Splashed! & Yoga Inspiration- Jai Sivananda!

I've been Splashed! by Zooms Her island life and way of thinking uplift and intigue me ^_^
I was very pleasantly surprised to find that my blog had been splashed for being inspiring (^_^) Before I go on any further,
the Splash award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive, and inspiring blogs. When you receive this award, you get to:
1. Put the logo on your blog/post.
2. Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.
5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your Splash award.

So I'm splashing my Yoga Teacher, Shameen Akhtar's blog Jai Sivananda (^_^)

Scorpion Pose!

My life has changed for the better after taking up her classes, she is from the Sivananda tradition and I thoroughly enjoy the challenges that come with it...ha ha...what am I talking about? I mean headstand for beginners! Kakasana (crow pose) and a no-nonsense attitude! I'm splashing my teachers blog for the daily inspiration she provides us. You can read more about her on her blog.
You can also find information about her classes and workshops in Bombay.

I like the vibrant positive energy embracing the Sivananda style yoga has brought into my life, I also adore my yoga buddies - I have a wonderful set of people to do my sadhana with (^_^).....

I have gone from not being able to do even six rounds of Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) to doing a minimum of 12 on my own, and today, my head touched the ground in Mountain Pose! (during Surya Namaskar) yeah! I jumped for joy...sigh! the joys of yoga ^_^

Thank you Zoom, for splashing me.... Thank you Teacher for turning your life into a beacon of light (^_^)

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Pictures from our class at Bandra- Carter Road promenade...the venue has changed since.

The only person not in these pictures is Rakhi, because she was taking them!

That's our teacher, top left....and the brave class!

Nina in grey, doing headstand, she goes up so lightly in headstand, vow! I still need help from my teacher.....(... getting there...^_^)

Tammy in headstand, then - a new student, she can now do it on her own!

This is the usual mood of the class......we don't take ourselves so seriously....(^_^)

Nina executing Kakasana or Crow Pose, Simple at it seems, this is actually a 'difficult yet easy' pose, you see, it is all in the mind, you float up and shift your weight, such that, it rests entirely on your wrists...mmmm....(^_^)....your mind needs to be one-pointed, focused.

that's me!! ^_^ Chakrasana (Wheel Pose)..this pose comes quite naturally to me (one of the very few..ha ha)...so since I can do the basic pose, I would of course have to try the more advanced level, which is raising one leg! phew! it takes great muscular co-ordination and most of all letting go of the fear that you will fall. When I try raising one leg, it feels as if I'm glued to the ground!! ha ha.....but Im working on it.......

Sometimes it feels good to be a work in progress and the little triumphs that come along the way propel you further towards your goal......FLOAT!!!!!!!!

Love, light & beauty! ^_^

Solitary Delights!

Have you ever felt completely at ease with yourself when alone at home? even though a part of you wished that everyone hadn’t gone out? Have you ever travelled alone at some time and felt refreshed with the new perspective that came with it?

The stretch of time alone can be a few moments, for example, stepping into the kitchen when you have many guests at home or it could be longer, such as a walk by yourself, or, an or even a month or more of travelling alone.

Is there a bit of a hermit in all of us? I suppose in varying degrees, yes. I’m certainly not anti-social but spending quiet time alone for me is like food and water....there are days when even though I’m having a relaxed day with my husband, by evening, I simply tie up my shoe-laces and say, “Alright, Im going out for a walk” ^_^ and I return refreshed, calmer and with new insight.

Increasingly, I’m enjoying my time apart from Rigzin (he is from Ladakh and is currently engaged in projects for the national television network there). I miss him especially on Sundays but gradually I see this theme changing, I feel happier as I am looking forward to fulfilling new art projects, even this blog has become an affirmation of positive living and sharing ! ^_^

A chat with my yoga teacher the other day helped me to realise and accept that I like being alone! at least for some part of the day...... for instance, after a long day at the gallery I like to have a coffee by myself, (at the Barista ,near Regal cinema ) ....I don’t usually read books in cafes, although a magazine or newspaper is more welcome. Then I like to walk to the station! yup! that’s a long walk! from Colaba (Radio club to Churchgate station) but it frees my mind...I look at the art-deco buildings, the sky, notice something I had’nt noticed before....mmmm...I think one can enjoy the company of people more if one can be alone and at ease with one’s self. Or better still when one when is alone, you will find, in between the thoughts which are constantly flowing, you stop and notice what is happening in(side) and around you. This "pausing", and for a while not giving all our “daily tasks” too much importance can only add more depth and meaning to our lives ^_^

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Pictures from my wanderings ^_^

A pond inside Bhandavgarh National park (forest), Madhya Pradesh, the heart of India. This was such a peaceful spot when we came upon it, and I remember we spotted a crested serpent eagle perched on a branch. The solitude of this serene place reaches out to you even through the picture...sigh!!!




Tea by myself. Imagine finding Hongkong style tea on the menu in Beijing and it is exactly like the stronlgy brewed black tea sweetened with milk and sugar (kadak chai, Bombay style!) that we drink in Bombay! ^_^ truly, a solitary delight! ^_^

One of the pleasures of travelling in trains in Bombay when there are hardly any people is you can put your feet up and relax as the breeze rushes in through the open windows...everyone does it...one of the many many interesting things about Bombay.... ^_^

Pink! Imagine my delight when I hopped into this pink rickshaw ^_^ .....one more solitary delight!

Evening tea with crackers.... ^_^

Saw this adorable Tom-cat outside a fancy light-fixtures store in Kalaoghoda, just besides the resaurant, Khyber Pass.

The pleasure of observing the evening sky turn gold and pink while walking across Oval maidan (maidan means an open area to play in/ have outdoor activities).

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Lastly, Poems of Solitary Delights by Tachibana Akemi (Edo period, Japan), I love the poems' honesty, and simple wonder of the natural world. Although, it may seem it is about a person who was a poet and a painter of long ago, when I read it for the first time it had an wonderful effect on me, I laughed and smiled....so true , I said.... as I identified with some verses. ^_^ Read on and see which verse you identify with...ha ha.... ^ ^

Tachibana Akemi

Poems of solitary delights.

What a delight is

when on the bamboo matting

in my grass-thatched hut,

all on my own,

I make myself at ease.

What a delight it is

when, borrowing
rare writings from a friend,

I open out
the first sheet.

What a delight it is
when, after a hundered days

of racking my brains,

that verse that would’nt come

suddenly turns out well.

What a delight it is

when of a morning,

I get up and go out

to find in full bloom a flower

that yesterday was not there.

What a delight it is

when, skimming through the pages

of a book, I discover a man written of there

who is just like me.

What a delight it is

when everyone admits

its a difficult book,

and I understand it

with no trouble at all.

What a delight it is

when I blow away the ash,

to watch the crimson

of the glowing fire

and hear the water boil.

What a delight it is

when a guest you cannot stand,

arrives, then says to you

‘I’m afraid I can’t stay long,’

and soon goes home.

What a delight it is

when I find a good brush,

steep it hard in water,

lick it on my tongue

and give it its first try.

*

Love & light!

Meditations in colour. Works 06

My first painting about colour and meditation.

Before you move on to new things it is interesting how one feels like accepting and acknowledging the past. I am on the verge of putting together a new body of works with their roots in various ideas and thoughts that have been dancing around in my head for a long long time, some have emerged as a painting or two, but now I have this urge to go the whole hog....... ^_^


They say the journey of one thousand miles begins with one step. It will be my pleasure to show to you in coming months what I have been thinking, drawing, painting and writing about. But before the new comes please review with me my 'old'. ^_^

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I know I keep talkng about the time I spent in Ladakh (bear with me some more ^_^) and one of the questions that was most often put to me, especially by Ladakhis themselves was , "So, what did you do with your time?" They were refering to winter, if you have ever been to the airport at Leh in winter, you will notice, there is a long line of people at the departure terminal and the arrival is nearly empty! Well, i don't blame anyone, year after year of isolation can be absolutely monotonous I guess. No malls, no multiplexes, nothing, just mountains and deafening silence in winter (in summer Leh is a complete contrast, all green and vibrant with people ^_^)

Coming back to what I did while I was there.....gosh! I could write a book! what did I do? I cooked....dal, potatoes, carrots ....ha! ha! I'm veg! washed my own clothes under open sky in summers, with the glaciers in view, and what a view! !

I remember my walks with great fondness (ah! how I miss those walks!), after my walk I would return to my room and paint or draw from my mind's eye what I had just seen - a copse of leafless trees, a horizon of mountain peaks.....clouds floating in the distance, leaves of apple trees....anything.

At the end of the year, my husband (then boy-friend) and myself found that I had accumulated quite a few art-works, and he said to me, why not put up your works here in Leh? at the time I thought it was a great and silly idea, at the same time.

You know how it is when nature conspires to help you, my dear brother-in-law, had opened a restaurant in Leh, called Golden Dragon (he is partner of the popular Golden Dragon restaurant in Delhi, Saket) partly to be with his wife, who being ladakhi prefers to spend half the year of the year in Ladakh ^_^ (who would'nt?)

Well, Kelly, my brother-in-law, offered me his newly done up restaurant! and so one August we got my paper-works (and just a few oil-paintings) framed locally and my husband banged in the nails and hung up my works and I had myself an informal exhibition! ha! ha! that was fun! no arty crowd! nothing! just local and foreigners who were pleasantly surprised to see art-works as they entered the restaurant...they certainly were'nt expecting any of that! One does see thangkas, yes, but not intimate rendering of one's stay in Leh.

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Here are a few of those works, I have given a little description to each work. Hope you like them, sorry, if the images are'nt very sharp and all.......

Prayer-flags and tree in winter....the carved face of the frame was made using readily available decorative strips of wood used in interiors of traditonal Ladakhi homes. I saw them being sold in a shop beside the framer's and decided to experiment. To my luck, the framer got it right and it worked! ^_^





I called this water-colour Gyurmet after my husband's second name, it means 'unchanging'. Ancient trees do have something unchanging about them...... ^ ^

Thangthong house. This was the view from my room - a traditional Ladakhi home belonging to our neighbours, the Thanghtong family. Peeping behind the tall poplar is Shanti Stupa. You get a marvellous view from up there of the valley ^_^

Autumn leaves I, II & III
A set of three water colours depicting autumn. I have used actual autumn leaves- poplar, birch, capturing their shape by placing them on paper and painting around them, and repeating the process till I was satified, till it looked balanced, complete.

I have experimented with composing by accident as opposed to planning.

This was inspired when I saw for the first time a path laid golden yellow with leaves after a very windy night. ^_^

This one I did with leaves from a place called Phey, not to far from Leh. Rigzin took me there while on a shoot( he is a film-maker) and while he was filming with his crew I was left to wander around as I wished, so I painted and even got chased by a male dzo (cross between a yak and a cow, used for farming) gosh was I scared! ha! ha! ^ ^

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Thank you so much for allowing me to share this with you. It takes more than one to do that ^_^

I wish I return with new and inspiring art and I wish you great success in all you chose to dream of!

Love & light !

Haiku: inspiration.

Small watercolour by me, Magpies in Winter, 2005.

Poetry has always been my love besides painting. I discovered my deep love for poetry from the far east early on in art school. I would go to its little library and read the only book they had on the subject, Japanese verse. I would write the poems down.... contemplate on them, the sounds and thoughts which perhaps had been locked away in that musty library for many many years! It was’nt a lending library which meant that the book could only be savoured within the library itself!

I cannot explain but for some reason I relate to and enjoy oriental poetry- Japanese Zen masters, Chinese poets.........Amongst the various forms of Japanese poetry, haiku is my favourite,^ ^ I love its spare and ‘grounded in the present moment’ feeling.....It is amazing how 17 sylablles of a haiku can move your entire being. ^_^

Here is an excerpt from a book, ‘HEART a personal journey through its myths and meanings’ by Gail Godwin. She writes about the significance of the heart in a haiku. I choose to present this way of explaining about the haiku because I’m sure a mere definition of anything is always easy to find, what escapes us is the essence which is often so subtle,.. very subtle in the case of the haiku ^ ^

“The heart concept is central to the practise of haiku, Japan’s distinct form of poetry. Though haiku comes from the word haikai, which means ‘sportive’ or ‘playful’, it has a precise rule of form: it must be seventeen syllables in a 5/7/5 pattern. Characteristically it is attentative to a specific time and place and season, and it records or implies the evanescence of all existence. Its images arise naturally out of the kokoro – the heart-mind; they are felt and perceived at the same time. Even today, Japanese crtics evaluate a poem by two standards; its kokoro (sincerity, conviction, ‘heart’) and its craft.....The ideal haiku is not only spare, clean, swift, and resonant; it has amari-no-kokoro, a heart-soul quality that reaches beyond the words and leaves an indelible aftertaste."

Now to read some haiku which I consider part of our rich human heritage! ^_^

Basho (1644-1694)was the greatest of all haiku writers who crystalised the style. In his later years he was a student of Zen Buddhism, and his poems are an artistic expression of its philosophy.
(from ‘An Ode To Nature’ by Adi F. Merchant)

Spring:

a hill without a name

veiled in morning mist.

Soon it will die,

yet no trace of this

in the cicada’s screech.

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The poet in me.^_^

Untill now only a few have borne with me as I shared with them my poems, my heart’s pouring forth. Unlike painting, I do not know where the flow of words comes from! It’s source is much more mysterious to me. Of one thing I am sure, the heart is the main conduit. A sort of place, , where we gather, assimilate things, experiences and then they pour out as poetry or maybe a flower arrangement! ha ha..

I have presented a few verses from the time I was in Ladakh. Hopefully they are bearable to read...I hope ^ ^ They ar’nt haiku, but inspired from the general spirit of haiku. This “less words” style suits me very much ^_^ It feels nice to leave things open-ended, leaving the reader to associate as his present state allows.

Wind shaping clouds,
sky holding earth,
moon lighting our steps.

Dragon-wind blows,

leaves rustle praise.

A sickle-moon stood still,

harvesting done

someone left it in the sky.

Morning enters the room,
conversation of birds
lingers in the trees,
a stray cloud finds its way home.

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Love & light!