An artist visited Cafe Sol today

I received a call from Hira - our weekend morning barista - about an artist at the cafe. He lugged in a large piece of artwork of his own making, with the hope of selling it to us. I was not available at the cafe at the time, so he simply left his piece for me to examine and potentially purchase it.

When I saw, I was floored. A hand-sketched picture of what appears to be old Anarkali bazaar and Lohari gate. The detail is exquisite. One could almost gaze in and read the prices of the hanging bunches at the fruit stalls. The marketplace is teeming with people, as it’s supposed to be.

The technical mastery behind the artwork is easy to see. In the hands of a lesser artist, it would’ve been very easy for the picture to become an unsightly tangle of squiggly lines. It takes incredible skill to draw the outer boundary of a stall, a child, and the lines on the cobblestone floor, within a centimeter of one while retaining their individuality.

This is the work of a wandering artist who occasionally displays his works at The Riviera, either outside Meseta or Sol. The Anarkali Bazaar might be his most elaborate work yet.

It’s unfortunate that I’m unable to purchase this masterpiece due to personal budget restraints. It’s also not possible to acquire this artwork for Sol or iO - The Space, as it would be thematically incongruous.

What do you think about the painting? If anyone is interested in purchasing it and finding it a new home, it could be a sound investment. Let us know!