Handmade cards for Diwali and the wedding season
Paper, ink and a few simple techniques for making your own greeting cards this October, with costs for a batch of twenty.
Sketching spots in old Jaipur
Where to sit with a sketchbook in the walled city: Hawa Mahal, the bazaars, the stepwells and a few quiet corners.
Jaipur is one of the most drawn cities in India, and our shop sees a steady stream of visitors buying a sketchbook and a pen before they head into the walled city. These are the places our staff and regular sketchers return to.
The view of Hawa Mahal from the cafés across Badi Chaupar is the classic. Go early, before 9 am, when the facade is lit by the morning sun and the traffic is still light. The pink honeycomb of windows is a good exercise in repeating shapes; do not try to draw every window, suggest them.
The bazaars around Johari Bazaar and Bapu Bazaar are busy, so find a step or a shop owner’s bench and ask first. Most will say yes, and some will offer you tea. Draw the shopfronts, the arches and the people passing; quick gesture sketches of two minutes each are more useful here than one long drawing. For quieter work, Panna Meena ka Kund, the stepwell near Amer, is wonderful. The criss-cross of steps is a lesson in perspective, and late afternoon light makes strong shadows. Inside the City Palace and Jantar Mantar, sketching is usually allowed; check the rules on the day.
Carry a small A5 sketchbook with lay-flat binding, a pen with waterproof ink, and a water brush with a few colours. A hat and water matter more than you think from April to June. Finish with chai at our counter on Bhagwan Das Road and show us what you made; we keep a wall for visitors’ sketches.
