Week 2/2025

It’s back to work, and boy, isn’t that always an adjustment.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

1.

I tried to get as much as possible done for my exhibition at the end of the month, but it has been slow going. I sent the shortlisted images to event organisers and curators, but am yet to hear back from them about the selection and about other small details like captions. Not only that, late in the week, I learned that the venue for the exhibition needs to be changed. Despite coming up with the basic design framework, I didn’t manage to complete the design for the exhibition postcards and send them to the printer. Yep, quite frustrating.

In better news, Aarika sent me a new sample for the tote bag I had designed years ago. We are hoping to do a new batch of prints in 2025.

Purée Mag published my essay about street lettering in India.

I signed the paperwork and had a kick-off meeting of sorts for my big project this year. I can’t say anything about it for a few months, but if anyone’s reading this, please send me lots of luck.

2.

We had a couple of new folks join us at TypeTogether, one of whom will be working closely with me. A part of my week was spent in getting them set up and acclimatising both of us to new, collaborative ways of working. I also got myself back into the main TypeTogether project I’ll be involved in for most of the year, and finished up some writing for another project, coming to a close.

3.

I spent a few days alone at home with Amber traveling for work. I had hoped to go into deep work goblin mode, but that didn’t quite happen. My body and mind needed some slow and steady going, and I gave in.

4.

One of my Dad’s old friends was visiting from the UK, and despite a hectic schedule, I was able to go say hello to him when he came over to my parents’. It was a little thing, but it made me very happy. I still vividly remember the first time I met him. He had once accidentally left his digital watch at our house, and it made a loud beeping sound at the hour. My parents had tried and tried to turn the sound off as we were going to sleep, and when they couldn’t, my Dad buried the watch within heavy bedding that was stored in a large aluminium trunk. This happened over thirty years ago, but it is a memory that has just stuck with me.

Week 1/2025

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

1.

It was the last week of the holidays, and that is always strange. By Friday, the impending work week got to me. There were a few important things that Amber and I got out of the way — he got his new laptop and set it up, and we got my camera and lenses serviced. We planned meals for the upcoming week, bought groceries and did some advance cooking preparation.

I sent boxes of zines to Champaca, Blaft and The Bookshop Inc for a restock. In the process, I also realised that I might have accidentally deleted the printer driver from my computer, and now I need to reconfigure that.

After getting a collection of photographs printed early in the week, I tried to shortlist images for an upcoming exhibition. On the weekend, we took a long walk around Mandi House to finalise the route of an upcoming type tour.

2.

The last two tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy were a bummer, but that didn’t stop us from following them, even if grumpily. We watched aa few movies at the start of the week — Juror #2, Wolfs and Challengers.

3.

We visited Sunder Nursery and ate brunch at the weekend market. Our friends from Nature Soul Shop and Kitchen were selling that day, and it was nice to meet them and support them. We discovered a new coffee and tea company, Dolshyne, and picked up some kanji from Supernatural Society. I had stopped by at their stall to tell them how much I love their aam panna, and managed to score a bottle off-season. I usually stick to seasonal produce, but was far too tempted this time.

Week 52/2024

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

1.

Amber and I spent most of week as homebodies. Doing little errands around the house, watching cricket, and going out to nearby places for coffee. We finally laid hands on the bird matching game that Prateek and Rhea bought for us during their trip to Australia, and played that in the afternoons. I used to be good at this sort of game when I was a kid, but I keep losing to Amber whenever we play.

2.

Purneetha and Harshay came over on Christmas eve. I had fun putting together a little cheese board, making soup and burgers. It was a relaxed evening with lots of chatter, and it was nice to catch up with them after a while.

A couple of days later, we had my parents’ over for an evening of baking cookies.

3.

After weeks, we went to Nature Soul Shop to pick up our groceries in person — that’s always fun. We got food packed from their restaurant, and Amber and I both got our favourites.

On the weekend, we took my parents winter shopping. Pret-a-Manger does a vegan hot chocolate, so we could all have a drink together afterwards, which was neat.

Week 51/2024

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

1.

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind, more specifically: a tiring whirlwind. I spent almost all of last week wrapping up as much work I as could before I took time off at the end of the year. I was going on leave a full week before most of my TypeTogether colleagues, so I was all the more keen not to leave any of them with incomplete work that they would have to tackle in my absence.

I also had a really productive meeting discussing the first design directions for the lettering commission I’ve been working on. We chose which way we’d like to go, and I am looking forward to picking that up again in the new year.

2.

Last Friday, Amber and I hopped on a train early morning to head to Lucknow. There was terrible traffic near the station, even around 5:30 am. While we didn’t miss our train, it was a stressful beginning to our travels, especially since Amber lost his beloved HMT watch in the kerfuffle.

My main agenda in Lucknow was to photograph some more street lettering in order to put together a collection that will be exhibited next January. I met folks at Sanatkada and Lucknow Bioscope, who have me some excellent recommendations for the neighbourhoods I should try to explore, and even introduced me to local sign painters. The days were gruelling — lots of walking on busy streets, going back to places in the right light, and generally being out for hours. I was also struggling with getting the right shots in congested locations and becoming increasingly stressed out in the process. The focus was too soft, and the angles weren’t perfect, but Harshay helped out with some ideas.

We ate some delicious meals at Naimatkhana, and ended each day at The Fresh Factory, which was pretty close to where we were staying. Their cinnamon hot chocolate was just the pick-me-up that I needed every evening.

On our last night in Lucknow, we met Noopur and Kenneth, who were in the city for a family gathering. Noopur and I met in three different cities this year! It is a tough thing making friends as we grow older, even more challenging when the person who want to get to know better lives thousands of kilometres away. But thanks to Noopur making the kindest offer last year, we’ve both tried and I am so happy to have a kindred spirit in my life.

3.

On Tuesday, we traveled from Lucknow to Kolkata, for few more days of hectic photo documentation. Even though it was a short trip, I was able to meet Ananya and Kritika, and it was really nice to have conversations about design and life, and in general, put faces to names you only see crop up on social media. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hang out with Ankush, who got busy with some unexpected work during that time.

We spent many afternoons at Motherland Café, and had an excellent dinner at Sienna Café, but overall we were underwhelmed by the food options around our hotel. It didn’t help that service was quite poor in one of the cafés nearby.

I find Kolkata a challenging city to be in — so beautiful in parts, but it can be unclean to the point of unhygienic. And there is a slowness about everything that is opposite to what I enjoy about city life.

Photography, too, was tough here because of the congestion, and the fact that many streets were misaligned with the sun’s path 🙈

4.

We got back to Delhi on Saturday afternoon, and the same evening went for a Christmas get-together at Rishabh’s. He had cooked an excellent spread. We met some of Amber’s college classmates, and despite our original intentions, ended up staying quite late.

Now I am looking forward to a fortnight at home, where we can both relax before going back to work in 2025.

Week 49/2024

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

1.

Amber’s parents were visiting, and for most of the week our life revolved around either preparing for their visit or taking care of them once they were here. There was a family gathering to attend, but much more importantly, a doctor’s appointment.

As much as we enjoy cooking, we ended up rather tired. Preparing three meals (we usually eat only two) that adhered to not only strict dietary restrictions but also catered to preferences of taste different from ours was a lot.

One evening, Harshay dropped by, and on another, we went for tea to my parents’ (that’s both our mums together).

2.

I wore a saree to the family celebration we attended, and it was fun to put an outfit together from my wardrobe — the saree and jewellery were purchased five years ago, and they were paired with a blouse I had got stitched in 2016.

For the last few months, I’ve felt quite ambivalent towards getting dressed with intent, something that usually gives me a fair amount of joy, even a chance for creative expression. I think I haven’t even worn a saree since March — blame it on over-work.

3.

After Amber’s parents headed home on Sunday morning, we went out for some errands to prepare for our own travels in mid December. It is a trip I am really looking forward to.

4.

I’ve engaged the services of the folks at 3 Sided Coin to help me with a long-term personal project, and it is exciting that things are officially underway now.

Week 48/2024

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

1.

Amber and I finally made the time to give our terrace garden some love. Between the extreme weather and our busy schedules this year, the space lay neglected for months. We went to two nurseries and picked up some evergreen plants, seasonal flowering ones and some tomato and herb seeds that we hope to plant in the holidays. I borrowed some fairy lights from my Mom, and we have a cosy spot again.

2.

I had an interesting typeface review meeting with some colleagues that made me think once again about political typeface design is and how those ideas collide with commercial interests. Not to mention how widely different the approach of Indian design (even if expat) practitioners can be versus Western ones.

3.

I’ve been lettering on the iPad after ages, and the results have not been bad for the ideating and brainstorming stage.

4.

It was a social weekend — a pizza soirée with my parents on Friday, a day out with Sunder Nursery, Nature Soul Shop and errands with Amber and my Mom on Saturday, and hosting Mayank and Tanya for dinner on Sunday. Between all that, we squeezed in a lot of cleaning and organising around the house, which will hopefully set us up for a calm December.

Week 47/2024

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

1.

Work was a mixed bag last week. I met the last milestone of a project I had been working on most of late summer and early autumn. Along with that I kickstarted a new lettering commission, and heard from a client who need some more last-minute changes to a project long-finished. That last interaction, while wholly pleasant, has me consider some new changes to my standard work contract.

2.

Harshay is back from Goa after his residency at Atelier Monad, and he invited us to dinner at his place. It had been months since Amber and I spent any time with him and Purneetha together. Harshay showed us the photographs he exhibited at the end of his residency and I grabbed my copy of the zine he produced there. We also ate the first fresh water chestnuts and roasted peanuts of the season.

3.

On Saturday, we returned to Dhoomimal Gallery, this time with Rishabh. I’ve enjoyed showing friends and family around the exhibition. Afterwards, we went for a bite to Cirrus 9, where Rishabh’s partner, Tarishi, joined us. Cirrus 9 has lovely views of the city, though they were all hidden due to the poor air quality. I hope to return when the skies are blue. I have pretty much been off alcohol this year, so I surprised myself by ordering a Moscow mule.

4.

I made a compilation of photographs I included in my week notes this past year to commemorate fifty-two weeks of writing. This became the centrepiece of my first post on Bluesky. If you’re there, please say hi.

Week 46/2024

Will I ever get back to a proper weekly rhythm for these notes? Who knows, but at least I’ve made it a whole year. I’ll toast this little milestone with my evening coffee today.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

1.

I’m back home after about ten days of travel. It is nice to sleep on my own bed and work on my own desk. Of course, being in these parts as the AQI is in free fall is never exactly pleasant but there are glimpses of blue skies and life keeps going on.

2.

Amber and I were in Bombay together after years. After our hotel misadventure in Worli, it was nice to be in Colaba, in the thick of architecture that we love. We went on many type documentation walks around the neighbourhood, ate some lovely meals, and relaxed a little when we could. I loved our long walk up and down Marine Drive. Yes, it was hazy and the air quality didn’t inspire a desire to be outdoors, but it was simply wonderful to be in a third place where so many folks from the city gather. I did, however, pay the price for that, and fell sick on our last day.

That was a mess because we were headed next to Colombo, where I was speaking at the Sri Lanka Design Festival and their type conference, Script and Structure. I slept 14 hours straight on my first day, skipped all the evenings out and thankfully felt well enough to have a nice time at the conference. The events and conversations were absolutely fantastic, and the scale intimate, just how I like it. I spent time with Pathum and Sumanthri, and met Kosala properly for the first time. It was fun to be on an all-women panel with Sumanthri, Malindi and Leyanvi, and hang out with Anant and Sarang who I haven’t met in India (ever for Anant, and in years for Sarang). I’m also glad I got a sneak peek at the W A Silva Museum with Pathum and Mr. Ravi. There is so much interesting stuff happening in Colombo — I wish I visited more often.

Colombo is one Amber’s favourite cities, and it was our third visit. We went back to some of our old favourites like Black Cat and Ministry of Crab. He tried lots of new (to him) teas, and here too, we went to watch the sun set at Galle Face. I guess when you live inland, the water is so magnetic. This was our first time in Colombo in our birding era, so we went birdwatching around Beira Lake on our last morning. Between the spot-billed pelicans we saw there and a pair of whiskered terns from the restaurant window at lunch, both Amber and I added two new lifers to our lists.

3.

While I was away, the exhibition I had been involved in for almost a year opened in Delhi. It is called The Past has a Home in the Future, and tells the story of Connaught Place and Dhoomimal Gallery, and how these spaces have been centres of art, design and creative pursuits not only in the city but the country. This was a really exciting project to be part of, though it took more out of me than I ever imagined.

On Saturday, my parents, Amber and I went to see the exhibition and then celebrated the project with high tea at the Atrium at the Imperial. Having tea there together was a joke that my Dad and I made when I was in my teens, and it only took us close to twenty years to make it happen. The restaurant made pretty nice arrangements for my Dad despite his dietary restrictions, and that means we should return soon.

4.

It has been tough getting back to work. I am still quite tired from the incessant work load of the last few weeks months, and with two deadlines looming next week, my mind is still not at rest. I pushed myself in Colombo, and again after I’ve come back, which means I have definitely slowed my own recovery down. I had a migraine attack on Friday, and two days later, it is still lingering.

Week 44/2024

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

1.

It was a very quiet Diwali. Like I was telling Noopur earlier today, the festival has lost most of its shine for me. I think the main purpose it serves my life now is that of a punctuation for time passing by, and a reminder to do a round of deeper household cleaning and upkeep, just as one does in the spring.

Amber and I didn’t do any lights this year, nor any decorations — which is as much as we ever do, given neither of us is interested in the religious aspect of the festival. We met my parents for lunch, and cooked and ate some vegetable cutlets together, a thoroughly non-traditional affair.

2.

We’ve been struggling with our neighbours recently. They have been flouting community rules and guidelines related to renovation and usage of public spaces, and have been quite immune to our requests and those of the residents’ welfare group. It is a frustrating situation with no solution in sight.

3.

We had a bumpy start to our travels. The hotel we had booked for Mumbai ended up being sub-par and we’ve landed in an old favourite instead, albeit in a different part of the city. The room, the amenities, everything is much nicer and I’m very glad for it. Things began to look up from Sunday morning when we attended a walk organised by Art Deco Mumbai, which was quite fun.

Week 43/2024

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

1.

At work, I finished a long-overdue essay, and handed it off to my colleagues for their review and feedback, and next week it should be off for edits. I’m very glad to have completed this work before I take some vacation days.

The possibility of a new street lettering exhibition and talk for early next year are beginning to take shape, so I’m quite looking forward to that. I also took the first steps for making some changes on the India Street Lettering website. Cautiously and optimistically, I signed on the dotted line for a new project that could take up most of my next year.

Mid-week, I also gave a short talk for a group of design and type folks, which was a nice pick-me-up in the midst of a long and drudging few days. I met some new local people, whom I hope to keep in touch with.

2.

On Friday afternoon, Amber and I met Purneetha for a catch-up at our mid-way Blue Tokai — a couple of hours of rambling conversation over coffee and food. As we were heading back, our car refused to turn on. Turns out there is/was a problem with the battery charge, and its scheduled visit to the workshop for a service needs to happen even sooner.

I had a phone call with Ankush. We railed about bad clients, and thought up ways to feel creatively fulfilled while putting food on the table.

3.

Amber pushed me to go to Chandni Chowk to do lettering documentation, and we headed there early on Saturday morning. We spent a few hours there, caught breakfast at Fig at Malcha afterwards, and then walked around Connaught Place for a bit longer. I came back with a fair few photographs, though for complicated reasons, I wasn’t entirely happy with the results. That didn’t stop me from publishing some photos, though. I did get a small lead for new research, which I will follow up on after Diwali.