Remains of the Day

It took me a month to read Remains of the Day. An impeccable, English description of a butler's 6 day sojourn into England's hamlets during which he reminisces on a good twenty years of service he has engaged in. The book inches into the future from the present like the butler's ford, leisurely trudging ahead on empty roads. While that happens, it takes big leaps backwards into his past...it moves back more than forward. While "time" moves ahead and the present moves ahead allowing the future to join it...and become present, people do not move thus! They flow against the flow of time...inching forward but leaping behind.

This book is the first of its kind for me. Staying distant and outside my sphere of empathy until the last 15 pages...after which it comes so close it twists everything inside!

Enjoying Knopfler one night....and sketching it another...

Knopfler's song with a reference to two curvy creatures that are such a delight to sketch.....

Patterns, of papers and birds!

When a tub of water is filled and left alone on the terrace, the first birds that come frolicking are the crows while the pigeons sit perched at a distance awaiting their turn. Once the crows  have had their heart's fill of drinking and waddling, the pigeons take their place, resulting in another round of frolicking and splashing. This is the time when we hear birds differently, not through their calls but through their movements. We hear a heavy sound as they beat the water with their soaked wings, we hear a gentle bobbing sound as they dip their heads underwater and we hear them flap their wings dry after they have daintily jumped out the tub.  They ruffle and smoothen their own feathers using their beaks.  They shudder at last putting every stray feather in place, ready to take flight!

 If you want to use this doodle, you can by all means.  Do let me know if you plan to at jamuna.inamdar@gmail.com and if you wish to have a high res image :) 

They have bathing patterns too.....some dive headlong, some cautiously test the waters, some take a few minutes to warm up to the wetness (I relate to them the most), some stand still, some are all over the place and some walk around!  But all finally perch on branches to dry themselves....