About Emanuele Scanziani « For more than 12 years (from the age of 16 till 28), I worked in the hustle and bustle of an Italian commercial family enterprise. We produced all kinds of drawings, non-stop: greeting cards, children's books..., just like a baker makes bread or a pizzaiolo pizzas... I learned my lesson, and started longing for something else... That's how I moved, in 1995, to Auroville* in southern India, close to Pondicherry*. » From then onward, helped by the atmosphere of the place, Emanuele takes the time to observe, to sharpen his vision, initiating a process to completely change his commercial illustrator's hand so as to venture into new territory: the gradual development of an artist's hand and sight. He moves away from the habitual copying of the styles of others, and finds his own. The time of transition lasts some 10 years, a period in which he simultaneously works on assignments illustrating environmental, social and educative projects... He tramps up and down Pondicherry town and becomes permeated with Indian daily life, using his small notebooks, pencils and paintbrushes in an attempt to capture 'this secret beauty which hides behind India'. A personal development gradually unfolds, inspired by the epic poem « Savitri » of Sri Aurobindo and the world of the Vedas, which little by little introduce him to « Something Else ». Emanuele may take a little break, but never really stops and today the simple wonder and joy of a child are always with him... His work expresses itself in two ways: the « brush engravings on stone » that are created in the privacy of his quiet atelier - a meeting of the stone and its telling features, unique pieces intended for unique places (houses, hotels, institutions); and the illustrations « From Vedapuri to Pondicherry - the story of Papui, Sã and Élei », created in the lively atmosphere of Pondicherry. Thus depth and lightness, density and humor reveal themselves in Emanuele's work. *Pondicherry: state and town of southern India - old French territory... *Auroville: a universal city dedicated to the realisation of the ideal of human unity. Illustrations This tale of all times tells the story of three children in search of the « Fire within matter » which will reveal to them the secrets of the inner flame, of something else... This Something Else follows Papui everywhere he goes, showing him the treasure hidden behind the ordinary life and to be lived here on Earth. Papui is a little boy from Europe. He embodies the magic of a child marveling at the life he discovers in Pondicherry. Sã and Élei are his Indian friends, coming from the time of the Rishis, a time when Pondicherry was called Vedapuri, the city of the Veda. Together, they discover an animated story: Pondicherry and its multiple facets, its people, its atmospheres, its enterprises, its seasons, its colours... Temporal and timeless. This story leads to various illustrated materials: books, posters, children's games, published by the « Papui & SomethingElse » publishing house - Auroville.