CHENNAI: There must barely be a soul alive who has not resorted to scribbling in a notebook when classes got too boring and Slumberland beckoned seductively. Stifling a yawn while mathematical equations and world maps were unleashed onto our sleepy minds would have certainly brought on sharp rebukes if scribbling had not rescued us back then.
This unfocused scribbling, often done absentmindedly and termed doodling, is very different from drawing. While drawing is an organised activity, doodling is a carefree way of expressing oneself playfully with no conditions whatsoever. The only prerequisite is a wild imagination!
Doodling dates back almost 500,000 years — not surprising, as humans have always desired to communicate their stories long before language ever took form. Our ancestors scribbled on caves to keep a record of their existence. The first doodle was a zig-zag line, and the first animal doodle was a pig drawn on cave walls by prehistoric men.
A recent excavation in Egypt revealed scribbles by Egyptian tomb-makers that narrated tales of life in ancient Egyptian society. The manuscripts of monks from the Middle Ages revealed doodles along their borders — proof that even monks could not resist this temptation!
In the 15th century, writing was a more laborious process than it is now, involving dipping a quill in ink constantly and not very conducive to doodling. The invention of the fountain pen changed that. In the 19th century, pencils were expensive, and with the outbreak of World War II, manufacturing was stopped as wood and lead were needed for war efforts. The wood was then replaced with red cedar, which made pencils affordable, creating many more avid doodlers.
History has a fair share of renowned people who succumbed to the charms of doodling. Leonardo da Vinci may be famous for his iconic Mona Lisa, but in the margins of the notebooks he left behind, the Italian artist doodled mechanical inventions that were far ahead of his time. The Queen of Prussia in 1795, was fond of doodling, while Alexander Pushkin and Rabindranath Tagore, both famous poets, are known to have filled their notebooks with doodles.
Many important meetings witnessed US Presidents, Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton indulging in doodling. When Google introduced doodles, it immediately brought a cheer to the otherwise dull search page. What started when the Google founders placed a stick figure behind the second O in the Google logo in 1998 to indicate that they were out, soon became a practice of decorating the logo to celebrate a range of important days.
India is home to many brilliant doodle artists. Doodles by Mansha brings a smile with her colourful images while Neha Doodles tackles serious social issues through her funny doodles. Doodle Daftar by Ranjana Singhal, a restaurateur by profession, sells merchandise like bags and badges with her doodle art on them. Child-like with quirky texts, her products have become much sought after.
And so, as we go about our harried lives, why not de-stress by just picking up that pen and doodling, unbound by rules? For art does not always call for an artist!
(Jitha Karthikeyan is an artist and curator, passionate about making art accessible to the larger public)
jithakarthikeyan2@gmail.com