I wanted some quietness, I decided to spend the Saturday afternoon in the Theosophical Society. I went with my sketch book, water colors and color pencils. I wanted to spend most of the time watching the trees, the foliage of the trees, the leaves getting tossed by sea breeze.
There weren’t too many visitors that afternoon, and those who stay there, or come to work are not intrusive. They are familiar with me, and let me wander about. I go dangerously close to the Adyar river, that is guarded by thorny brambles; I sit around old buildings that breathe with ghosts of luminaries like Annie Besant and Rabindranath Tagore. I went to Blavatsky bungalow and sat on the porch that overlooked the 450 year old banyan tree . The thick undergrowth of the tree gave an underwater ambiance. I sat for a very long time listening to the birds, to the rustle of leaves.
Later I walked toward the Adyar River and stopped to complete quick water colours. I finished them in ten minutes, left them on the grass to dry as I explored closer to the river. There was no access to the river from where I went.
I started sketching the post office building in colour pencil.There were too many details to complete, and it was getting dark and the insects and mosquitoes were out. I quickly gave a water wash to the background, and completed the painting after I came home.
Mauve Sea 