Illustrated a piece called ‘System’ penned by the Hindi poet Vinod Kumar Shukla. Translated to English this reads: Being civil in the name of civilization, people had grown excessively civil. Formal, too. All the politeness had given them a permanent stoop. Everybody was walking on the street dressed in crisp, clean clothes, head bent. The policemen kept a watch on how bent the people walked. They also kept a tab on the formality. If one ran into a loved one on the road, they let out their laughs sparingly. Sparing laughter, something akin to an extended smile, sometimes extending beyond the face as well. If the teeth were white and bright, there was no harm in flashing them a bit. But overdoing it was a punishable offence. If found guilty, crying in gentle sobs followed as a punishment. One day, it seemed like a tall guy was not bent enough. No, he was fully bent. Owing to his height, it looked like he was less bent in comparison to others. The police suspected of him being less polite than the rest. Just like same-heighted soldiers are grouped together to make a parade, every civilian outing and task was chiseled into a parade. The prestige of the system depended on bent people. The system had been clever enough to find and recruit short-heighted personnel. They were, in turn, asked to stand upright at all times. . . . Camel watercolours on Cartridge paper . . . Artwork details and process drawings to the right #pencils #watercolor #watercolourillustration #watercolourillustrations #colourpencil #camel #inkillustration #kidlitillustration #kidlitart #kidlitartist #kidlitindia #childrensliterature #indiankidlit #childrenillustration #childrensbooks #editorialillustration #illustration #illustrationartists #illustrator #womenillustrators #womenartists #illustratorsoninstagram #illustratorsofinstagram #artwork #artist https://www.instagram.com/p/CZESFxkFPG6/?utm_medium=tumblr
