Another year, another calendar. I’m so glad to announce that my 2024 calendar is now ready and up for sale! 🙂 I almost didn’t make one this year… but then I did. It features comics about plants and trees (of course), slowing down, and finding purpose.
Worth mentioning that the printing company I work with has eliminated plastic from their packaging and now use biodegradable paper, woohoo!
A friend of mine offered to take some pictures of the calendar for the website. In an incredible coincidence, a butterfly landed on the very page that features a butterfly! Isn’t that incredible?! See the top left and bottom right corners of the pic below!
Celebrating women scientists, engineers, technologists, educators, analysts, innovators and problem solvers.
Women in STEM, like those in many other professions, have to work harder to establish themselves. Girls in classrooms ask fewer questions, which translates to less participation in workplaces: in fields where women are underrepresented, the problem is worse. We need to discover and shout about existing role models (loudly, as often as possible), as well as create and nurture them. Encouraging girls to question, explore, debunk assumptions, and more importantly, *rebel*, can help with creating a world in which women don’t have to struggle for credibility and credit. You and I can change the narrative 💪
EDIT: The programme is currently paused as I’ve fractured my thumb and have been advised complete rest. I hope to resume this in mid-2023.
I’m excited to announce that I will be running a mentorship programme on visual storytelling and creative thinking in 2023! Exact dates to come soon. The goal of this programme is to provide 1:1 support to creators looking to find/nurture ideas, develop strong narratives, and become confident storytellers. If you’re interested, please tell me more about yourself here and I’ll be in touch!
Over the last 11 years of running a comic strip, I’ve had several experiences that have shaped me as a creator. I’ve explored various themes and topics, experimented with styles to find the one that “fit”, and have pushed myself to be the most honest version of myself in my work. Something I’m still working on. I’ve experienced the highs and lows of social media, been a public figure in my twenties, done speaking events (TEDx, TiE), Comic Cons, and more.
But I’ve always come back to the thing that I love doing: creating words and pictures. My journey as a creator has been incredibly rewarding as it allows me to grow into a more independent individual, capable of things I had no idea about until I put pen to paper.
I often receive emails asking me for advice, guidance and feedback. I would love to pick creators whose talent I can invest in, as a way of passing on the investment that my mentors made in me.
I’d love for you to fill out this form to tell me more about what you’re looking for, so I can shape the course content, fees, and schedule. Fees and dates will be announced in a few weeks’ time. 🙂
Please fill out the form by 15th Jan, 2023.
Looking forward to meeting you!
The Tap Desktop Calendar is now available for purchase!
Featuring 14 comics about slowing down, growing plants, finding joy in nature, and discovering purpose. You can mix and match which comics you’d like for each month.
New this year: Each comic can be turned into a postcard! I’ve printed a postcard at the back of every comic so all you have to do is simply cut it out and send it to a friend. So you don’t just have a calendar but a set of 14 postcards.
Due to the alarming shipping rates and with the aim of reducing carbon footprint, you can also download the PDF of the calendar, made to fit on A4. 🙂
I’ve recently rediscovered my love for wild swimming. I love the feeling of the ground giving way beneath my feet. I love exploring the underneath of the surface… a glimpse into just how much we can’t see upfront. In the water, I feel like how I’ve felt for most of my life: unanchored, yet afloat. Yes. I think I will get that tattooed 😀
But I’v
For an avid overthinker, swimming has helped me (literally) strip down to the basics. There’s no puzzle to piece together, no mystery to solve. In the water, I feel exhilarated, liberated.. but more than anything else, I find relief. A lightness, a letting down of guard, a letting go of things, an abandoning of all “extras”.
I’ve always loved jumping into waterfalls and have done so across various places in India… from the Western Ghats to Meghalaya. But this year has been the Year of Swimming in the UK. I’ve swum in the sea (Cornwall), in a tarn (Lake District) and in the river (Cambridgeshire). On a trip to Oslo, I managed to get into the icy waters of a Norwegian sun, where I swam for a good half an hour in the summer sun. Later I snuck in a solo swim in Sognsvann lake, surrounded by pine trees. I’ve now got a nice swimsuit mark on my body that I’m wearing with battle scar-like pride. Swimming has helped me develop a stronger relationship my (otherwise clumsy) body and has helped me deepen my trust in myself. Woooooo ok bye running off to become a fish.
While I was at university, I used to volunteer at a school near Vellore, in rural Tamil Nadu. A 12-year old girl once came up to me and told me that all she wanted to do was to play football after school but she knew that “girls don’t play football, only boys can.” I asked her who told her that, but she shook her head and firmly insisted that only boys were “allowed” to play. I was with a friend, a female athlete, who was so surprised and taken aback by this comment that she immediately gathered a group of girls, went to the playground, and arranged a game in the mud. I will never forget the look on the girls’ faces as they yelled and shrieked and laughed and played. Pure, unadulterated joy.
Girls all over India face a huge variety of challenges. Being made to drop out of school, lack of access to menstrual hygiene, child marriage, the list goes on. I’ve always advocated for education, but it never struck me how powerful play can be. I truly believe in the power of sport to change a girl child’s future. I was surprised to find that even girls from educated or wealthy families were discouraged from sports because of stereotyping or the fear of not being socially accepted or, in some cases, simply because, “You’ll become dark if you play in the sun.”
This is a super simple comic but I hope it inspires you to leave a comment about organizations you know who are working to encourage girls to be more involved in sports. The most obvious one I can think of is the wonderful Magic Bus, but I’d love to hear of more.
When the summit is not the goal 🙂
A comic inspired by a recent hike up Middle Fell in the Lake District, England. The route takes you via Greendale Tarn and is supposed to be a “moderate” walk according to the National Trust, but with a bad foot and improper shoes I found the steep uphill climb really difficult. After a lot of being pulled up by K, I found a spot by Greendale Gill where I decided to settle down and wait while he climbed up to the tarn. I could see the Wastwater Screes plunge into the water before me, and far away in the distance I could see the sea! I could even make out the windmills.
I drank the water from the gill and listened to its musical gurgling. I opened a bag of chips and ate it happily. I was perfectly content, and my initial dismay at not having made it to the top faded away. Maybe there was beauty in being halfway up, too.
It’s hard to help someone who is grieving a grave loss. Life is unfair, as is death. What do you do? You can’t make empty promises or talk about better times when today it’s hard to get out of bed. I made this comic for a dear friend going through a difficult time. I hope there’s some kind of solace for all of us in knowing that you are never alone.
