'My sketches are 60 per cent accurate'

My first sketch was almost at gunpointrdquo 47 yearold Nitin Yadav a sketch artist for the Mumbai Police for the past 20 years tells me in a hoarse voice when I visit him on a hot Tuesday afternoon I am sitting at his home in Sable Chawl in Kurla u00a0Sunlight and a warm breeze fill the airy rectangular room which has a mantle dedicated to trophies of all sizes A fourfeet painting of Shivaji adorns the wall behind me and I turn around to take a closer look Nitin Yadav with his drawing book that comprises u00a030 different sketches of skull shapes 75 hairstyles 22 shapes of nose and 21 side profiles This book comes in handy for him when the witnesses or victims are unable to describe the accused accuratelyu00a0 PICs Sayed Sameer Abedi ldquoI painted it 10 years agordquo Yadav says His eyes start twinkling as he begins to narrate his story He had just returned home after a long dayrsquos work as a drawing teacher when he found two cops from Kurla police station waiting for him at his doorstep No questions answered they took him to the chowkie gave him a crisp sheet of white paper a pointed pencil eraser and one command mdash draw the sketch of a chain snatcher His eyes fell on a lanky scared victim who had seen just a glimpse of the robberrsquos face waiting to give his statement Twentyfive years on he has helped the Mumbai Police nab 150 criminals The Kurla resident lives with his 65 yearold mother 36 yearold wife Vaishali and two kids mdash 17 yearold Pratik and 11 yearold Bhakti A drawing teacher at Chembur Education Society Primary School and parttime teacher at Comprehensive Ded College today the student of JJ School of Arts gets at least three lsquorequestsrsquo for a police sketch a day ldquoI wanted to be a drawing teacher or a policeman Now I consider myself a parttime policemanrdquo says Yadav whose favourite subject was psychology With an interest in art his desire to be a cop and his favourite subject as psychology this seems to be his dream job He sits on his chair with a graycoloured plastic suitcase which has all the sketches that he has drawn over the last five years ldquoIf I stored my work of 20 years I would need a cupboardrdquo says Yadav One after the other he produces drawings of local gang members petty thieves and kidnappers There is a sketch of an accused in the 2010 German Bakery bomb blast case and the woman who was nabbed for stealing babies in March this year among others There is also a drawing of the courtroom scene of the Ajmal Qasab trial ldquoIn 2008 when photographers were not allowed inside the courtroom I drew this for a local newspaper The journalist described the entire scene and I translated it on paper All the while his wife sits in a corner alert to notice that the coffee has gone cold and promptly dashes to the kitchen to heat it More than once she ends a sentence that Yadav has begun as he gives her a knowing nod She almost blushes with pride when he pulls out the recognition certificate that the Mumbai Police has awarded him Yadav begins every portrait with a silent prayer to Swami Samartha Maharaj and Sai Baba ldquoI donrsquot sketch anything It just comes naturally to merdquo he says Over the last two decades Yadav has never accepted any money for his service ldquoIn the past five years the police officials have been forcibly giving me a lumpsum amount which I tell them to put in the donation box in a temple at the chawlrdquo he adds Testing times I decided it was time to put him to test I was carrying my colleaguersquos photograph in a file I asked him to draw her sketch based on my description ldquoIs this an exam I usually never draw for the fun of itrdquo he says timidly nervous as he opens his Pandorarsquos box once again this time to remove an empty sheet He also removes two drawing books and hands them to me ldquoI can get a sketch out of a dumb personrdquo he announces flipping open the book that contains at least 30 different sketches of skull shapes 75 hair styles 22 shapes of nose and 21 side profiles ldquoMany a times I do not understand the language of the victims Thatrsquos when these books come in handy I ask the witnesses to visualise the accused Then I draw a sketch using the permutation and combination method wherein I use the witnessrsquo description as well as refer to the booksrdquo he adds removing a bunch of pencils mdash of different leads mdash tied in a red elastic rubber band He cannot find the eraser He turns to his daughter Bhakti and asks her to give him one from her compass box She frowns ldquoAll of us are artists so we share our toolsrdquo he smiles as he wipes the beads of sweat that have formed on his forehead Is it a result of the heat or the anticipation of scoring well in his test I wonder The protocol is clear He asks me a set of questions in order mdash age shape of the face skin tone lsquotabiyatrsquo health eye shape and colour cheeks hair colour and shape jewellery and accessories By now I realise that the tables have turned and itrsquos my turn to give a test His questions get more specific lsquoAre her eyes sad or happy Tej hai Are they radiantrsquo I match a face cut from his book now and then referring to the picture Sometimes it takes him three hours to finish a sketch and most of them are 60 per cent accurate he claims I wonder why he is not sketching but he only listens After I have answered the initial questions he takes a deep breath and begins to draw The tip of the pencil only gently touches the paper leaving a light trace Slowly I see the face coming to life I point out that the cheekbones are high and needs more roundness He uses his fingers to give them a fuller effect More questions follow ldquoWhat type of clothes does she wear Her tshirt has a round neck or collar Does she tie her hair Where does her hair part When I mutter descriptions in monosyllables he says ldquoBol nahi sakte toh mimicry karo mdash kaise chalti hai how does she walk do her shoulders droop etcrdquo Explaining why he needs these details he says ldquoI have developed this skill over the years with practice My questions are more detailed than those that the cops ask I ask about the colour and design on the clothes whether the person had oiled his hair if yes how did it smell What phone was he using did he wear any specific accessory These are things that help the cops nab an accusedrdquo By the end of our 20minute marathon sketch I show him the original photograph He frowns ldquoArre I asked you if her mouth was set deep See then I would have taken the cheeks higher Thankfully the cops donrsquot have to find herrdquo he laughs it off u00a0