Maximum City, in sketches: These city scenes by two Mumbai artists will fill you with nostalgia

It took a visit to Bhaucha Dhakka, the ferry wharf in Mazgaon, for city-based illustrator Rahul Patil to rediscover and reignite his desire to make illustrations about Mumbai. It was something he hadn't been able to do because of an artist's eternal struggle to find an interesting theme. "I was inspired by the colourful Koli people selling fish at the ferry wharf," he explains. "The idea to draw them brewed in my head for a while and I hunted down some photos as references to draw a Koli lady. It was the first illustration I created."

Realising the potential in creating a series of illustrations, as they tend to do better on social media compared to a single post, Patil asked his followers about whom he could draw next and it immediately turned into - the people who are spotted on Mumbai's streets. "This resulted in a series of 10 illustrations that were received extremely well by my fans and also helped me find new people interested in my work," adds the artist, some of whose popular posts were liked more than 8,000 times.

The city of Mumbai has been a muse of many artists for many decades now, in different forms. While showcasing the city, tourist attractions such as Marine Drive and Gateway of India always end up stealing the limelight. These ‘iconic landmarks' often end up pushing other elements of the city into the background, even though they are the very essence of the city.

Rahul Patil has created a series of 10 illustrations which include the familiar golawalla, and flute player and seller. Photo Courtesy: Rahul Patil

Rediscovering Mumbai
Patil is one of two city artists, we discovered, who have recently combined their love for the metropolis and art to explore the subjects that are intrinsic in making Mumbai what it really is. Their illustrations are like a breath of fresh air, going beyond commonly known tourist attractions.

After the Kanjurmarg resident spotted the Koli women in their colourful saris and personalities and started the series, it did not take long for him to start digging around to find many other interesting people on the city's streets. These included some that Patil had seen since his childhood like the vada pav seller, the flute player and seller, cotton traders and more - each of whom is always accompanied by a happy dog or cat. Now, he has created 10 illustrations as a part of the series and doesn't plan on continuing it but that is only because he likes to explore new illustration styles.

However, this experience has brought about a change that even he may have not expected. The 34-year-old explains, "I am definitely going to create more illustrations about Mumbai as now my focus has shifted to the old historic buildings of Mumbai and the stories that need to be told about them." Even though he has always been a Mumbaikar, it was through this series that the city illustrator realised that Mumbai has such a rich history. "I barely knew anything about (city history) until I started researching in the past few months. It has helped me build a much stronger connection with the city I live in," he expresses.


Patil launched his series after noticing the colourful personalities of Koli women at Bhaucha Dhakka, while Vora was inspired by The New Yorker covers. Photo: Rahul Patil/Rachita Vora

Now that the city's architecture is definitely on the cards, he does not intend to stop there with it. "Things like how the great plague resulted in the start of planning of the city that we know today or why the area in front of the Town Hall used to be the original Cotton Green. Who knows it might even end up in an illustrated book that I decide to self-publish as I love creating personal projects," says a hopeful Patil. While a book may be on the cards, ask the illustrator if he plans to exhibit them in an art gallery in the city, and he says no, as he is primarily a digital artist. However, if the opportunity arises, he is definitely going to think about it. "Gone are the days when one needed to request the gatekeepers of art galleries to feature oneself to reach a larger audience. With the rise of social media in the last decade, I believe that today one can have a lot more reach if used correctly," he explains.

Mumbai as the cover story
Another city-based illustrator Rachita Vora is doing her own version of the iconic cover of ‘The New Yorker', the weekly American magazine. The uncanny resemblance would make any viewer think of it as the original magazine at first glance, except it reads ‘The Mumbaikar'. Vora began working on the series as a personal project. "It pays tribute to Mumbai and is an homage to the iconic magazine covers of ‘The New Yorker.' I've lived in both cities - Mumbai and New York - and to me, in so many ways they are more similar than they are different," she explains.

Vora, like Patil, believes in showcasing the true essence of Mumbai as she wanted to try and capture moments and sides of the city that one won't find on a postcard or tourist souvenir. "No Gateway of India, no auto rickshaws, no Rajabai Tower. I wanted to depict aspects that would resonate with a Mumbaikar," adds the illustrator, whose series has been received well by people with over 3,000 likes in a short time.

As a part of 'The Mumbaikar' series, Vora has depicted the chaatwalla on Mumbai's beaches and the crowded local trains, among others. Photo: Rachita Vora

She found it was ideal to borrow the font type of the magazine cover for the play on the words for the Mumbai version. While the font and the artwork seem to attract one's attention to Vora's series, it is not all about that for the artist. "It is more about the idea that I have in mind and how to do it justice in the art. I also like to challenge myself by experimenting with different styles. I did this with The Mumbaikar series, in which I tried to capture a feeling or a memory," she explains. While she also chose the subjects because of her own connection and history with the city, the artist says, she also simply wanted to have fun with it. Her covers feature the city at night, a view of the local trains, the art deco buildings, the experience of eating chaat at the beach and the Dadar flower market too.

It is no surprise then that the artworks have been received very well by Mumbaikars not only in the city but also those living around the world, who have asked for prints. The response has made her think of continuing the series, which was earlier limited to eight illustrations only, and she will now be releasing them in larger sizes too. "I've received a number of unexpected and incredible ideas from people for what I should illustrate next - sandwichwallas, BEST buses, Irani cafes, the ‘champi' guys on Carter Road, tetrapods, the list goes on. I'd like to illustrate some of these. Plus, there's no way in which a Mumbaikar's experience of the city can be captured in just eight visuals," says the illustrator excitedly.

The ideas are also very similar to what Vora sees because she believes that Mumbai runs because of the many informal workers - domestic staff, delivery people, street food vendors, vegetable sellers, dabbawallas, construction labourers and sanitation workers among many others.

While nostalgia has made Vora continue her series, it has been a road of rediscovery for Patil that highlights how Mumbai is buzzing not around the main streets and landmarks but in the by-lanes.

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