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The painter, brush in hand, paused for a moment, looking at the surface of the white washed wall. As though trying to summon from some lost place the finished picture he had yet to paint. He had doodled a sketch on a few inches of stone ledge he was squatting on then stood up and drew two small circles on the wall. The painting had begun. Working with a small brush and a terra cotta wash of color he began sketching in the large figure of the demon constantly changing, modifying his line. Only one did he step back to view from a distance his progress. It was beginning to get dark and he wanted to finish the painting tonight, fortunately the location of the wall was near a street-light. The sketch was done quickly the large head of the demon on the left, his open mouth extending a huge tongue with a tiny figure of Hanuman on it. Balancing the composition on the right a large bold full-length figure of Hanuman. Next he painted a red tempera over the body of the monkey [ILLEGIBLE] and the tongue and eyes of a demon. Building up of flat planes of color, later to be shaded with dry brush and finished by an outline of black. This is formal painting.

The contents illustrate a scene from a religious legend in which stock figures appear in accepted iconography in traditional compositions. The variables being the wall space (size and placement) and the painter. The quality of the work also depends on the amount of time the painter takes, whether he has another job, for which he does not receive much money (about ten rupees a day) and on which he must

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support his family. It is a caste occupation passed from father to son, not very highly considered in Indian society. It is a fictional art, commissioned for a religious celebration or a social (weddings mostly) event.

Sept 9, 70

Dry tempera is mixed with a binder in a clay cup and ground with one finger then water is added.

Girls here also play with dolls. And the biggest ritual they act out is a marriage ceremony, preparing elaborate play feasts and gifts for the doll bride and groom. Children's games are a small mirror focused on adult mores.

"To philosophize is only another way of being afraid and leads hardly anywhere but to cowardly make-believe."

Celine - Journey to End of Night p 180

The dazzling light of sun which enrages the city's streets during the day is countered in the dim illumination provided at night. The average Indian home being lit by one 40 watt bulb per room, powered by a wavering electrical current which reduces its effectiveness to about 20 watts. In those thick-walled, dark, barred windowed homes the citizens move in a pervading gloom while the streets are largely surrendered to darkness. The lane is black and one must maneuver over the bricks of different levels, hoping to be able to miss the large plops of cow shit and the open liquid drains by the side, or the garbage tossed out of windows for the animals, and then around the two cows who lay horizontally across the way, leaving a path of about twelve inches between hind haunch and wall, past the small temple, fumble for the latch of your door, bang it against the wood and shout "Ma." Mother is asleep and you must bang and shout several times, your noise super-penetrating the fitful sleep of neighbors before she rouses herself to answer. [Note: One encounters a great deal of eye disease in India. The streets are full of people with sores on their eyes, black eyes, cross eyes, eyes dripping with puss. Improper diet, improper care, the daily blinding sun, and dingy night take their toll.]

Sept 12, 70