Scouting around the various stalls at the Rajasthan Bhawan, one comes across an unassuming man who is bent over white sheets and holds a black pen in hand. While behind him are numerous frames holding quintessential Rajasthani art work, he chooses to draw something completely different. Meet John from Jaipur, who chooses to draw in one go and by that we mean his sketches are put together in one stroke with the nib never being lifted. "I have a record of sorts drawing sketches in less than 15 seconds," informs John who sits behind one of the counters at the ongoing Rajasthan Bhawan in Sector 33 and he's happy to show you his skill. Taking a plain white art sheet he picks up a sketch pen which has a feather attached to it. The next few seconds see John move the pen and his hand across the sheet furiously without even once lifting his pen or hand. The result is an array of birds in flight with just a thin line stringing them together. "I am inspired by nature and if you notice, it forms a major part of my work," mentions the artist, who has in the past exhibited at many places. "There's one on in Delhi as we speak," mentions John, who is self-taught when it comes to one-stroke art. "Sadly not many people understand the skill behind it. The difficult part is that there's no room for error as you can't lift the pen," explains the artist as we notice a collection of crows telling a story in one canvas to an elephant in black on the other. "One has to imagine the concept and story before putting it across on the sheet," John smiles as he picks up the pen once again to showcase his skill to a group of eager bystanders. Sketch on!
