This morning I was on Skype with my brother and his family in India. Engaging my 6-year niece in a conversation, I showed her (webcasted) a sketch of a handsoap bottle I had drawn recently. (OK. I confess. Sometimes I carry my sketchbook to the restroom.) Last time I was in India, my niece and I spent quite some time sketching together. It had helped the ‘bonding’; it also helped her on her homework. She continues to display a healthy interest in coloring assignments and drawing, and if that continues, will hopefully continue forging the common ground.
Today, on Skype, holding my sketchbook close to the webcam, I asked her:
Can you see the drawing?”
“Yes”
“What do you see?”
A pause. Then,
“A spray”
(I held back my urge to correct her right now. I am not sure if the 6-yr old has been using bottles like this one in India.)
“But it is a copycat,” she added.
“What!”
“Chachaji” – she was refering to me – “is a copycat. Last time he drew my bicycle. Now he copied the drawing from a bottle. Chachaji is a copycat.“
I have been scratching my head since then. Does sketching an object mean that I am ‘copying’? And as a sketcher, then am I a copy cat?
Was my niece just being a precocious kid or was she calling attention to the Emperor’s clothes?
