Calcutta Drawings 7 English

out that I am an honorary consul and not a consul,’ he continues. ‘Honorary consuls are not paid; it is an unofficial position. And they do not necessarily possess the nationality of the country they represent or speak that country’s language.’ I feel self-conscious in front of this exceedingly well-informed man. The noise from outside doesn’t penetrate through to his air-conditioned office, and framed by four walls, the world looks different than where I’ve spent the past few months. In a week, I’ll be unexpectedly returning home. Undermined by cramps and nausea, I cannot draw on the streets anymore; the pain can only be managed by lying still.

Moving as little as possible but bursting with thoughts, I listen to the man I sought out for so long. All that remains of me after two-and-a-half months of drawing in Calcutta is a weakened, somewhat disoriented, subject of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

‘When the project started, I contacted your office because I wanted to keep CARF, the organization that invited me, out of trouble,’ I say, explaining the original reason for my visit. ‘CARF thought I should stop drawing on the street, since it might cause problems for them.’ ‘Why did they invite you then?’ he interrupts. ‘I don’t know, but since I wanted to continue drawing on