Photos and sketchnotes of my trip in India

This article was originally published in the Sketchnote Army blog on 25 April 2016.

I prepared well in advance all practical details of this solo trip to India, like visa, vaccines, drugs, itinerary, hotels, etc.  My goal was a journey which makes me grow internally rather than only enjoy the visit to tourist places. Therefore I also prepared myself to accept the unexpected as part of the journey. See my sketchnotes one month before leaving about that.

I also prepared carefully my material for photography and for sketchnotes. Considering my desire to travel light, I chose the essentials only. One notebook, 3 black markers (0.2, 0.5, 0.8), one marker for shadows, my favourite black pencil, a set of Faber-Castell watercolour pencils, an eraser and a pencil sharpener. All these preparations turned out to be what I’ve had need, no more no less.

Sketchnotes from India - my itinerary

One thing only did not go as I had imagined it: sketchnoting on place! Before leaving I planned to sketch during the day and every evening what I’ve seen, learnt and experienced during that day. This plan was based on wrong assumptions; that I would have had the availability, the right conditions and the proper mental state. I was immediately faced to a different reality.

Delhi - Pahar Ganj area

My first days were very intense with a tour by car (with a driver with me). I visited many cities and beautiful sites on the pre-established itinerary from Delhi to Jaipur, then Agra, then Delhi again.

On a rickshaw in HaridwarBetween Jaipur and Fatehpur Sikri

See the photos and the sketchnotes. During these days I changed the itinerary on the spot from time to time to follow my intuition or my driver’s advices.

Sketchnotes - The art of driving in India

Taking notes in the car while traveling was quickly discarded due to the mad Indian traffic or due to the bad road conditions. I was only able to write down keywords and some signs on the corner of my pages. At night, after a shower and a good vegetarian dinner (in different places every night) I was so exhausted that I felt unable to take decent notes or to draw. I still was thinking about my second week to do that correctly.

Sketchnotes from India - Along the road

After the tour by car, I left my driver in Delhi and, alone, continued my trip by train, towards the north. Well, I finally managed to start to fill in some pages in the train. It’s worth to mention that this was possible only because this train offered me good conditions to do it. This was far to be the case in the train on return one week later.

Sketchnotes from India - From Jaipur to Agra

During my stay in Haridwar and in Rishikesh I was again faced to the same difficulties to take notes. Traveling by bus, tuk tuk or rickshaw is worse than by car. But I continued writing down keywords and signs, many signs, on another small notebook that I bought locally. Then I arrived in the Phool Chatti ashram, a heaven on earth, for a retreat of one week. I was expecting to have time to sketch, to write, to draw. Again, wrong assumptions… The daily schedule of the ashram was intense; see one of my sketchnotes on it.

Sketchnotes from India - program of the day in the Phool Chatti ashram, north of Rishikesh

I also spent the free time of my first days washing my dirty clothes. I had the opportunity to work on my sketchnotes in the last days of my stay but in the meantime I continued with keywords and signs on the small notebook.

Sketchnotes from India - Some sacred symbols in India

The drawings of the meditative walks are the only pieces that I did on the moment while I was on the place. The watercolor on the banks of the Ganges river is even done with water from the river itself.

Sketchnotes from India - Meditative walks in Phool Chatti ashram, north of Rishikesh

My take-aways from this experience concerning sketchnoting:

  • Never plan in advance too much, be flexible and ready for the unexpected
  • Related to the previous point, and really linked to me: Put aside beauty and draw like it comes naturally on the moment
  • In case of lack of time or for any other reason, quickly write down a maximum of information on the spot, can be keywords or simple signs that will remember you what was your idea, your feelings, your impressions, the colours, etc [I use these technique when I practice live graphic harvesting at work during events]
  • When visiting, especially in crowd and choppy conditions, just take with you a small blocnote and a pencil. Leave other material in the car or in the room, they will be useless and they only risk to distract you from the essentials
  • Photography is also helpful to remember later what was seen to draw it

Last but not least, the best feedback I received on my return after I published my photos and my sketchnotes is about the latter. People told me that they were able to perceive more my emotions through the sketchnotes than through photos. Another proof of the power of handmade sketchnotes.

Namaste,

Claudio


In the original article on Sketchnotes Army, my friend Mauro added this part at the bottom:

You can see the whole bunch of sketchnotes and photos here:

Sketchnotes from India
Photos from India
All sketchnotes and drawings

I’m speechless Claudio! But there is one more of your sketchnotes I want to add to your story.

For our readers: Claudio live and work in Brussels.

Sketchnotes from India - How I lived Brussels terrorist attacks at 7500 km distance

Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this story with us, Claudio!

Namaste

– Mauro

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My first blog post

My first blog post is about my trip in India in March 2016.

I prepared the trip alone and travelled solo. This means that my journey began months before the real departure. My “One month before” sketchnotes and transcript:

India: First post

In exactly one month I will travel to India. I prepare this journey, and myself, since months. I think about it since years. Looking back I certainly think unconsciously about this journey since my twenties at the times of my stays in Taizé and in the San Masseo community in Assisi.
Since the first days it was clear to me that India would not be only a tourist destination. Not only wonderful landscapes, amazing colours, unknown perfumes, beautiful palaces and mosques, ancestral cultures, and interesting people to meet. Not only that. India represents to me a spiritual universe to which I feel attracted. I feel that India is one of the places where I can deepen my quest of who I am, why I am here and now, and many other questions on the purpose of life and of my interactions within my daily eco-system.
As I said to my family and to friends, I’m not going there to convert me to another religion or to follow a spiritual movement. I want to be there because India is the cradle of ancestral spirituality/ies and because people are still strongly connected to them.
My journey is my quest. India is one element of both of them. India is not the destination. The unexpected can happen. I’ll not be disillusioned nor disappointed. I’m ready for the unexpected because what will happen is what has to happen in my journey.
Namaste

 

I can finish this first blog post with same conclusion: “What will happen is what has to happen in my journey with this blog“.

See all pictures and other sketchnotes of my travel in India.

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