Indian travellers have been making their presence felt for a while now, rediscovering their own backyards and the world beyond it, armed with travel guides, and the senses, eager to experience new locations, thus enriching the perspectives of the backpacking Indian. Unfortunately for most of us urban travellers, our holiday soon must come to an end, as we get back to the workplace. We must contend with the nostalgia of travels past with the occasional like received for our travel albums on Facebook, courtesy our friends and acquaintances, as we toil away saving for the next getaway. Or must we?
Enter a travel based colouring book for adults.
Around India In 40 Doodles, a travel themed adult colouring book, is the brainchild of Humming Whale, a Mumbai based design and innovation startup, founded by a team of IIT Bombay Graduates. Featuring the illustrations of Jeenal Patel, and published by The Write Place, the publishing arm of Crossword, this colouring book captures the soul of forty Indian cities through fun-filled quirky doodles of the cities’ iconic landmarks and citizens.
You can also watch the video here
Adult colouring books have been all the craze of late, with many displacing traditional books and novels from the top of best selling lists around the world. And it’s not just about reconnecting with your inner child – colouring books for adults, unlike children’s colouring books have more intricate designs with smaller colourable elements and finer details. These attributes are known to encourage increased focus and attention to detail, serving as a useful distraction when the stresses of the workplace are beginning to get to you.
Around India In 40 Doodles, achieves this through forty tasteful collages of sketches of the defining elements of forty of India’s cities, both big and small. Each collage is also accompanied by a relatively obscure but relevant piece of information about the city. For e.g. Did you know that the Battle of Imphal and Kohima was the turning point of World War II, and is regarded as “Britain’s Greatest Battle”, by the British National Army Museum?
Not only does this thoughtfully designed colouring book help you fulfill your nostalgia quotient of trips made in the past, through the medium of colouring in the details of your favourite cities and towns and reliving the memories, this book also inspires the traveller to visit newer pockets of the country. If you’re really keen on maintaining authenticity, you can even pack it in your backpack, using the colouring book as a tour guide with a twist.
Colour the monastery on a pitstop during the Ladakh bike ride
Dive into colours during the stress-free weekend on a Goa beach
Or if the child in you is feeling really naughty, redesign entire cities in a colour scheme of your choice.
Amongst all these beautiful cities, there are some bonus pages that celebrate India’s iconic truck art, along with the famous quirky truck quotes like, “Amiro ki zindagi biscuit aur cake pe, driver ki zindagi clutch aur brake pe”.
So what are you waiting for? Grab a copy of Around India In 40 Doodles on Crossword or Amazon today, and get colouring as you experience the rich socio-political and cultural tapestry that adorns the landscape of India.
The official book launch of Around India in 40 doodles with Soha Ali Khan is scheduled on Sunday, 7th August at Crossword Bookstores, Kemps Corner, Mumbai.
-Shreyans Iyer