"Where the mind is without fear..." R. Tagore.

The Alamo. San Antonio Tx. USA.

The drawing has nothing to do with the text below. I think I am flouting all rules of good blogging. I just cant abide by meaningful titles and related content.  I am a maverick. Populist anarchy rules.*

The Republic day of India is a grand spectacle. The largest democracy in the world celebrates the anniversary of its formation on the 26^th of January in the capital New Delhi.   India became a republic in 1950, three years after independence from Great Britain.

There is a parade along the beautiful Rajpath, lined with some of the most beautiful Government office buildings in the world.  The British architect, Edwin Lutyens had designed “New Delhi” in 1911 as the capital of British Imperial India.

The parade includes columns of the armed forces, floats with new weapon technologies, all followed by a colorful display of the diversity of people in India.  Civilian and military heroes are celebrated.   The range extends from a schoolgirl who rescued friends to soldiers dying in shootouts with Pakistani insurgents in Kashmir.

While everyone seems to enjoy this spectacle in the beginning of the year, some folks do have objections.  I for one, think that the colonial style horses and finery could be done without.   Same for the missiles and tanks.  Way too Socialist Eastern Bloc kind of muscle flexing.   The floats celebrating the culture of the Subcontinent are great. And the TV commentary could be a bit less flowery.   Much less flowery. “Let us now turn our adoring eyes upwards to the blue skies …”

* The President of India has asked citizenry not to indulge in "Populist Anarchy" this election year.

I have blocked my calendar!

Temple on Baner hill. Baner road, Pune.

I have been drawing but not posting.  Really. There was a lot of travel in the last four months and interspersed with holidays and lethargy I have not posted for a while.

Recently I have been focusing on watercolors and coloring in general.  I found myself describing my blog as drawings with watercolor coloring.  The medium of watercolors for painting is quite challenging.    One cannot correct mistakes and the rule of “Know what you have to do “just cannot be broken because once you have laid the paint down it’s almost impossible to change it.  So while it’s probably the cheapest and most accessible medium for beginners to painting it’s also the most unforgiving.

I plan on painting the Sahyadri mountain ranges, where I go trekking, as my skill level builds up.  They are incredibly beautiful and it would be great to capture that and reflect it in a simple but elegant watercolor.