Tiger Murugesh, with a cigarette dangling between his fingers, another tucked under his ear, eyes flirtatious Kaanan Bala, who is perched on the counter of Royal Fantacy Paan Centre. The shop is not a place where just hearts meet. This is where pop culture blends with Indian life. It’s also where Gods and cinema—the two forces which, as artist Nilofer Suleman says, lie at the core of every Indian heart—co-exist. The shop flaunts many posters of Hindi cinema’s romantic couples while a framed image of Ram and Sita hangs amidst stacks of beedi, betel leaves and other paraphernalia.

This image, that has journeyed to Suleman’s canvas from being a regular sight in Kundanahalli, Bangalore, is part of a posse of 15 paintings showcased at the ongoing show Sulemani Chai at Art Musings, Colaba. Given that Suleman is a cartographer and miniature artist, all the details of this quirky slice of an urban village are duly translated on the canvas.

For the 46-year-old artist, inspiration brews next door. Living close to hallis (Bangalore’s equivalent of wadis) for years has acquainted this artist with the details of their idiosyncratic life. The imprints of this gives each of the paintings a story about a world every Indian is familiar with, but with a contemporary touch. The main protagonists are the eternally stunned and naïve Chinnamma and Jayaram while others like lecherous Tiger Murugesh, Kaanan Bala and the rogue Josi Kutti. “I have introduced15 characters who play different roles,” says the Bangalore-based artist. All have wide-set eyes, unibrows and wear colourful flip-flops and flowery clothes.

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