This was a novel exhibition done by me. 29 paintings were exhibited on the road side by hanging them on the outside wall of the SMV High School in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. The paintings were all done in oil pastels. They were vignettes of Thiruvananthapuram city from the view point of the man on the street. Mainly they comprised the fishmongers, the vegetable vendors, street hawkers and scenes from the fish and vegetable market.

But as the days progressed, as the shapes and colours flowed into one another, I started to become part of my surroundings, and the common people of the market became my friends. So after 2 months I discovered that I had about 50 paintings and could conduct an exhibition, the street side was the natural choice. And the name ‘Aakri’ means flea market, seemed appropriate. The brochure was hand written on post-cards with small sketches. (I did almost 462 post-cards)

The exhibition was a raving success. Lots of people including my friends from the market came and enjoyed it.