…a woman washing clothes….

…a mobile newspaper hawker taking care so the daily newspaper reaches its destination…

…or even idling away time just sitting on the front porch of a house…

Sketching tools: Rotring Isograph Drawing Ink (Schwarz Black) in Pilot V5 Hi-Tecpoint Roller Ball (Cartridge System) Pen and Camlin Water Colour paints.

These simple tools are not lifeless. They erase my worries and anxieties for the time being, help me to face the next trial with calmness and fortitude. They are my faithful companions.

1. Camel Artists’ Water Colour Cakes

2. A couple of Camlin round brushes

3. A small Camlin eraser or a Pink Pearl eraser

4. Pilot V5 Hi-Tecpoint roller ball pen with Rotring Isograph black ink in it

5. Staedtler Mars Micro 0.9 mm mechanical pencil with B grade lead. I use this pencil throughout the day for scribbling or sketching. I wish I could use it even in my sleep.

A line and wash sketch of Hagia Sophia, a place of worship built as a Christian church at Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in the 6^th century under the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Subsequently it served as a mosque, a museum and has recently been converted into a Grand Mosque again. You may want to read my blog post on the recent developments….

Sketching tools: Pentel ENERGEL 0.5 mm needle point ball pen and Camlin Water Colour paints.

I have fond memories of such decrepit, derelict houses of north Calcutta. Those houses, some in utter ruin, take me to my childhood….

Sketch of one of those colonial-era buildings that are still striking reminders of a Calcutta that served as the capital of British India…

An old house that leans on an apartment block….

Sketching tools: Rotring Isograph Drawing Ink (Schwarz Black) in Pilot V5 Hi-Tecpoint Roller Ball Pen and Camlin Water Colour paints.

Women plucking tea leaves…

While tea is a popular drink all over the world, few are aware of the exploitation in tea industry. Workers on tea plantations have to contend with abysmally low wages. These workers are mostly tribal people living in West Bengal and Assam. The worst-affected are the families of those who work in tea estates that are being shut down…

Sketching tools: Rotring Isograph Drawing Ink (Schwarz Black) in Pilot V5 Hi-Tecpoint Roller Ball Pen and Camlin Water Colour paints.

…clouds cover the sky and birds frolic on the green lawns of the Maidan in Calcutta. The southwest monsoon has advanced further and under its effect heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in sub-Himalayan West Bengal.

The monsoon rains bring relief from the heat waves and young men have a gala time at the riverfront…

With the onset of monsoon in Bengal, dengue affects thousands of people. Sketch of a water-logged lane in South 24- Parganas…

Sketching tools: Rotring Isograph Drawing Ink (Schwarz Black) in Pilot V5 Hi-Tecpoint Roller Ball Pen and Camlin Water Colour paints.