Biker mutts

My Bath University classmate posted this on Facebook. I couldn't resist drawing a cartoon for it.
Then I did a minor variation.

Compassion

Compassion is something that we expect from others. It may not be that we are always ready or able or willing to give compassion to others.

These days there is a lot of talk about "passion"'. An attitude towards work, or a profession or an art or a sport. She is passionate about athletics. He is passionate about music. All well and good to have passion.Now what about some compassion?

I bought some new pens today and today being Vesak, I felt that Siddhartha> Gauthama> Buddha would be an appropriate subject, as he is relevant today as he ever was.

Yakada Yakka- The Iron Devil

In Sri Lanka, the railway or locomotive was called "yakada yakka". Yakada means iron or steel in Sinhalese language and yakka means demon or devil. For Sri Lankans used to the peaceful bullock cart, the introduction of these steam locomotives by the British was a bit of a culture shock at first. But later as Sri Lankans grew to love the iron devil trains (as they do today) the name took on a more affectionate tone. Also yakada yakka when repeated fast out loud sounds a lot like the sound trains make when travelling over the rail joints. (Try it yourself!)

This drawing was inspired by a logo designed by Gehan Chandika for the Facebook Sri Lankan railfan group calling themselves Yakada Yaka. His logo is based on the Class M2 diesel-electric locomotives built in Canada by Electro Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors. These locos entered service in the late 1950s and most of them are still in daily service today despite some being affected by civil war and tsunami. Gehan's logo inspired me to look towards the iconic devil dance masks of Sri Lanka. The drawing above is a fusion of all these elements.