How does one even begin to make sense of this sign? Chop suey letters (https://laughingsquid.com/chop-suey-font/) to spell out the name of a Hindu god. A bird for an “S” — don’t miss it backward claws. And all this for a tailor who specialises in women’s clothing.
Nowshera Market, Leh (Ladakh)
September 2024
https://indiastreetlettering.com/shiva-tailor/
An unexpected trio of scripts in Hyderabad — Latin, Nastaliq and Gujarati. Not to mention, an especially fancy, golden sign for what is essentially a fruit shop.
Near Charminar, Hyderabad (Telangana) February 2024 https://indiastreetlettering.com/haji-abdulla-sidick-co-general-fruit-merchant/
Flipping the pen angle of Latin letterforms is one of my favourite tropes in painted signs in India. This one is so elegantly executed too 
Fontainhas, Panjim (Goa) November 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/yog-mandir/
This sign in the busy streets of Lucknow’s Aminabad took my breath away — so unexpected and beautiful. It adorns a building in a state of pretty serious disrepair. No clue what the sign was for or how much longer it will survive, but at least I have this photograph.
Aminabad, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) September 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/salazar/
The sign for Singbal’s Book House, near Immaculate Conception Church in Panjim, really stands out for how well-preserved it is. Two layers of wood stuck together, the soft edges, and arched baseline all come together rather beautifully in this sign.
Altinho, Panjim (Goa) November 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/singbals-book-house/
A small collection of signs from Kolkata for names folks have given their homes. I love how the letterforms have been poured into containers of different shapes and have adapted their forms: a reminder that Indic scripts are more flexible and playful than what most fonts would have us believe.
Chandni Chowk, Kolkata (West Bengal) December 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/tag/residence/
Several parts of India are reeling under a devastating heatwave. Temperatures where I live, for instance, are set to touch 47°C today 
This sign for an ice-cream shop in Lucknow feels most apt to share.
Lalbagh, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) September 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/india-ice-cream/
More from Panjim 
One establishment, but two signs in two languages, albeit in one script.
How would you even describe the style on the English sign?
Altinho, Panjim (Goa) November 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/g-x-verleker-sons-jewellers/ + https://indiastreetlettering.com/g-x-verlecar-joalharia/
I had long wanted to go see this sign for Tipografia Sadananda in Panjim, and I finally made it last year.
It is a beautiful design, whether you look at the dots on the “i”, or the sinuous, headline-less Devanagari.
The shop was closed when I visited, but a Government Gazette from 1967 tells me that it had been around in the early 60s, with proprietors Dattaram and Vinaeca Vamon Naik.
Altinho, Panjim (Goa) November 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/tipografia-sadananda/
A street lined with hardware stores in Kolkata. The extra, extra wide Bengali on the K. C. Mookerji sign is just fantastic 
Nirmal Chandra Street, Kolkata (West Bengal) December 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/k-c-mookerji-son/
Long time, no #IndiaStreetLettering. Today’s spotlight is on this excellent sign for a DTP shop in Kolkata. I would trust a print shop with such impeccable taste, wouldn’t you?
Sahitya Parishad Street, Kolkata (West Bengal) December 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/art-life/
Lucknow sure knows how to party 
I was mesmerised by this DJ/band tempo and the excellent hand-painted letters on it.
Lalbagh, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) September 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/ram-dj-band/
Signs on government buildings are usually rather insipid, and so I was pleasantly surprised to see this delightful sign for Bapu Bhawan बापू भवन on the state secretariat in Lucknow.
I love its complete lack of curves and large open knots: there is something so rigid yet playful about it.
Hazratganj, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) September 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/bapu-bhawan/
I am all for this marriage of Mirza Ghalib with art deco in the sign for a cultural institute in Delhi that celebrates the famed poet’s work and legacy.
Nizamuddin West, New Delhi November 2018 https://indiastreetlettering.com/ghalib-academy/
When in Haridwar earlier this year, I photographed a collection of signs that all featured the conjunct श्र (as part of the word श्री) in an effort to document the myriad ways in which sign makers interpreted the same shape in different styles and materials. These and other signs feature in my latest newsletter https://mailchi.mp/matratype/typographic-eye-10-karthik-malli-interview about script standardisation.
Kankhal & Mayapur, Haridwar (Uttarakhand) February 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/tag/%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0-collection/
Halloween 
has come early to India Street Lettering because it is awash with pictures from the Nishatganj Cemetery 
in Lucknow.
Nishatganj Cemetery, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) September 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/tag/nishatganj-cemetery/
This mural celebrating Rabindranath Tagore on the wall of the Bengalee Association’s building in Bangalore is a treat, especially for its cursive Bangla letterforms.
Ulsoor, Bangalore (Karnataka) September 2019 https://indiastreetlettering.com/bengalee-association/
It wouldn’t be a type walk https://bangaloreinternationalcentre.org/event/men-of-faith-letters-of-commerce/ if I didn’t notice a sign for the first time while showing folks around a neighbourhood where I’ve rambled so much.
Hidden in an alley off MG Road is this beautiful sign. It has sent me down a rabbit hole trying to learn more about Yusuf Sait, who was I believe was the royal tailor to the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysuru.
MG Road, Bangalore (Karnataka) June 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/gulzaray-yoosoofi/
I’ve been fascinated with the Modi Flour Mills building and the letters on its façade for as long as I can remember. Growing up, it was the location for many a detective story I concocted.
I finally got some images of its signs last week. Must go back for more on a sunnier day, but until then, please enjoy these larger than life wood letters in Devanagari and Latin — pigeons for scale 
Okhla, Delhi August 2023 https://indiastreetlettering.com/tag/modi-flour-mills/
I am always drawn to signs that turn up on homes, like this one warning visitors and burglars of the resident canine. The illustration of the agitated dog and the flamboyant “W” are such nice touches.
Defence Colony, Bangalore (Karnataka) February 2016 https://indiastreetlettering.com/beware-of-dogs/
