Doodles

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

walking the line.. doodles

disclaimer: by definition, a doodle means "scribble absent-mindedly".. while all of below needs attention to detail, yet, the article is titled "doodles" for no, yet many reasons..

the way Indian cities are planned, most of you will agree, rather all of you must agree that it's not easy to create an art here.. but 💭, what has planning of cities to do with any art form.. let me take that..

urban contours as an art form (slightly bonkers)

imagine your daily walking 🚶‍♂️ not just as exercise, but as an act of pure, unadulterated artistic genius.. what if your very own footsteps could become the lines of an intricate drawing, etched onto the digital canvas? 💡.. yes, when contour drawing with a pen, in itself is not easy, doing it with your legs, without lifting the metaphorical pen, is another beast entirely.. you'd be surprised, how tricky it is to "draw" a 6-pointed star, but 5 or 7 pointers are walk in the park..

doodle #10, 5-pointed star ⭐

the whole of phenomenon transforms urban landscapes and open grounds into dynamic canvases, and our movement is nothing less than painting a masterpiece.. the same sweaty, huffing, sometimes-dodging-a-scooter movement can very much put that missing cherry on your cake 🍰..

doodle #24, छावा 🚩

the core principle is wonderfully simple, if not a little off-the-wall - analogous to an artist rendering the outline of an object without lifting his pen from the paper, the objective here is toward completing a recognizable form through continuous locomotion 👣 tracked over a GPS signal.. it's a performance art, but with more steps and less critical acclaim, unless handful of kudos are something to account for..

doodle #1, जिरेटोप 

the urban canvas - shapes in motion (and occasional panic)

the possibilities for shapes are as endless as one's ☕ caffeine-fueled imagination (or चाय)..

a pyramid 🔺, with its sharp angles and defined edges, demanding the precision of a Swiss watchmaker..

doodle #16, pyramid

a 6-pointed star ⭐ and a cube inside a triangle - with their interlocking lines, required careful planning and execution.. messing up with a point led to some manipulations - no point in throwing away the entire canvas for those silly ones..

doodle #12, a 6-pointed star

doodle #4, 3D ◼️ inside 2D 🔺

a paper plane ✈️, soaring (or, more likely, meandering) across the map, evoking a sense of freedom..

doodle #3, paper plane #1

doodle #6, paper plane #2 🛩️

crafting a "G+D" logo on its anniversary 🎈 adding a bespoke touch..

doodle #25, G+D logo

and for the intrepid 🔮 Harry Potter fan, a frustrating endeavour into never making, but just attempting the perfect circle from the deathly hallows symbol on an open ground or otherwise.. those perfectly round shapes can be deceptively difficult to maintain with a GPS signal and two feet.. less of an "Elder Wand" 🪄 and more of an "Elder Wobble"..

doodle #22, deathly hallows #2

our national flag 🇮🇳, with its iconic tricolor and Ashoka chakra, presenting a truly rewarding challenge, needed meticulous movement to capture its distinct features..

doodle #21, स्वदेस

doodle #21, 🇮🇳

Strava - the artistic medium (and alibi)

the popular most social platform for fitness enthusiasts, helping also as the digital sketchbook.. the "no lifting the pen" rule translates to continuous recording of the activity.. however, the real world is rarely as accommodating as a blank sheet of paper.. that's where strategic pauses and restarts ⏯️ come into play - a secret weapon against architectural insolence.. Potter fans will immediately relate to it as "teleporting"..

a particularly strange kind of art, blending geometry and improvisation, only because Google Maps can play a prankster and lies white about existence of a path 😢.. when a desired straight line is obstructed by uninvited plot twists - a building, a fence, or an unnavigable terrain, say, a particularly aggressive street vendor, the activity is simply paused.. then, it's required to relocate selves to the point where the line would logically continue, and then, the activity is resumed..

doodle #17, I'mpossible Triangle 📐

using the shortcoming of the App, where it is known at draw straight lines, for a lost GPS signal, unconventionally serves as a blessing in disguise 🥸.. using to the advantage, clean and unbroken lines even when physical obstacles dictate a detour, suddenly start resonating with the reality.. isn't this equivalent of an artist carefully repositioning his hand for / on the canvas?.. only here, the canvas is literally "the Earth" and the hand is "our entire body"..

yet in some cases, when the above is realized as impossible, we can do nothing more than accepting the hard reality of this doodling being inherently dynamic, subjected to the unpredictable nature of the environment, subtly altering the intended shape.. an unforeseen construction site might force a deviation or a sudden encounter with barking dogs 🐕 might lead to a point of a no return.. these "imperfections" are the unique signatures of a lived creation, adding the layer of authenticity that any cloning activity is always a bit more chaotic than how it sounds like, during take 1..

doodle #13, Sinhgad ⛰️

doodle #19, Sinhgad ⛰️ #2

another challenge is arguing with a compass 🧭 that has commitment issues.. standing at the same point at two different intervals is a punishable offence.. the satellites just refuse to overlap the earlier signal..

if not attentive enough, one minute you're headed north, the next minute, you're off 90° because you blinked and took a wrong turn 🤦‍♂️ on कुमठेकर road..

doodle #2, पुणे

beyond the shape - the art of the journey (and the sore calves)

despite all the detours, barking interruptions, and GPS hiccups, there’s a joy in looking at the final route and thinking, "Yep, that’s almost a pyramid!" 😇 It’s not about perfection - it’s about play.. and patience.. along with encountering strange looks, "why you need to walk with so much of screen time?"..

it’s walking with intention.. drawing with motion.. failing creatively, and often.. above all, every completed shape is not just a drawing, but also a sweaty epic of GPS co-ordinates - a tangible, undeniable record of the performance..

doodle #25, कर्मभूमी

so, here’s to walking artfully.. to pausing like a sneaky magician, and resuming it as if nothing happened.. to zigzagging through life with a shape in mind and reality underfoot.. and to every squiggly line that wasn’t meant to be - but somehow, still is 😎..

when you find youself walking next, consider the artistic potential.. choose a shape, and start tracing its lines.. you might just discover a whole new way to see and interact with the world around you..

some legends from this field,

Peter 🇳🇿, https://strava.app.link/Dt3kI4hMQTb

Gustavo 🇧🇷, https://strava.app.link/slPi5HgMQTb

Duncan 🇨🇦, https://strava.app.link/7gIdbKdMQTb

Duncan's 🙇‍♂️ out of the box 🫡