Paul Fernandes’ Bengaluru at aPaulogy Gallery in Richards Town

A large work titled *One Fine Day on MG Road* holds a version of 1993 that Paul Fernandes knew from an office beside the former Plaza Theatre: traffic, pedestrians and a road without flyovers or Metro lines.

At his aPaulogy Gallery in Richards Town, Bengaluru appears in framed cartoons and paintings across the walls. MG Road, Cubbon Park and India Coffee House are among the locations Fernandes returns to, using water-paint cartoons to record parts of the city that have changed or disappeared.

A city seen from the pavement

Fernandes was born in Bengaluru 68 years ago and says he grew up watching it change. His work reaches back through the city’s layered history, from Kempegowda and later Mughal, Maratha, Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali periods to British rule and the post-Independence arrivals who came to work here.

For Fernandes, the city’s character sits in its individual streets. “Every road has a beautiful memory,” he says. “There are no two roads in Bengaluru that are similar.”

That attention to street life is evident in the MG Road painting. Fernandes recalls crossing from his office to sit on a bench near Plaza Theatre during breaks, watching the movement below. The theatre is gone now, part of the changing city that his work records.

Drawing at its own pace

Fernandes has been an artist for 50 years. He cites cartoonists Mario Miranda and R.K. Laxman as influences, particularly Miranda’s light-hearted drawings of Goa, Mumbai and other cities. Alongside Bengaluru, Fernandes has made series on Mumbai, Goa, Mangalore and Kerala; he visited Mumbai regularly to meet his wife and found its pace and bustle compelling.

He sees change as unavoidable, including in Bengaluru’s old structures and landmarks. “Art has to be slow and it has to be enjoyed and discovered,” he says.

The gallery is open Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 7.30pm, in Richards Town.