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For City Explorers
Delhi Sketch-Book

  "I think it was the sheer size of this large Indian city, and then the otherness of the visible structure and society compared to here that initially blew my mind,’ says Barbara Yelin, recalling her stay in New Delhi, a city she travelled to for a week in late 2012 at the invitation of the Goethe-Institut. ‘It was only later that I started to pay attention to details, to perceive passers-by and the people I had met as individuals. Colours and smells are unimaginably intense, as described in every guidebook."


Extracts from "Delhi Sketch-Book":

Delhi Sketch-Book Delhi Sketch-Book © Barbara Yelin


About the artist Barbara Yelin:

Barbara Yelin

She has drawn for the Frankfurter Rundschau and the Tagesspiegel, publishes books and conducts workshops all over the world. Barbara Yelin is one of the best German-language comic artists.
 


Travelpedia: New Delhi

  • Delhi Scetch-Book Auto © Barbara Yelin (Detail)
    Tuk Tuk, auto rickshaw or just rickshaw: The green-and-yellow runabouts are indispensable parts of Delhi's cityscape. Even if the pressure of the cheap Uber competition is getting bigger, the chugging manoeuvrable Kleintaxis brave. Officially equipped with taximeters, the price is usually negotiated individually with the driver. Cars are steered (speak Otto) almost exclusively by men. Incidentally, Sunita Chaudhary became known as the first female driver among about 60,000 male colleagues in Delhi.
  • Delhi Scetch-Book Metro © Barbara Yelin (Detail)
    Stress-free, safe, clean: The Delhi Metro is the convenient alternative to get quickly and cheaply from A to B in the mega-city. The well-developed route network opens up the city in a pleasant way. For women there is an extra compartment. The stations are well organized, the trains are air conditioned.
  • Delhi Scetch-Book Loads © Barbara Yelin
    Full, full, full: The loading of mopeds, bicycles, trailers, carts and other companions often sounds crazy in Delhi. Everything is stacked, bound, laced, lied: gas bottles, milk bottles, fruits and vegetables, animals, household goods - there is nothing that is not wobbled through the streets. Maximum weights or statutory dimensions? Is not there apparently...
  • Delhi Scetch-Book Jalebi © Barbara Yelin (Detail)
    Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, sticky syrup comes out with every bite: Jalebi are deep-fried crinkles, dipped in warm sugar syrup, which is usually flavored with cardamom or saffron. Really Indian, the oily, super-sweet delicacy is not: It was introduced by Persians in 1450.

Jonas Engelmann on Delhi Sketch-Book

Some of the drawings give one the impression of the artist trying to organise her amazement, confusion and exasperation, the chaos of a street scene continuing in the form of cables and washing lines over the heads of countless people."

Review


More Comics for city explorers

Tim Dinter: Museumsquartett | Kunstmuseum Basel © Tim Dinter (Detail)

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Travelling to Basel as a member of Monogatari in the 1990s, Tim Dinter is used to fast-paced Berlin. In Basel, he visits museums.

toronto_yelin_2016 detail Multikulti. © Barbara Yelin (Ausschnitt)

"Über Unterwegs"

In "Über Unterwegs: Cosmopolis", Barbara Yelin describes how the radius of life widens. She shows downtown's skyscrapers in twelve pictures - and points out that fewer than 2,000 buildings are still particularly tall there. Yelin shows Niagara Falls - and, next to it: the bizarre casinos, wax museum and the honeymoon kitsch 500 meters into town.

Reinhard Kleist: Havanna. A cuban journey © Reinhard Kleist (Detail)

"Havanna"

In 2008, the German graphic artist, Reinhard Kleist, spent a few weeks in Cuba researching his graphic novel on Fidel Castro. In the process, he also produced a multifaceted travelogue with drawings and sketches.


More about Graphic Travelogues

Graphic Travelogues Graphik: Dominik Wendland © Goethe-Institut New Delhi

About the artists

Learn more about our well-known artists, including Barbara Yelin, Reinhard Kleist and Sarnath Banerjee. All with proven comic expertise and sometimes with more, sometimes with less travel experience in the respective country.
 

Graphic Travelogues Graphik: Dominik Wendland © Goethe-Institut New Delhi

About Graphic Travelogues

Graphic Travelogues presents travel experiences by comic artists from different countries, illuminates and identifies recurring topics. From sketches to graphic novels, graphic diaries and travel drawings, we collect treasures here and question concepts and motivations, techniques and experiences.

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