Kerala: House Blessing Sketches

I am still waiting for my page layouts to come back from Gullane, so am spending most my time writing at the moment (when I'm not answering emails anyway). I'm working with John on the Koala stories I mentioned last week. Turns out John is great at plot ideas and moving stories on when they stall. I'm best at dialogue and characterisation, we make a good team! 

Anyway, there's nothing specific about that I can share right now, so I thought you might like to see a few more pics more my Kerala sketchbooks. These were also in Tellicherry. We were there over the Christmas weekend and there was a blessing happening in one of the houses in the village. It was taking place in the garden, where there was a small temple, and was to bring good fortune to the house and village for the forthcoming year. 

It was an evening event, so at sunset John, myself and our 2 friends were guided to the house by torchlight, through a series of back alleys. It got increasing black and hard to see our footing on the uneven ground and our guide got lost and had to ask directions twice!

We arrived just as the dancing and drumming was starting. People from all the neighbouring houses were there, sitting around two sides of the garden on plastic chairs. We were immediately shown to seats at the front, which made me feel a little guilty, as unbelievers, but I didn't complain too much, as it also gave me the perfect vantage point to sketch. 

I wasn't sure at first if it was appropriate, but the local people seemed very interested, so I kept going. An hour later, we had to leave to go back to our lodgings for dinner, but apparently the dancing went on well into the night.

Next morning we went out for a walk round and, from a very handy vantage point above, watched these women drying hospital laundry in the massive courtyard below. In the area out of shot to the left of the page, they had laid out sheets on the ground in the sun to dry (I can just imagine how many weeks that would take in Sheffield!):

Everything I've shown you so far has been from just one sketchbook, but I filled three and a half while I was in Kerala, so eventually I'll get around to scanning the rest and get them up on the website. I'll let you know.