati Park

Access to Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and green garden or popularly known as Mayawati Park is possible only by car and even the metro station is far away from this gorgeous park of elephant statues and elephant fountains. Sector 16 Metro station is perhaps the nearest one to the park and even then the car is the best form of transport. Nevertheless, the park built in the Buddhist style is beautiful in every way and so vast and spacious. In the centre lies a huge building devoted to the Dalit leaders - Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram and Mayawati with her famous bag. On each wall of the monument, are stories of the leaders and of the movement itself.
Nevertheless, the visual experiences are so immense that methinks I should make several trips to this place again. Here are a few sketches from the outing!

Shantala Palat

Shantala Palat

Shantala Palat

Shantala Palat

4th February 2016- Nizamuddin Dargah and Humanyun's tomb and later visits

The trip to the dargah and Humayun's tomb was an overwhelming one as we were dazzled by the colours, the vendors, the alleys and the Mughal architecture. Nevertheless we had a jolly time as it was a beautiful and sunny day too.
The Aga Khan Foundation have done a wonderful job with the ongoing conservation work at Humayun's tomb and indeed the whole place glowed in the dappled sunlight. We also bumped into Architecture students from Mumbai who were there for their sketching assignments. The Delhi Sketchers and the Mumbai students admired each others' work and even discussed a possible collaboration for the future!
Here are the sketches and yes, a selfie of us too at the end of the page :-)

L-R- Anjali Mittal, Shantala Palat, Jitesh Beriwal, Jitesh Beriwal

Left- Vikram Kumar(above), Nikita Chhabra(below); Right-Jitesh Beriwal (top and below)

                    

Humayun's tomb (inside)

Humayun's tomb at a glance

Vikram Kumar

Anjali Mittal

Nikita Chhabra

Vikram Kumar

Shantala Palat

Shantala Palat

Urs Mahal at Nizamuddin Dargah

Shantala Palat

Patterns of lattices at Urs Mahal-Shantala Palat

The Delhi Sketchers

27th January 2016- A trip to Agrasen ki Baoli and CP(Connaught Place)

 Agrasen ki Baoli and CP 

Nikita Chhabra- At CP

Agrasen ki Baoli is an underrated gem. Not many people consider the place too touristy unlike Red Fort or Jama Masjid. Yet its a favourite place for youngsters and couples for its quiet and peaceful atmosphere and of course, the dizzy staircases that descend deep down to a dried up well. Its good for exercise too- just the sheer climbing up and down of these steps. Pigeons are the frequent visitors here and greet you with their bird droppings (just like one did on my sketchbook) and shedding old feathers. That they are everywhere is an understatement. Visit this place and you will know why.

Sketching Agrasen ki Baoli can be a daunting task and we are happy to say that we had a good time sketching ! We sketched here for a while and then descended on Connaught Place for its shops and pavement vendors.  Connaught Place has a different flavour altogether- the shops, the people, the sign posts. Each one needs to be digested in for their colour, shapes, the yummy wafts from the food and little stories sprouting here and there. Making decisions here is hard and we are thinking of coming again here! Cheers till then.

Shantalat Palat (left) ,Vikram Kumar (above) , Nikita Chhabra (below and right )

Nikita Chhabra- Agrasen ki baoli

Nikita Chhabra- The people at CP

Vikram Kumar- When old and new meet

           

Vikram Kumar- The Selfie girl

Shantala Palat- Overview of Agrasen ki ..

Shantala Palat- Little stories..

Vikram Kumar- The Candy floss man

Vikram Kumar- In conversation

19th January 2016- At the Red Fort

19th January 2016- Sketching at Red Fort

We set out with the intention of sketching at St James Church, the oldest church in Delhi but we were in for a rude shock. We were told rather rudely and abruptly that we could not sketch there without taking permission. Having come all the way, I earnestly requested to meet the priest and even showed our sketches and spoke about our blog. I was told that he was away and that I would have to write a detailed letter as to what we planned to do at the church. Disappointed, we went away. Then my fellow sketchers suggested "Red Fort" and we all brightened up at the idea. We surely did not want to waste any time and hurried to the destination. It was foggy and cloudy. Yet the sights of the bazaar and the beautiful Red Fort made our hearts light and joyful. We spent some time at the photo exhibition, "Kesa-vinyas"on the elaborate and gorgeous hairstyles of those days and finally ventured for some late afternoon sketches at the Red Fort. Braving the cold and the wind, we sketched for a couple of hours. We will be back with more sketches at this dear place. Thats a promise!

Note- Just for clarification as to which part of Red Fort our sketchers did, I will name the sketcher along with the sketch below-:

Jitesh Beriwal- Part of Diwan-i-Khas
Nikita Chhabra- Moti Masjid
Vikram Kumar- Moti Masjid
Shantala Palat- The building on the right of Diwan-i-Khas

               Jitesh,(Left) Nikita(above), Vikram (middle), Shantala (bottom right)

Vikram Kumar- Moti-Masjid (Pearl Mosque)

Shantala Palat- on the right of Diwan-i-Khas

Deer Park, Hauz Khas Village- 12th January 2016

 The Deer Park is next to the Hauz Khas Village and greened over with trees and a lovely fitness trail. We are greeted with the sight of the deer with their beautiful and soulful eyes. They start if they hear the planes above or if the people get too noisy near the enclosure. Yet they are bold enough to approach their human friends , hoping to get juicy tidbits. And they come away, rarely disappointed.
     So its here that we had the formidable challenge before us- to sketch these deer and their everchanging poses. Sometimes we succeeded , sometimes we did not. Yet we were determined to sketch them. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we plan to come again another day,another time. And with more sketches! :-)

Shantala Palat

 

Shantala Palat

Shantala Palat

Shantala Palat

Shantala Palat

Vikram Kumar

Vikram Kumar

Vikram Kumar

5th January 2016- At the Lodhi Gardens

Lodi Gardens is a place full of birds and love birds too :-) It also has the beautiful Bara Gumbad and the Sheesh Gumbad next to each other. Further down, near the the Athpula bridge lies the solitary Sikander Lodi's tomb. There, ducks have their home near the waters.And of course, the colourfully painted dustbins all over the park. It adds a dash of colour and cheer to the place.
       Nevertheless, we had a tough task in front of us. What to sketch- the intricate inscriptions, patterns of the Bara Gumbad? The monuments themselves? The birds? The bridge or the various small gardens of plants? In the end, we sketched what we liked best and adding a touch of creativity to them! The day was lovely and peaceful- not too crowded as well. So here are the sketches!

Vikram Kumar

Nikita Chhabra

Shantala Palat

Vikram Kumar

Nikita Chhabra

Shantala Palat