Photo: K K Praveen

Dosa with sambar, the moist idly, colourful cotton kurtas, Nivin Pauly… Lama El Hanan’s love for Kerala is endless as this list of her favourites.

The 21-year-old caricaturist from Toronto, a Sudanese by origin, was in Kozhikode to do an internship at Centre for Research and Education for Social Transformation (CREST) on education in Kerala.

Lama’s caricatures mostly revolve around colonialism in Sudan and the strange relationship between Egypt and Sudan. "It is not just colonialism by the British, but colonialism by Egypt is also an interesting part of my caricatures," Lama said.

Another area, she wants to explore through her caricatures is the striking similarities found in different cultures and countries which have a common historical background.

Lama was in Kerala for two months last year and this time she stayed here for a month.

While in Kerala, her favourite past time is movies. And among them, her favourite is Nivin Pauly, though she confesses she is yet to watch other actors. She is also a big fan of Bollywood movies and loves to watch Kajol, Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra on screen. Oscar winning Hollywood actor Denzel Washington is her all-time favourite.

Asked how she finds the food here; she was quick to name ‘sambar’. “I love sambar with dosa. I like idly and also puttu which has lot of coconut in it. Lama is a strict vegetarian and even eggs are out of her menu. However, she has a deep love for the rice that too when served as the South Indian thali meal.

Her tryst with the city of Kozhikode is very brief, but still she shares a deep interest in studying the city and its history. "Kozhikode is an interesting city. History of the city is woven into its architecture. I loved sketching the city as part of 'Walking Kozhikode' initiative," she said.

“Whatever I have discovered and experienced in Kerala, be it food, movies or people, this will be reflected in my works from hereafter,” she said.

Talking about women, Lama said "everyone has this notion that women in the West enjoy more freedom than women in India. But in my opinion, freedom is relative and the concept of women freedom is different in each country. Wherever they are, women will find their own way to be free."

At the end of the talk, Lama sketched some of the staff. On request, she put her signature on the caricatures and with a smile, she said "you could at some day, put up the caricatures with my signature on sale when I become very famous."