You gets what you pays for, my dear.

Woman walking in Pashan, Pune.

Street side vendor

Push starting a three wheeled pickup. Pashan, Pune.

Woman climbing Sinhagad.  Sinhagad, Pune. Man on curb. Pune.

I finally got around  to purchasing a real sable brush.  They are expensive. Made from the hair of the Siberian Kolinsky Sable, ( a type of a weasel), this brush cost me 27 Euros( about 37 USD).  Size 8. A mid sized brush.  Good watercolor brushes are characterized by three things.  Firstly, their "Snap", ie the ability of the loaded brush to regain its pointed shape after applying paint to paper.  So if you dabbed paint on a spot , it should immediately go back to its pointed shape ready to apply paint precisely at another place.
Second, its "Belly".  The ability to hold water or paint so you can paint continuously without recharging it.    The fatter the belly while still holding a point is desirable.  Thirdly, "Point",the ability of the bristles to come to a needle point when you load up the brush with paint. You should be able to paint a hairline and with just some added pressure increase the width to about an inch ( on a Number 8 brush) and  on releasing the pressure spring back to the hairline.   A varied thickness of a brush stroke is very useful while painting.
My new brush does  this all exceptionally well.  I hope I don't screw  it up by being sloppy in its care.

All drawings above from memory.

Lucky Pig?

Pune Airport lounge.

Refuel stop. Bucharestu, Romania.

I recently remembered a person from a workshop on campus at Georgia Tech.  He was very good at fabricating metal components useful in our projects.  Big guy.  He used to have a pencil-thick scar across the width of his neck. He told me he got it in a knife fight in a bar.  I always half believed him.  He had a hobby. He used to collect statues and things shaped like hogs and pigs.  It was quite a fantastic collection.  Piggy banks. Mugs shaped like a hog.  Metal statues. Wild Georgia hogs.  Bristly, large with huge canines.   

The reason I remembered him was I recently bought a little “Lucky three legged Pig”.  Made from terracotta ( “Mud”).  Cute as hell.  From Chile. "Chanchito".

As large and old as India is, I have never come across anything that depicts pigs as lucky or cute and lovable.  One avatar of Vishnu is the “Varaha”. A wild boar.  Ferocious and terrible.   In general pigs are viewed as unclean animals, much like the middle east views them.  Both Judaism and Islam prohibit followers from eating pork.   I wonder what the Chinese think of them.  They are an important part of their cuisine.  Food for thought aye? 

Homer Simpson on pigs:

Lisa: “I’m going to become a vegetarian”

Homer: “Does that mean you’re not going to eat any pork?”

L:“Yes”

H: “Bacon?”

L: “Yes Dad”

H: “ Ham?”

L: “Dad all those meats come from the same animal”

H: “Right Lisa, some wonderful, magical animal!”

Half and half

Ganesh display off Sus road. Pashan, Pune.

This is a very large display that has been set up during the ongoing Ganesh Festival. It is a stage with a ten foot high Ganesh in front of a half football field sized ground. The orange stairs lead devotees onto the stage where they pay homage.

I had parked to draw it and this small machine shop made of corrugated tin was an interesting foredrop. The guy was building a cabinet with L angled mild steel beams. 

A summit experience

Panel Discussion

Featured speakers

Doom and gloom. Call from HQ?

Security guard and doorman

Not all panelists showed up.  

Concierge and waitress in the lobby

I was in Mumbai for a “Summit”.  I had been there last year as well. Here is the post from back then. Perhaps the best way to kick off a conference is not with a depressing story. The Emcee started off with:  ”One of our delegates told me today that he may not have his job when he gets back to work on Monday”.

 

Well, it was doom and gloom in the Learning and Development sector of Indian IT /IT ES.  I provided my support by drawing in my little notebook as serious discussions about “Investments in Imagination”, “Human Capital”, “Bharat and India: It’s not the same India for all!” etc . raged. OK, not quite “raged”.  More like diffident non-committal declarations upon persistent prodding by the panel leaders:

PL: “Come on <> you surely have an opinon”,

Panelist: “Yes, yes.”

PL: “You must say it!”

Panelist: “Yeah, I suppose…*mumble*”

PL: “There you go folks, <> will now tell us his experience from the helm of<< Name of a super multinational>>”  Hands the microphone firmly to the panelist.

Cornered Panelist: “It’s a demand and supply situation. When in doubt go to the basics. It’s not “One size” fits all.  The situation on the ground is always different and we must assess it before we make strategic commitments in this recession prone economy.”

Thrusts the hot potato microphone back at PL and gulps water. 

I did learn a new term.   Apparently, Indian youth suffer from a severe ‘Intent Deficit”.  Turns out, it means that they don’t know why the hell they are working.

It appears that corporations in India regularly ask their youthful employees if they know why they are working.  And their employees aren’t giving answers the corporations want to hear.

I couldn’t take it after that.  I had to duck out and laugh into the delicious orange & poppy cupcakes served with black coffee outside in the lobby. God bless our youth!

Dont speak...

Ambazari Lake Nagpur.

Cafe Coffe Day, Rajeev Chowk Metro Station, New Delhi.

...I know just what you're saying

So please stop explaining 

Don't tell me cause it hurts 

Don't speak 

I know what you're thinking 

I don't need your reasons 

Don't tell me cause it hurts."  No Doubt.

That song does not really describe my feelings about having to type stuff on this post. It's late and I have to go to Mumbai early ( wake up at 3:30 am).  This song came to me and I have posted it. Oh well.

Gwen. Only you know what I'm thinking. 

All my Gods have clay feet

Terminal 3 , Delhi International Airport

Lohegaon Airport, Pune.

Back from New Delhi/Guragon this morning.  All the talk in business is about the weakening Indian Rupee. Distressing but boring after the twentieth time.

This week has been stressful.  Lots of stuff happening.  This travel also added to it.

Paper Planes:  MIA

" I fly like paper get high like planes."

No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

Shatabdi Express, Pune Secunderabad. August 25, 2013

Looking north, on a west- east bound train.

I went to Hyderabad (Secunderabad is a sister city) last weekend by train.  Left early Saturday, ran the full, 42.2 km Airtel 2013 Hyderabad marathon on Sunday morning and returned the same day.  Quite exhausting.  I did not do as well as I wanted.  I went too fast initially and had severe cramps in the 29th Km and had to walk/limp the rest of the 13 km to finish in 5 hours 39 minutes. But finished all the same.  The depressing split stats and ranking can be found here. Bib Number is 1289. Male. Category :Overall.

The lines and coloring on the drawing is shaky because of the rocking of the train.  The watercolor landscapes are glimpses of the freshly monsooned countryside sliding past.  Beautiful.