Urban Sketchers at GPO

Good to see that artists have no qualms of sitting anywhere when they want to capture something interesting.

I am talking about the Pune Urban Sketchers who had a session at the Pune General Post Office.

This artist (Harshad) sat outside the premises but the red gate gave a good contrast to what he wanted to capture.

This is one of those old letter boxes from the British era which can be seen in front of almost all GPOs in India. I remember there was a board next to it saying that all letters posted in this box will have a "special cancellation stamp" on it. Wonder why they removed that sign.

Walking around the Post Office brought back memories, like this philatelic bureau from where I used to buy first day covers about five decades ago. (at that time it was situated on the left side of the entrance)

And these segregated boxes for Airmail / Local and rest of India. There was a time when the letters were delivered on the same day (if it was local) provided you post before the first collection at 7.30 am.

The age-old method of making gum by the Post Office as a "public service" is still being carried on. 

At the rear of the post office I noticed this wrought iron spiral staircase which still stands, but not in use.

Deepali has captured this well with her minimalistic but effective drawing.

Even though it was a Sunday, the sorting activity was in full swing and somebody did sketch them in action.

Sitting in the sunlight and creating a picture has its own advantages. (creativity while soaking in vitamin D)

One young man decided to capture the steeple of the 160 year old St Paul's church which was just across the road.

Participants were from all age groups and that is one way to discover the hidden talent in the young ones.

I like the improvisation done on this tripod whereby a board is attached to hold all the required material while painting, including a  packet of biscuit :-)

I was also fascinated by the medium of creating a picture. It may be a variety of colours with the modern pen or it may be charcoal.

Many in Pune are not aware of the existence of the Zero stone which is dug right in front of the GPO. (Pune was earlier called Poona)

The mandatory group photo at the end of the session. I was not very happy with this group photo as some of them were in the shade and some were directly under the sunlight (which is against the "rules" of clicking a group photo) But then I did not try to rearrange them as I knew this was a group who would be happy in creating a picture than being "in the picture" Good to see all of them smiling. 

Captured most of them in action and compiled it into a 12 minute video. All this activity reminded me of the Urban Sketchers I captured four years ago at the Botanical Survey of India. Something big is coming up for the Urban Sketchers in the first week of December. These three slides below will give you a better idea of the event. 

Kala Ghoda Festival Part 2

As mentioned in the previous blog, the David Sassoon Library is right opposite Kala Ghoda. The building  was erected for the Bombay Mechanics Institution  in 1870  (originally founded way back in 1847)  

The Venetian Gothic styled structure using yellow malad stone was completed in 1870 

the old and the new

As you enter you see the statue of Sassoon

The library is on the first floor. Inside I found this wooden spiral staircase which is a testimony to the proper maintenance of the place.  

Once you are inside the courtyard you realize what a quaint little peaceful place it is with tall trees and  greenery all around.  I spied the Elphinstone college on one side 

It was in this courtyard that the children of Little Angels School put up their skit and the Lezim as a part of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.

Neish Singh started off by playing the tabla, followed by Deeptanshu Thakkar who gave a good performance on the keyboard. 

This was followed by the Lezim. Taking the space constraint into consideration, the boys did very well and managed to keep up the pace with the beat. 

They say that if you want to keep your city clean, then start educating the children, and it becomes more effective when there is support from the parents. 

The skit “Swach Bharat” was entertaining as well as educative. 

Highlighting the different possibilities in which a place could get dirty was a good idea as the children will always remember it. 

The parents and the audience were very appreciative of the program. 

In the first picture I purposely kept the BEST bus in the frame as I was/am always fascinated by their efficiency and service.  From the first electric tram car in 1907, it has come a long way.

Did you know that BEST buses are only equipped with those rubber bulb air pressure horns (and not the high decibel fancy electronic ones)

So next time when you are on the road (driving in Mumbai) and you hear that Pom Pom behind you, then you can be assured that it is a BEST bus.