Adulting ain’t easy –– three words we’d love to patent if the sentiment wasn’t so damn universal. And then there’s the nostalgic pining. While we’re stuck in an endless loop of work, sleep, work, hangovers, more work, less sleep, hangovers, and of course, letdowns waiting to catch us off-guard, it’s impossible not to miss the carefree days of childhood. Think made-up games, few responsibilities and colouring books. But today, we’re just going to focus on the latter. Turns out a nice long binge-session with colouring books is still within the realm of possibility for us ‘oldies,’ even notorious for de-stressing. More luckily still, the people making these adult colouring books aren’t treating their subjects like kids either. Recently, a set of people familiar to awkward one night stands, and life’s unfairness in general have been coming up with intricate patterns to be filled with colours, or creative drawings that mend our moods. One publishing house of such books, though, has upped the game of adult colouring books by many levels. Last year in September, Unicorn Publishing Group from UK launched a brand new product – the Kamasutra Colouring Book.
Kama Sutra is often mistaken for being only a sex manual, when in reality, it is also a comprehensive guide on living the good life, with elaborate notes on healthy family relationships, and the role of love in general. When it was originally written in Sanskrit by the ancient Indian philosopher Vatsyayana, sometime between 2nd and 4th Century BC, it was only in the text form; there were no pictures. Besides, it was in 1883 that the treatise was translated to English and made available for people by Sir Richard Francis Burton, a noted orientalist and an author. For this book, the publishers specially curated a selection of pictures that were associated with the later editions. That means, some of the lusty paintings from versions that followed the original Kama Sutra have made their way into this adult colouring book.
Adult colouring books are widely popular in UK and the rest of Europe. Through this newly added concept, Simon Perks, the sales and marketing director at Unicorn, told The Indian Express, that with the Kama Sutra Colouring Book, they “decided to publish a truly ‘adult’ colouring book.” For this purpose, they reprinted the original, erotic miniature-style paintings to have their colours removed, “leaving a simple black outline of the details.” Proud owners can now indulge in colouring the book’s contents that take them through a wild world of erotica.
Ironically, the book is not directly available in India – it is available online for £9.99 and needs to be shipped in. “The Indian customs officers will not permit books containing erotic images to be imported into the country. This is highly ironic because your [Indian] artistic ancestors came up with the images to begin with!” Andrew White, Unicorn’s India agent, told The Indian Express. Besides, the book that is shipped to India costs just INR 95, but that is because its quality has been considerably altered to suit its exportation to the Indian market. A dreary compromise perhaps, but one we’re willing to put up with if it means a colourful departure from adult life.
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