Books
The word 'Kimvadanti' in Hindi means stories or folklores. Every few hundred kilometres in India there is a historical building which, for the locals, may be just another piece of estate in their neighbourhood. Each city, town, and village in India is full of stories, and there are many historical buildings which stand as proof of this; some are part of our contemporary lives and some are overlooked and unattended. These historic buildings are physical records of what our country was and how it has come to be what it is today.
‘Orchha’ is a small, quiet town in the state of Madhya Pradesh, 15 kms from Jhansi and about 460 kms from New Delhi. It was once the capital of the Bundelkhand state and it consists of several monuments erected at different times. Every building has interesting stories related to it, which I believe should be documented and preserved. Orchha is home to a grand fort, temples, palaces and chhatris (cenotaphs).
The intention was to create an illustrated documentation of popular oral narratives of Orchha looking through the point of view of the locals along with some personal experiences. Often the oral narratives as told by a habitant of historically important places are multi layered and are passed down from generations. These stories are an insight into a culture and it's people which should be documented in some physical tangible form. Pan India there are infinite number of places which have much more to narrate through the local stories rather than their factual chronological history.
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A French exchange student shows up in class during the interim semester. We had to go around Shivajinagar, a busy market in Bangalore and find a person or profession that interests you. The task was to come up with an art project relating to the person's profession or area. I wanted to work in an area called Gujri which
sells second hand motor parts and he was my partner.
Gujri is located next to the St.Mary's Basilica and has an ecosystem on its own. Second hand vehicles and bikes are brought here to break down into individual components and sold
as separate parts. At first it appears as a chaotic mess but when you really start to understand the working of the area, it has a set pattern that people who work there,
stick to.
For me, the real challenge was working with my partner Martin. His friends wished me luck as they told me about his broken English. Irrespective, we managed to converse using little sketches, writing words down, using google translator, gestures and pointing to objects.
My first experience of working with a foreigner was a paradox, frustrating and fun at the same time.
This book is about my journey through the course, about how two people who do not speak the same language, find ways to explain things to each other, sometimes the simplest of things from the surroundings like horn or trees.
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