The Lure of Coffee

My earliest  memories were those of having coffee with my father on lazy Sunday afternoons.He would call me around 12.30 pm to take a break from my studies and join him for a cuppa. He had this electric coffee percolator where one could see the water boiling and bubbling at the top through the glass lid and I found it absolutely magical! I did not understand much about coffee then but what I did enjoy was the warm cosy feeling of chit chatting with my dad over a much awaited cup of coffee , my Holy Grail .

Cut to adulthood and here I am—still do not understand much about coffee , but the association it has with a warm fuzzy feeling of camaraderie with friends, the bonding session with teammates , the so called ‘adda’ in Bengali , has me craving for coffee in the most unlikeliest of places. With Kolkata fast emerging as a hub for cafe culture, with quaint and eclectic coffee shops mushrooming in every corner of the city , I see it as an excuse to visit these cafes with their quirky decor and the tantalising aroma of freshly brewed coffee . Nothing gives me more pleasure than to sit down with my art journal , my sketching tools and the comforting steaming cup next to me while I sketch to my heart’s content .

Here are some of my sketches. I like to experiment with all kinds of media but my preferred medium is pen and ink and watercolours .

Raka Mittra is an artist and art instructor based in Kolkata,India. She is a member of Urban Sketchers Kolkata. You can see more of her sketches and paintings on her Instagram page, Raks1968.

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