Ten Years of Drawing Happiness.

This is not a brand story. It is a human one.

 

THE BEGINNING

It started with a phone and a quiet moment between film schedules.

Not a business plan. Not a vision board. Just a hand that needed to draw something — anything — to feel like itself again.

I am Srirama Santhosh. A fine arts graduate, a former illustrator for Ananda Vikatan, and someone who spent years working alongside one of Indian cinema's greatest cinematographers, P.C. Sreeram. Those years were extraordinary — long days on set, the discipline of visual storytelling, the craft of seeing light the way a camera sees it.

But somewhere in the rush of it all, I had stopped drawing for myself.

One day, in a gap between schedules, I picked up my phone and started doodling. Simple, honest sketches. No client brief. No deadline. Just me and the line.

Something came back to life in that moment. I did not know then that it would become a daily dose of happiness for 2,00,000 people. I did not know it would become Doodle Monk. I just knew it made me feel like myself again.

WHY IT'S CALLED DOODLE MONK

A doodle is the simplest form of art. It asks nothing of you. It judges nothing. Whatever emotion you bring to it, it holds gently and reflects back with warmth.

A monk represents something different — stillness, clarity, the kind of quiet that lives inside a person who has decided to stop chasing and start being.

When I realised that drawing made me feel exactly that — calm, clear, and completely myself — the name arrived on its own.

Doodle + Monk.

Not a product. A practice.
Not a brand. A way of living.

HOW IT GREW

I began posting my doodles on Facebook. That is all. No strategy. No ads. No plan.

Just honesty on a screen.

People felt it. Messages came in. Magazines wrote about it. Newspapers noticed. And then — the most beautiful thing happened.

People started asking if they could hold the drawings in their hands.

So I began making bookmarks. Each one is individually hand-drawn. Every single one. By me. At my desk.

The demand became more than my hands could keep up with. So I found printers who could honour the craft. I streamlined production without ever losing the soul. And on April 14th, 2016 — Tamil New Year's Day — Doodle Monk was officially born into the world.

It felt right to begin on a day that celebrates new starts.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe that small things carry the biggest reminders.

A bookmark that says "happiness is already here" placed between the pages of your book is not just a bookmark. It is a quiet conversation with yourself every time you read.

A planner that begins with self-love instead of productivity is not just a planner. It is a daily commitment to the person you are becoming.

A journal with blank pages is not empty. It is waiting.

Every Doodle Monk design begins as an original illustration — drawn by the same hands that started this brand. No AI. No templates. No shortcuts. Just art made with intention, for people who feel things deeply.

We call it art therapy in your hands. Because that is exactly what it is.

WHERE WE ARE TODAY

Ten years. 2,00,000 souls who came back. Stocked in premium stores across India. Sold on Amazon, Flipkart, and right here. Gifted by individuals and corporations alike. Shipped to doorsteps across the country — and beyond.

And still — every single design is drawn by one person. The same person who doodled on a phone between film shoots because he needed to feel like himself again.

That has never changed. That will never change.

Because Doodle Monk was never about building a brand. It was about finding a way back to joy — and sharing that way with everyone we meet.

THE BRAND INGREDIENTS

What goes into every Doodle Monk product:

Self-Love
Because you cannot pour from an empty cup — and our art is here to help you fill yours.

Healing
Because sometimes the smallest beautiful thing is the one that brings you back to yourself.

Motivation
Because you deserve a daily reminder that you are doing better than you think.

Self-Realisation
Because the most important story you will ever read is the one you are quietly living right now.

These are not features. They are the reason this brand exists.

A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER

"I did not set out to build something that would reach two lakh people. I set out to draw things that made me feel less alone on difficult mornings.

If even one of my illustrations has done that for you — sat on your desk on a hard day and reminded you to breathe — then everything this brand has been built for has already happened.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for choosing something made by human hands, with a human heart.

This is for you."

— Srirama Santhosh
Founder, Artist & Designer
Doodle Monk

THE MISSION

"To spread happiness through purposeful art — one doodle, one product, one smile at a time."