Since 2017, Pooja has been conducting guided typographic tours in Delhi and Bangalore that re-acquaint participants with their neighbourhoods from the vantage point of signage and letterforms. These walks are an excellent way for designers and non-designers alike to learn about how typography and lettering in public spaces shape our experience of them, and how they are, themselves, a product of social, cultural, even legal developments. For news on upcoming walks, subscribe to her newsletter.
These walks are one of many ways, including self-published zines, that Pooja uses to share her learnings from documenting street lettering in India for over a decade.
To learn more about what goes into preparing these walks, and the motivations behind them, listen to Pooja talk about them with Tanya George at TypeWknd 2020.
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Paharganj Type Walk & Show and Tell
The route of this walk followed one of the main market streets in Paharganj, a neighbourhood that has existed since the Mughal era and dates back to the early eighteenth century. The group started and finished at two important landmarks built during the twilight of British rule in India: the Imperial theatre on one end, and New Delhi Railway Station on the other. Participants played a game of bingo to spot different styles of hand-painted signs, and were introduced to all the Indian and foreign scripts they encounter — over a dozen in total. As the sun set on Delhi, they got a chance to see scores of neon signs light up the market, learn about the history and science behind neon signs, and discuss their place in pop culture. The walk was complemented with a show-and-tell of books about Indian scripts, vernacular lettering and sign painting.
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Paharganj Typography and Signage walk
This walk was put together as part of the Delhi Walk Festival, a celebration of the city’s culture and quirks through a series of specialized walks, to help city locals see this historic neighbourhood not just as busy market full of tourists, but as a place with a distinct typographic personality that can re-acquaint them with the city’s history and culture.