A little post mid-night art.

Hello dear friends, a warm welcome to my blog. Hope you are doing well whichever part of the world you live in, whether it be summer, or monsoon as we are ecperiencing here in Mumbai..😊
Today I'm sharing a little spontaneous/ drawing I made on a plain matt cover of an art journal. I couldn't sleep one night, and I had been dying to try out a white gel pen on a black paper.
 I loved the effect, the way the white lines stand out so clearly against the stark black and I can't wait to create some. It is almost like working in reverse, as in a negative instead of positive space,
interesting... It is always fun to experiment and try out fun things!

Keeping this post sweet and simple.

Have a great July, and Happy 4th of July to anyone from the States and I really pray
for true freedom for "everyone".



Love, bright light& blessings.
Sabrina.

My First Children's Book Illustration - The Imp and the Strawberry by Yasmin Shubber

It is with great pleasure I present to you my first childrens' book illustration, 'The Imp and the Stawberry' by Yasmin Shubber,  a delightful tale of the lovable and gifted elf , Syrnel, and his adventures as he sets off one day to eat delicious wild strawberries. To buy the book online or simply to preview  visit here.

When I received my first hard bound copy via post from Yasmin, I was thrilled to  hold in my hands the physical manifestation of our creative efforts.  I especially loved the cover, and I'm mighty pleased with the design, and layout, a big thank you to Yasmin for all her efforts. Yasmin has also penned several books for adults including a book of poems on Ladakh. You can learn more about her at her website.

I've always enjoyed reading and collecting children's books, some of my best finds have been, 'The Other Bone' by Ed Young, a word-less story illustrated with fine drawings where the reader can tell the story in their own words,  then there is the all time classic, 'Just so stories' by Rudyard Kipling,  (I have the one illustrated by Safaya Salter), and then I have a weathered copy of 'My Father's Dragon' by Ruth Stiles Gannett, bought years ago at a second hand bookshop, and more recently I bought 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar ' by Eric Carle to gift  a friend's child.

I'm sure there are many many more authors and artist-illustrators whom you adore, I've only named a few. Do share with me if you wish some of your favourite books, I'd love to read all about them. (^_^)

If you wish to get in touch with me about doing illustrations for a story email me at turquoiseland@gmail.com. 

Have  a great week ahead.

Love + Light

I stood before a Qin terracotta warrior

Ever since I can remember I've always had an affinity for all things oriental, arts, culture, landscape ... I cannot explain it, maybe its a past-life thing, which was one of the many reasons why I could not miss the oppurtunity to see Emperor Qin's famed terracotta warriors face to face:-> Two of these exquisite warriors were exhibited at Mumbai's Prince of Wales Museum (now known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahaliya) as part of the exhibiton, 'Treasures of Ancient China’.

The exhibiton has since ended and I myself went to see it only the very last day. These exquisite, life-size warriors, a whole army of them, were discovered buried near Emperor's Qin's mausoleum, making it this century's most sensational find. The terracotta army, has also been declared as the eight wonder of the world!

Before coming in to see the exhibition, as eager as I was, I had paid for the use of my camera, only to find a symbol pasted on the entrance-door which made clear, photography was not allowed in this particular exhibition !!:( So I said to myself, never mind, I'll take pictures of the other regular exhibits that I enjoy and have been meaning to photograph :-)

I was happy to find other than myself, the notable playwright Meher Pestonjee, accompanied by two children. It made me smile to hear her describe the artifacts to them. Sometimes its nice to be an observer and know there are others who love and appreciate art as much as you, there is a certain kind of warmth in this:-)

As I walked through the exhibition, enjoying the intricately-detailed metal objects and ceramic-ware from the different ages, I took time to read the texts on display which explained their history and chronology. Incidentally I'd recently read, Chinese Myths by Anne Birell as a result of which not all the names of the different ethnic groups that came to form the Chinese nation seemed absolutely unfamiliar.

The exhibition was spread across three rooms, and the two warriors were displayed in a small room to themselves. Seeing the terracotta figures within the confines of a small space, could not have conveyed the feeling of witnessing them in the burial pit as part of entire army which had tood silently for centuries until their discovery, but even the opportunity to see a piece of history was good enough... :-)

Being a student of Buddhism, I'm intrigued by the way Buddhism evolved along with the previously existing Confucianism and Taoism in China. This is is one area I would love to learn more about. Apart from the warriors and the various other impressive artefacts that were displayed, one artefact that stood out in my mind was a stone stupa, (shaped like a small dome) maybe 3 ft high and under 3 feet in diameter. (Unfortunately I have no picture to support this description with due to the reason I mentioned above) On its sides were niches, within each of the niches (two I think) was a seated image of the Buddha in high relief. Foliage of trees, in low relief ornamented the plain surface of the dome. The stupa also bore a chinese inscription which I could not read of course, but still this stupa intrigued me...you see, one does see stupas and other Buddhist monuments in India, but the inscriptions here are in the native scripts, ( Brahmi, kharoshti), seeing the stupa with an inscription in chinese said to me, more than what books can convey that, look! how how far Buddhism had travelled! :-)


I leave you with a few pictures from the Tibetan Arts section to enjoy...
one more thing, the exhibits being encased in glass, have some amount of caused reflection.

Tara, Nepal, 18th century A.d.



Prajnaparamita, Nepal, 17th century A.D, Prajnaparamita is the personification of 'transcendental knowledge' embodied in the Prajnaparamita-sutra (Mahayana scriptures)



Matrika (Mother Goddess) From set of Ashtamatrika (eight goddesses), Nepal, 14th century A.D



Bodhisattva Manjushri with his shakti, Nepal, 18th century A.D (Manjushri is the Bodhisattav of Wisdom, that which he holds aloft in one of his arms, is an adamantine sword which cuts through ignorance)






Terracotta Buddhas, Mirpur Khas, Sindh, Pakistan, 5th century A.D. this is one of my favourite exhibits, I love the beautific smile :-)

love + light!

A whale of a time!

Ever since I can remember I love making things out of paper, my good friend Gaurika will remember, once during our J.J days, we had gone to Sanjay Gandhi National Park to do landcape painting (ah! those were the days, were'nt they? hehe....)and the sun was really beating down on us, as a solution I took a sheet of newspaper and folded it this way and that, made a tear and made a quick hat for her....I hope memory has served me right.... :)

Which brings us now to origami, I was browsing the net once more to learn something new and I made this whale. I love creatures of the sea, must be something to do with my Piscean moon-sign :)

(I pasted the whale on white paper and painted few atmospheric strokes around it, you can learn to make it here)

I found some simple origami designs for children, in fact I wish to share this with Gaurika's little girl, maybe my neighbour's kids (if they haven't learnt it in school yet) and also some of my close friends (just to feel like children again :))

I was so happy to find some origami paper at the local student supplies store while out on my grocery errand yesterday. These are lovely solid colours, but I hope to find subtler shades too :)

If I question myself why I like doing these simple crafts, I don't know... maybe my art-practise is becoming quite research based, and maybe I read so much that I like to balance it with something that takes you to being a child...or perhaps I like the unpretentiousness of it....some years back I would even buy children's books and I have always enjoyed folk tales, myths, legends, creation stories, etc from around the world. I would collect these books for their beautiful illustrations and stories that got you dreaming :)

I will share more creatures of the paper soon as and when I fold them :)

Have a lovely weekend!
Keep cool :)

love + light!!

Jacob Hashimoto

Slip into vapour, Jacob hashimoto, 2005,

The other day I was going through a fabulous book, Sculpture Today, and I came across Jacob Hashimoto's delicate yet durable art-works which exist between sculpture and painting. What I like best about his work is how a traditional technique such as kite-making with rice paper and bamboo frames translates into striking installations made up of myriad tiny parts which appear to float or cascade.

Here is more on his work from Artnet.
(b.1973) Jacob Hashimoto cuts rice paper into small geometric shapes and glues the shapes to delicate wooden frameworks, which he attaches to black fishing line and ties to long wooden pegs at the top and bottom of his rectangular, wall-mounted, waterfall-like hangings. The pegs are evenly spaced from side to side across the top and bottom of the piece.

The artist ties six roughly overlapping layers of shapes onto each peg, creating a dense, kaleidoscopic multi-level field in which a given shape may be visible or hidden, depending on the angle of view. The hanging seems to move as we walk past....

Slip into Vapor could almost be a landscape. Measuring five feet high and four feet wide by 7.5 inches deep, it is composed of paper ovals, each roughly four inches wide, which are mounted on X-shaped frameworks and suspended between 13 wooden pegs at the top and 13 below. White and blue ovals, suggesting clouds and sky, comprise the upper half of Slip into Vapor, while darker ovals in the lower half could be rocks, soil or vegetation. The artist collages long slices of green paper-like grass onto some ovals and puts fanciful decorative designs on others. As the viewer walks by, these peep out to surprise and amuse.

Hashimoto begins by making wooden frames from tiny sticks, tying them together with thread, and affixing translucent rice paper to them. If he wants color or a design, he collages it onto the paper shape -- nothing is painted. When a framed shape is ready, he dips it in acrylic resin for strength. After creating a large inventory of these elements, he selects shapes of different size and design, and strings them on nylon line, which he employs because it does not stretch. Now he is ready to tie the strings to the pegs.

Lotuses of the Floating World

An installation of hundreds of paper lotuses made in origami style.

Kalaghoda Arts Festival 2010,
Horniman Circle Garden
6-14 February
10.00 a.m – 10.00 p.m

At last this Saturday I will be able to see a wish fulfilled, hundreds of lotuses planted in the earth. This will be my first time showing in Bombay and I'm happy to begin this way, in the open, in a garden (I'm a complete nature person). So if you are anywhere near Horniman Circle Garden between the 6th and the 14th do drop by anytime between 10.00 a.m and 10.00 p.m. I plan to teach how to fold these beautiful lotuses. There will be plenty of other events too.

About the installation.
The lotus is a leitmotif in my work, for what it symbolizes and its metaphysical associations. My art-practise runs parallel to my own journey on the path of dharma. It is an earnest effort where I not only read but have a practise to support it (Vipassana mainly). This installation is a three dimensional extension of being on the path.

About the choice of medium.

I am attracted to the organic and fragile nature of paper and yet it can be quite durable. I like the idea of sculpting something out of it, origami is one way to explore this.

About the core message.

When I first learned to make to these lotuses I was filled with an urge to see them in an undulating mass, over a lawn, maybe. Through this installation I want to say to people, look, you don't have to go to some far away village to witness a pond or a lake filled with beautiful lotuses, to witness a lotus all you need to do is take a square piece of paper, sit quietly and fold. Opening its petals to full bloom is like awakening to the Buddha nature inside.

I compare this act to creating an island of refuge within ourselves where you can return to from time to time. We all live in a densely populated city and there are no lotus ponds near us, but still there is hope, human imagination can transform a mere piece of paper into a lotus flower, an absolute symbol of enlightenment. That is my message, no matter how bad the situation, one can find ways to find a balance, to create beauty and true peace in our lives.

Gratitude
Lastly, one post is not enough to thank my family and friends for their love and support. Yogeeta, Sanhdya, Harsheet you have really been there for me. Yogs thanks for all the help and designing my card. Sandhya for listening to me with all my updates on the progress I was making, Harsheet, I know you don't like thank you's but here it is, I appreciate it all. Behzad for being there while I installed and dismantled and largely for just being you, Nyela thanks dear for the lovely mornings at the garden, Himanshu for suggesting the venue, and my dear friend Sarita too. This project has been like waiting for a empty stretch of land to collect rain and then burst in lotus bloom.

Love + light!

P.S: there is a place where white lotuses bloom in the rains :) and where there are humans there is plastic! and yet the lotus grows above it all :))

The way of the artist

In a few days from today, I will be putting up an art installation as part of the annual Kalaghoda Arts Festival, the details of which I will post next.

Being a vipassana meditator my on-going project made me think very much of the attitude and intention of an artist. While reflecting I remembered Gurji Geonkaji's words,

" A balanced mind is very necessary. But a stage where you are totally free from ego, where the ego is totally dissolved, takes a long time. When one has reached the stage of anagami, then at the depth of the mind the ego has significantly melted away and at the stage of arahant there is no ego at all.

But for ordinary Vipassana meditators, at least they have to make sure that they have started dissolving their egos. Any artist who is pratcising Vipassana properly will see a big change in her field of art whatever it may be. The art shold be pure in the sense that it will never be used to arouse passion in the minds of others, anger or hatred. With the practise of Vipassana she will become a better artist wit the effect that through the medium of art one will be able to give people a sense of peace and harmony. One has to judge wether this wholesome direction is developing or not."
Guruji S.N.Goenkaji.

From time to time I find myself returning to these words of Guruji and often I have not been sure if I understood at the experiential level, neither did I know if my art could in someway convey a feeling of peace and harmony to people. I have never consciously tried to alter or filter my work ever but if my upcoming installation does bring delight to people then I think I came a hair-breadth of a hair-breadth closer to what Guruji is talking about.

May more and more people get a glimpse of pure dharma :)
love + light!

Kashmir Music Video

The song, Kashmir is part of Guruji Nakamura's music album, Dharma Songs. Guruji spends his time between Ladakh in India and Japan. We respect him very much for building Shanti Stupa in Leh.

A while ago Guruji requested my husband Rigzin Kalon to make a video . It was shot entirely in Srinagar this autumn. Kapil Rana has edited this video, whom Rigzin has previously worked with and shares a great rapport .

My favourite part is where all the boys are flying kites together in the end, it felt like a picture postcard moment of sweet innocence. Personally being Rigzin's other half I got to know of so many things behind the scenes, for example, the boys are non-actors, they are local kids he hired. He said they enjoyed themselves throroughly doing their part. And so many similar stories. I'll spare you the one where he had to change his script and his crew left filming due to a death threat from a religious group. Sigh! Three words, Compassion, Wisdom, Tolerance. Such is the condition although times have greatly improved.

Love + light
May Guruji's Dharma Songs spread real peace, real harmony!

From my library- Rumi's Daughter

image taken from sufibookstore

Lately i've been getting this urge to read voraciously. I have been looking around in bookstores for material to read read, if you know what I mean, to be transported to another time and space, to live in a world populated with ideas and people that make you feel as if you changed after turning the page. And so I quickly finished reading (need to slow down sometimes!) the first book that came my way, Rumi's Daughter by Muriel Maufroy.

Kimya, as she was called really did exist, she was adopted by Rumi and married Shams, his spiritual friend. The story is set in Anatolia at the time when the Byzantine Empire was at its decline and the threat of Mongol invasion loomed. Here is a link to an extract fromt the book

http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/catalog/extract.htm?command=search&db=main.txt&eqisbndata=1844135837

Why did I read it? The reasons are the same for me to recommend it. I feel a call to such places that remind me of fountains, turquoise, poetry and tea, to be in the world of Jalalud'din Rumi and whirling dervishes for a while. Rumi was a mystical poet, born in 1207 on the Eastern shores of the Persian Empire. Altough the book itself does not carry his verses an interest in Sufi philosophy is enough to draw one to read about the girl-woman Kimya's burning journey towards the Infinite.

Love & light!

Blessed

view of the hills from home and the sea of concrete which I have come to see simply as homes of many many

families....every morning is beautiful with the sky, clouds and hills, there is a watefall too in the distance!

Dear friends apologies for a long blog absence, I hope these last two months have been good for everyone. Life in Bombay is as they say has been, "same same but different" (ha..ha)....in my earlier posts I had mentioned that I recently moved to a part of the suburbs that was until now unfamiliar to me. I will simply say I feel blessed living near Filmcity in Goregaon east, I enjoy the morning sunlight and view of the hills. We now stay near Aarey Milk Colony, that lush green expanse. It is tranquil there and I love to go there for early morning walks and my greatest delight is to be able do some bird-watching on my own :)

Soon I will be sharing more of my explorations, of the feathery kind and of the arty kind too. For instance I've been meaning to share the poetry of a dear artist and friend Sarita Chauhan. It will be my pleasure to share her writing on my next post.

Till then love & light! (literally Diwali is just round the corner!)

Poetry of artist Sarita Chouhan

It is a delight when you have friends who not only paint but also write. For a while now I've been meaning to share the art-practise/writings of dear artist and friend Sarita. Originally from Delhi, Sarita lives with her husband, a script-writer for feature films and daughter in Bombay.

Some months ago I had visited her well-lit studio which is located in a nice residential locality at Four bungalows. Over tea we discussed art, life and other interesting matters. That day while going through the artist statement of her 2001 series, I happened to read the poem, 'There is one tune. And there is one song'. I was struck by her intimate understanding of 'stillness' and ‘movement within stillness', very subtle concepts. Since then I have wanted to share it on my blog.

A little about the artist- Sarita’s works were recently part of Studio Practices at Chemould Art Gallery. She has been exhibiting her works in solo and group shows since 1998. Her fifth solo exhibition, ‘appear, re-appear’ was at Museum Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2008, which I missed :( but made up for partly with the studio visit :)

I leave you with her poem,
as always love and light! :)

There is a one tune. And there is one song. Mix media assemblage on paper, 217 x 184 cms, 2001.

There is one tune. And there is one song.

If there is any stillness, let me feel it.
If there is stillness let me keep looking at it, till the time it makes me still.

And then both of us can come closer.
Be one and move together.
Move together and dance together.

We will go on moving till we again become still.

Now we lie still.
We are still. We are silent.
It seems nothing is moving. Everything is still. There is no sound but silence.

And then there is movement. Silence is also moving. What looks still is also moving.
Stillness is no more stillness. It is movement.

It is moving now. And with it everything around is moving.
There is one tune. And there is one song that is going on. And in its music all become one.


Sarita Chouhan, 2001

Making that Quantum Leap

'Leap of Faith' by Laurel Schwartz.

Have you ever had the experience, where, for no particular reason, you kept hearing a word or a particular phrase in your head and you didn’t really know why? and then when you were least expecting it, someone mentions it to you or you read it in a book or a magazine without having made a conscious effort to know its meaning or significance. Déjà vu anyone? You see, for a while now I’ve been hearing, ‘quantum leap’ in my head. My first strong memory/ association of it is from a passage in Susanne F.Fincher’s book, 'Creating Mandalas'.

“Early Buddhists established the belief that there are two planes of existence, two absolutely different worlds, between which there is no communication......one world is our familiar reality in which karma operates, and which is forever dying and being born again. The other world is nirvana, which is reached by a quantitative leap when karma, and the force which derives from it, is stopped or suppressed. This is accomplished when, through cognition and living experience, it is realized that the universe is “solely a becoming a flux” (Tucci, 1961:3). This arrests the momentum of the karmic process, and makes possible the leap into nirvana."
- Excerpt from ‘Creating Mandalas’ for insight, healing and self-expression by Susanne F.Fincher.

On reading this I had an aha! moment....I had never understood (on an intellectual level of course) how one could go from one's present mental state to that of total enlightenment (still a long...long way for me).

Nirvana or no nirvana, what has stayed embedded in my head is the phrase, ‘quantum leap', it has become my newest mantra (if I have'nt slipped into my old habbit-patterns....again!) towards reaching a goal however mundane or cherished! You can say I am able to trick my mind into doing things it would otherwise take ages to accomplish.

For example, if I say to myself during my saddhana/yoga practise, especially in a difficult pose, or one in which in which I'm trying to push my boundaries, that, I’m going to 'make that quantum leap', than I do! Which means there is hope for us mere mortals.........
by way of a quantum leap :)

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While surfing the internet for an inspiring image to go with this post I stumbled upon artist Laurel Schwartz ’s site. I love it that her paintings seem like personal mandalas as she does them intuitively, being guided by her higher self. These are my words but do read her artist statement :)

Love & light!
Om

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!

In the Capital !!!

Towards the end of this winter (only for the north of India, really!) I spent a few days in Delhi with my husband. Allow me to share my travel photos.......


Streets of Delhi
Detail of a rickshaw – we don’t have these in Mumbai! ha! ha! It was funny to ride in these....


Red Fort- Walking midst History.

Here is where the Republic Day Parade ends each year which we all see broadcast on National Television, this was the first time I stood there! ^_^

Inside the Red Fort: Diwan-e-aam, the Emperor held court here with the common people.

Squirrels! they were everywhere!

Thousands drive by the Red Fort each day where the Yamuna once flowed.

We had hired a guide, who in poetic hindi explained to us its history for only Rs.100!! and we stood listening to him besides, the emperor’s chambers, I imagined the emperor and his family enjoying a pleasant morning - the Yamuna flowing by... the forest beyond in mist.. a peacock’s cry renting the still air! ^_^ ...Sigh!

The Emperor' private mosque is now closed to the public, so we were peering through the jali windows.

Inside the mosque is a fountain where the Emperor could perform the ritual washing of hands and feet before saying prayers, isn't that beautiful? a fountain to yourself ^ ^

The Bath house which was meant only for women is also closed to the public, if you look closely, (not too clear here), the floor is in-laid with precious stones, such as lapis lazuli and mother of pearl.

Majnu -ka -Tilla: vibrant Tibetan Community.

We stayed in Majnu-ka -tilla, which is really far from South Delhi and the airport! but we loved it!

From all corners one can smell Tibetan incense burning.....mmmmm.....

I truly admire the Tibetans for making something good out of the place they have been given by the Government ^_^ . You will find many travellers staying at the hotels here. Dalai Lama's serene portrait smiles at you benevolently when you enter all shops, restaurants, travel agent offices and hotels ^_^

At M.T you can eat thukpa, momos, drink butter tea....buy incense, jewellery-turquoise,coral....or just walk around, it is much safer than most parts of Delhi ^ ^ which is what I like best about M.T.

A monastery at M.T- the monks inside were preparing decorative sculptures made out of dough in preparation for Losar, the Tibetan New Year ^ ^

Mithu Sen , for free!

The travel to Delhi also coincided with artist Mithu Sen’s exhibition at Khoj residency. While I was there, a writer-friend called requesting me to collect an art-work from Mithu Sen and so I arrived at the opening, knowing nothing about the show!

The pink rooms, everything blew me away! and I was so grateful that Shubhalakshmi had requested me to come to Khoj ^_^ The show was suffused with love! Pink love!

Above: The art-works to be given away, displayed (hidden) in kitschy bags fashioned from pillow-cases! Mithu Sen is to the far right.

About the show: Mithu Sen had invited people through her blog and website to write letters to her and in exchange she would give them an art-work done by her for free! They could do what they wanted with the art-work, ...even destroy it, but .....with love!

Kutub Minar- eternal splendour.

My jaws dropped when I saw the Kutub Minar for the first time! India is beautiful! This is such a magnificent example of Islamic art! ^_^

Within the surroundings of the Minar are these beautifully carved pillars.

Detail of carved walls of entrances and arches, reaching high up.

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There is so much more to share but these pictures should suffice, I can't wait to explore more of Delhi- ruins or otherwise ^_^

Love + light !!!

Fishes, hers and mine.

Minam Apang's "War with the Stars" at Chatterjee & Lal .
It is very rarely that one sees such a distinctively creative body of works. Minam has certainly been doing better with each show and I predict she will soon leave the realm of the 'contemporary art scene' and join the league of masters.

I am no art-historian so feel free to disagree with me at large. I found the mood of the show to be very oriental - the colour and texture of the paper, the dark richness of the ink, , the imagery - organic and fluid. I was also reminded of the varied, illustrative styles that have emerged, dating back to Hokusai and then Manga. The delicate, finer than hair-strands pen-manship defy and her imagined creatures intrigue.

I looked up C&L's website and found no images of the paper-works that speak for themselves (I intended to paste a link to her show)......would love to see the show go on a little longer....inspiring, truly indeed.


Now, you must must be wondering what are these images about? Well, this is the fish I made in pottery class, and I have juxtaposed it with Minam's invitation card - the thought just came to me in a flash of artistic inspiration. You see, fishes appear in my art-works as well, they just do. Perhaps, I feel drawn to the water element. Apparently , I found out a while ago I am a Piscean by my Moon-sign. At first I said , no! that can't be , and then I saw the signs!.. goodness! Now Im making peace with it. It's true I do walk around in shops guided by some unseen force and never have a shopping list....I am dreamy and I love the colours- turquoise, purple...sea- blue, sea green...and the list goes on....all attributes of a Piscean gone mad (in a good way). So, I've decided to use it, to embrace this side of me rather than try to be 'practical', I have some lovely friends who complement this dreamy nature of mine.

In conclusion, hence proven, even if you are a dreamy, apparently 'head in the clouds' person (Believe me I have been told that!) you can thrive in this dog-eat-dog world, in Bombay! or any where else! :)
Love + light! (Incidentally, today the first lamps of Diwali were lit)