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…

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.

Sketch of a Jeep, first developed in the 1940s as a ‘light reconnaissance vehicle’ for the United States army. Born in the heat of battle, the Jeep emerged as a hero to thousands of Allied soldiers around the world. The equally heroic civilian Jeep vehicles of the 1940s firmly established the Jeep brand as the undisputed leader in 4×4 technology.

Another line and wash sketch of a jeep…

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

An overloaded bus on a country road with some passengers travelling on the roof of the bus…

Water colour sketch of an old farmer tending to his cow…

Women washing utensils in a village courtyard…

অমল ধবল পালে লেগেছে মন্দ মধুর হাওয়া…

A honeyed and gentle breeze touched the pure whiteness of the sails.
Never have I seen such a sailing of a boat…..

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

The rickety and ubiquitous goods-carrying vehicle of my childhood in Calcutta of the 60s and the 70s is known in India as the Tempo. Although the name ‘Tempo’ instantly conjures up this shaky and dusty three-wheeler in the minds of older Indians, it was actually a trademarked term used to refer to the German automobile company Vidal  & Sohn Tempo-Werke. Famous for producing Matador and Hanseat, Tempo joined hands with the Indian company Bajaj Tempo Motors that later became Force Motors to produce these vans.

Another three-wheeler goods vehicle, the Bajaj Maxima C…drawn with a Pilot V7 Hi-Tecpoint pen filled with Rotring Isograph ink …

Sketch of yet another three-wheeled light commercial vehicle offered in numerous body configurations to serve a wide range of utilitarian functions. Such vehicles are produced in India by Piaggio and Bajaj Auto.