PUNE: Kushal Handa, a second-year commerce student, cannot believe how liberating it was the first time she coloured a picture from a beautifully textured book. "I have now taken it up as a hobby," she said about the books that have become stress busters for many adults.
Handa had been under stress due to exams and was homesick for a week when she found out about colouring books through Twitter. "I came across a photo of a page from a colouring book someone had posted and wanted to explore them," she says. After the initial few pages she took off from the internet, Handa got hooked to the soothing effect the books had on her.
Colour Me Calm, a book that was among the best-selling ones on various online websites, has caught the whims of adults. These books help adults relax, are fun and give them a chance to spend time with their children at home.
"Most of the time, I am working on my laptop or am in the kitchen, but since I bought these books, I take time out to sit and colour with my three-year-old. It also relaxes me," IT professional Kanika Mathur said.
Bookstores from the city have reported a steady growth in the purchase of these books. The overall sale of colouring books at all Crossword stores in Pune is around 250 books per week.
Aakash Gupta, director of Crossword Bookstores franchise in thirty cities across India, said, "Adult colouring books are the latest rage. I am surprised by this trend, I never thought it would catch on in India. But we are selling more than 50 copies per week at our Aundh store alone. This new trend is all about mindfulness and destressing. So far, I have seen more women take to it, but it won't be long before men also start drawing and colouring for the effect."
Cashing on the adage that the child within an adult never leaves, these colouring books help them ease stress out. Subadra Kalyanaraman, a Chennai-based artist, came up with her first colouring book in October 2015.
She uses Madhubani art to tell a tale written by her writer husband Balajee. As Kalyanaraman says an 84-year-old coloured the book and wrote to her saying that it helped her overcome loneliness.
"At that time I was not aware of an Indian artiste who has made a colouring book using any Indian art form. I had been working with Madhubani for some time and thought it would be interesting to colour those intrinsic patterns," she said.
She self-published the book with her husband and displayed it at an exhibition after which it got sold out. Although these books are for adults, the bookmakers say that the work tends to transcend age brackets. While a few small kids have enjoyed colouring, the book is for adults.
According to city-based psychologist, Kaehalee Shinde, these books help calm the mind. "People get to take their minds off the humdrum in the house, de-clutter and pour their hearts into the books. Seemingly small decisions like picking the right colour for the right place, makes them feel like more in control and they also tend to release their pent up emotions into the pages of the book," she said.
With the affirmation of having created something out of a black and white, empty page, adults feel more in sync with themselves.
Shinde also recommends these books to students during stress-busting therapy sessions. From first year college students to post-graduate students, she encourages them to find a print online, take a printout and simply fill the spaces with colour.
Most of the time, I am working on my laptop or am in the kitchen, but since I bought these books, I take time out to sit and colour with my three-year-old. It also relaxes me