Life in the Time of Note Ban: Sketching People at ATM Queues

A story through sketches, illustrating the lives of people in queues outside banks and ATMs.

“Today I should make it to the ATM,” I decided as I paid online for the cab. I was prepped with a sketchbook and a pen to kill time while standing in the queue.

Here’s a peep into my sketchbook:

(Most of them are very quick sketches, a minute or less time taken for each, to capture the mood and essence of different people standing in the queue, who also came and interacted with me as I sketched.)

Firoz said he has been waiting for five hours already. He sat down for a while as I sketched him.

From where I stood, there were ATMs, banks and a post office one after the other. Hence, there were parallel queues on both sides and I could see all kinds of people waiting for their turn.

Soon, a crowd started assembling around me.

I felt a little powerful over my colleague, because I could draw people who refused to come in front of the camera for him.

Here is a video documenting the lives of the people we met, standing at the ATM queue.