E-Paper
This artist is using doodles of Coldplay’s lyrics to invite the band to India
British rock band Coldplay is yet to confirm their India tour. But the Mumbai artist behind a viral doodle tribute is desperate to show them her work
Copywriter Kalyani Nerurkar, 24, was in eighth grade when her sister introduced her to the English band, Coldplay. The first few songs she listened to were Shiver and Yellow (both released in 2000). She describes the experience as “shivers running down my spine”. “I could visualise the songs as bursts of colours. That feeling of just floating through art, time and space as Chris Martin [the band’s front man and lead vocalist] sings, has continued over the years,” says Nerurkar.
So, last week, as rumours of Coldplay’s apparent visit to Mumbai started doing the rounds, Nerurkar started an Instagram series — the Doodling Coldplay Project. The project sees doodles inspired by Coldplay’s classics, including Fix You, Parachutes, and Clocks. With 11 doodles up on her Instagram handle, @doodle_riot, so far, Nerurkar is working on making 20 artworks in all.
An artist at work
A mass media graduate from RD National College, Bandra, Nerurkar worked as a copywriter for Madison, an ad agency in Mumbai. She doodled as a hobby, and says it acts as a stress buster. “It’s like meditation. I doodled on my notes during college, but that was as far as my art went,” says Nerurkar.
In 2013, she worked on an illustration campaign for a retail giant as part of Madison. It was then that she realised her calling. She quit her job three months ago, and is currently making the transition as a freelance doodle artist.
Read: ‘I received lewd comments on Instagram’: 17-year-old graphic artist who sketched feminist goddesses
Even her Instagram account is fairly new — she created it to showcase her work in October 2015. By July 2016, she had 3,000 followers. Her Coldplay doodles have gained her a thousand more followers over last week.
What’s so appealing about the artwork? Nerurkar incorporates the lyrics to each song along with her interpretations. The artwork reads like a poster to sing along to a Coldplay song. For Nerurkar’s artwork, the first draft is often the final product as she doesn’t believe in rough sketches.
The undeterred fan
Has she sent any of her artwork to Coldplay yet? She says she found a fan email address and sent her artwork. Unfortunately, she got a response saying that with the amount of fan mail the band receives on a daily basis, they are unable to personally respond to each one.
Yet, Nerurkar is optimistic. “I will stalk them till they see my work. It has gone fairly viral over the past week, and there are more doodles to come. I am sure they will see it somewhere and respond,” she says.
To view the complete Coldplay Tribute Series, follow Nerurkar on engrave.in/doodle-riot-kalyani-nerukar Instagram: instagram.com/@doodle_riot
