Her love for postcards and requests to sketch local illustrations on them inspired a Bengaluru-based artist to start a project highlighting the city’s vibrant culture.
Called “100 days of Bangalore”, 30-year-old Shikha Nambiar’s project brings together places, things and experiences that lend the city its unique character.
The former corporate lawyer runs her brand Sunny Skies Starry Eyes for which she designs various stationery products including postcards, magnets, book marks and notebooks.
"People would often tell me to make more local illustrations on the postcards. That’s how I chose Bengaluru as my theme,” says Shikha, who moved from Pune to Bengaluru five years ago.
Shikha Nambiar
Over the course of the project, Shikha explored parts of the city that she hadn't seen much of before, like Malleswaram and Basavanagudi.
Bengaluru, Shikha says, is a melting pot of different cultures, which sets it apart from other metropolitans. “There are nooks and corners that have remained untouched even today and have an old world charm to them,” she states.
All her drawings are first made on paper, using pencils and water colours, following which they are transferred on the computer.
"After publishing a few illustrations initially, I started asking for suggestions and lots poured in,” she says.
And this helped her in getting to know of places she had never heard of before, or those that may not pop up easily on a Google search.
She gives the example of how she discovered hotel Sidappa, a small eatery near Richmond circle with a limited but scrummy menu, through one such suggestion.
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All her illustrations are accompanied by notes describing them.
Shikha has already published a mini book compiling 30 of her illustrations from the project. She intends to eventually put together all 100 illustrations in a form of a travel guide with maps and other details about the city.
You can check out the full project here: The 100 Day Project (2016)
(All images source: Sunny Skies Starry Eyes/Facebook)