Don't break it until you can fix it.

I'm sorry for the mushy-melancholic theme of today's comic (can you still call it a comic if it were sad?). Just to be clear, that's not my particular shark missing a fin. It represents any shark.

What if they designed fins for sharks like that kid did a tail for the dragon in "How to train your dragon?". Of course, it wouldn't then be okay to continue to fin the sharks and just get them artificial replacements. 

I'd done a few "Stop finning" sketches in case people want to use them and this was one of them. We'll resume the regular silly posts soon. 

Evolution of the species as observed by The Shark

This was originally going to be the Evolution poster by itself and then I thought the dialogue between the cockroach and shark would be a pretty funny addition. I seem to have missed out a few characters! I should probably do a stand-alone poster and include the rest of my characters.

If evolution is supposed to make a species better than it was, humans should see if they could become more shark-ish. Why aim to be like those awful monkeys?  (or is it the other way around?). That would be kind of cool - as long as the primitive (un-evolved) humans don't start chopping up our limbs for soup. 

"Thank you" to my 500 (and counting) fans!

I had actually drawn this out when I was 14 fans short of 400 and as usual I procrastinated. Who would've thought I'd reach 500 fans? I'm so thankful to everyone single one of you who like my Facebook page. This seemed like good post to mark the 500 milestone. Imagine how grateful I'd be if I had a thousand fans!
Notice how my sketches can't seem to decide what shade or pencil stroke to go with. It's terrible how I play around with them and post them whichever way they turn out, isn't it?  I'm trying to find a good pencil look (because I do miss the old fashioned ones) to stick with and also an inked+colour version but if I'm lucky enough to get a decent looking output, I stop before I ruin it completely.
Anyway, thanks again, you guys!

Colourful Chennai Stories

I did these sketches for a friend to help with her non-profit project. I was asked to portray India (Chennai, in particular) in my own creative way. I had no idea where to start but luckily my friend mentioned the heat, the autorickshaws and the monsoon season. I'm not a particularly patriotic (I would rather not spit/piss on my country than protest evil culture-destroying things like coca-cola) person but I felt a tiny bit fonder of this city by the end of my post.

It is crazier than usual in Madras (that's how some still refer to Chennai) during the rains. I ventured out once on a particularly bad night praying I don't drive my car into one of our giant man-holes or open sewers. Turns out, I only do that when it isn't raining and everything is perfectly visible.

The Autorickshaw experience in Madras is not entirely fun because bargaining with the driver usually changes your mood from excited to foul. There's something that resembles a fare meter in all autos but don't be fooled - they're just ornamental. Most auto drivers drive like they're in "Whacky races". The day we watched "Herbie fully loaded", we suspected that our driver had watched it too because he was like Speed Racer on Redbull.

Then there's the summer heat. I spent every summer while growing up in Madras. It was never as bad as it is these past few years. The tall apartment buildings probably block the sea breeze and the excess use of air-conditioners & refrigerators probably add to the heat - it can only get worse. It doesn't stop anyone from being out and about - I'm starting to think nothing can stop people from being out and crowding up every single spot in the city.

Having said all that, Madras is my favourite city in India. Many will roll their eyes and be like "Chennai?? it's not as cool as Bombay or Bangalore! Nothing good ever comes to Chennai!". They should all just move to the above said cities, right? I think Madras has a great balance of tradition, modernity and uniqueness. It's safe (compared to most cities in North India or so I've heard) and I suppose we have many resources that we take for granted.
Despite my angst at autodrivers, I've come across my share of honest ones who drive back all the way to return forgotten mobile phones or laptops. The monsoon rains are awesome to watch while sitting in your veranda and drinking tea. And the heat...well, it just makes cool things a lot cooler.