The tree of Lilas

This series of paintings was a spiritual journey for me which I may not be able to explain in a blog or in conversation.








The painting with Radha on a swing was the second after the Kaliya-Mardana and it sparked an idea to use the tree as a continuing theme to connect the different Lilas of Bhagwan. So I followed it up with Krishna playing the flute with a cow lovingly curled around his feet. The tree was coming to the ground.




The other side of the tree is where Mother Yashoda tried to tie Him. It was a joy for me also to try tying Him. But as the story goes, it works when He permits and for those brief moments, it worked.




This painting of the peacock on top of the tree was a highlight as I played with the subject. Spot Krishna if you can on this painting :) I just could not resist it and that night I hardly slept with the thought of Him being there and only I knew it.

The entire series is on the wall- photo below. The paintings are on black foam with acrylics taped to the wall with painter's tape. So simple yet effective.

The tree will continue with more paintings added as days go by if He gives me the inspiration.

Backdrop for graduation dance

Give me a bunch of spray paints and an idea for graffiti and I can go berserk.

And this was proved during Vignesh's 8th grade graduation dance. The theme was "House of Gaga" and the committee wanted the lettering in
graffiti style. I taped the paper (which I had procured from my work-place!) to the garage floor and started spraying away. The spray leaves a lovely effect on the edges. I enjoyed the freedom of going with the flow without any template!! what if I had messed - cannot procure another similar paper another time!! But it worked :)

Krishna's lilas

After Krishna defeated the serpent Kaliya which had poisoned the waters of the Yamuna river, He danced on it's heads. What a dance that must have been!

I used a black foam board and acrylic paints to draw the Kaliya Mardana dance. I had outlined the drawing with pencil and as I proceeded, I decided not to paint Krishna's face and body. It is left to the imagination of the devotee. Close your eyes and you can see Krishna :)

This I hope is a beginning of a series. I already have a idea to paint on the similar black foam board, Krishna and Radha on a Swing, then Yashoda chasing Krishna....

Jai Maa Kali

Aditi and gang were dancing at ICC for a competition on the song "Jai Maa Kali". They needed an extra prop of Mother Kali's picture and tried enlarging a picture from the net at Costco but the resolution did not render correctly. So when Shilpa asked me to paint a poster of Mother Kali, I was so excited. She sent me couple of pictures to refer to and they were elaborate pictures of the angry mother. But in my own search, I liked a close up of the Mother's picture, just her face. So I used both sides of the poster board and on one side I painted just her face (above) and on the other side the entire Mother (below). Much as I tried I could not get anger in her eyes and I got a softer look. Secretly I am happy. All in 4 hours of work and some acrylics - esp orange, red and blue!

After I started this picture, I felt I should have tried just 4 hands pose rather than 10 but she had destined it already :) I left out the detail of Lord Shiva at her feet as I have to understand the legend behind the pose.


Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, one of Kali's greatest devotee who saw her as ever compassionate mother said:


"You know I am a fool. I know nothing.Then who is it that says all these things? I say to the Divine Mother: 'O Mother, I am the machine and Thou art the Operator.I am the house and Thou art the indweller. I am the chariot and Thou art the Charioteer.I do as Thou makest me do. I speak as Thou makest me speak; I move as Thou makest me move. It is not I ! It is all Thou ! It is all Thou !'Hers is the glory; we are only Her instruments."

Art in my cube

Haha! I would not call this exactly doodling at my workplace but not serious drawings as well. 2 weeks back, I had wound up 2 projects, completed the documentation and then I had some time to kill before the next round of work! After browsing some websites, and catching up with facebook, writing a blog, I saw the cube wall opposite me! Hmmm.. inspiration comes from strange places.

I googled "Elephants" and got started. 3 pencils and 1 sharpie art ;)

Interestingly the current topic in our Chinmaya study group is "Mind" and it is such a intense topic that is constantly on my mind. Mind is nothing but a flow of thoughts; it exists when the thoughts exist; where do they come from; how we pick it depending on our vasanas; how the intellect should introspect them; and why it is so important! In Buddhism, a grey elephant represents a mad wild elephant just like our restless mind, completely out of control. And then there is the white elephant which means the calm mind completely under control! Are my elephants grey or white?

Cosmic Dancer in charcoal

I attempted this charcoal drawing of Lord Shiva as the Cosmic Dancer (in fact Lord Shiva is rarely depicted in a anthromorphic form but otherwise worshipped as a linga). This dance form has various significance regarding the cosmos and encompasses His characteristics like the Crescent moon on his locks, the snakes, the circle of fire, the dumru in his upper right hand, the agni in his upper left hand, the raised foot, the dwarf etc - everything that has a philosophical meaning of liberation and enlightenment . But I did not venture into all that but what I hoped to capture was his peaceful face - a sense of balance.

It was moksha for my charcoal pencils :) I had this set that my dad gifted long back. Charcoal gives the depth to the shading that is achieved only after long details and effort with 6D and 4D pencils.

Breezy sketches

I think color pencils are highly under-estimated. In our home, we have them lying around, to be used by young nephews and nieces to keep them occupied while adults are busy with whatever they are doing. If you notice color pencils come in a wide range of colors and are relatively inexpensive. They can be used wet or dry and can give fine line edges as well as blends of colors. I have some more ideas which will fructify soon.. wait for them!

What is it about boats that capture the artists eyes - there seems to be a kind of philosophy around boats.. the freedom, the abandon, the water.. The houses in pencils are a deviation from my usual subjects, but i liked the result - may qualify to be sent to someone as a greeting card :)

Tales of Chatur

Tales of Chatur was a set of 8 stories I had written for children targetting ages 6 to 10. I approached a few publishers and got rejections. As a first time author, I neither had the background, nor an agent and I can take rejections pretty badly. As these stories gather dust, I am debating to send to Champak while Ram has been trying to convince me to self-publish.

Here is a snippet of my introduction and some sketches I had done to accompany my stories in this blog.

Imagine yourself in a jungle with thick growth, green foliage and life everywhere on the ground, water and the canopy. The Bhanavi Jungle! There is a story behind every leaf, in every breeze, even in a paw print. These stories take you there and help you see the facts about animals and their way of life through Chatur, the wise owl. Let’s start the safari!

Tez and Oonchi
How the Cheetah and Giraffe became friends
Chiman, Samajh, and Chanchal: the Water heroes
How the animals of Bhanavi fought the drought
Moorkha and his shadow
How the vain jackal found his strength
Rujul and the rabbits
A turtle that could not swim

Guni and the wolf pack

The wolves’ fight for survival

Samajh and the missing elephants
How the illegal electrical fencing proved fatal to elephants
Saral and the talking ball
How the chimpanzee escaped the wrath of the crocodile
Phurti and her friend from Siberia
How the cuckoo made friends with a Siberian Crane

A New Journey

I posted this poem on another site for a contest. Nope.. did not win, but thought it appropriate to go beside one of my sketches, a path bordered/shaded by trees, here in my blogspot. Hope you all like it! I may edit it later with my last Will & Testament ;)

I depart for a new journey,
I brought nothing with me,
I take nothing with me,
Time to leave the Marquee.

Do not regret, do not cry,
I shall be in a blink of an eye.
In your heart, there will be a reply.
So I shall not say good-bye.

No confessions to make, no stories,
No demands, or requests, or sorries.
I leave back some nice memories,
Yes, Smile! No reason for worries.

A new adventure awaits me.
As "I" am set free,
When they say "After I Die"
Please know that the dead is not "I"!

Eagles on a tee shirt

It was a challenge for me. One of our cousins (cousins galore! - if you really look through the family tree, Gau will qualify to be a nephew or even a grand nephew, but then that would not be flattering to me!) was wearing branded tees with a Eagles on it. Oh yes, it looked good but definitely I had to paint one and show that it could be done better and cheaper ;) I havent given this to him as yet. But I took a picture of it to see it in a different perspective. I have used fabric markers which comes in different colors. The eagle face is on the front right hand corner while the colorful silhoutte is on the back.

Kolam

This recent kolam I did with a painter's acrylic pen fills me with memories of Kolams from our days in India. Esp. during Navrathri and Diwali, when the whole courtyard will be filled with geometrical designs. Maav Kolam, podi kolam, decorations with Kaavi and Rangoli with color powder - it was creativity at its peak!


Kolam, for the uninitiated, is a decorative artwork (painted prayer), made by ladies of the South Indian households, in the front yard or in front of dieties. These designs are traditionally done with rice powder, a tribute to other living beings like birds and ants who would eat them. Though the irony of the fact is that front yards are becoming rare in the face of high rise apartments taking over, this age old tradition is still followed within smaller limitations. There is a sort of blog for kolam enthusiasts - ikolam.org to share their designs.

I got the idea of the acrylic paint pen from a good friend (kavitha -uh-hum) and immediately purchased it. The first kolam on a wood plank has Baby Krishna's feet as I cannot wait until Janmashtami (Krishna's bday) . The second is a salutation to the Sun God (dont know the meaning of the different geometrical shapes).

Though I can say with some pride that the entire design evolved freehand, I am sure a keen eye can see the variation in symmetry ;)

A poem for my Dad

Sitting here in the sunny California Bay Area, thousands of miles,
away from him back in India, I remember with smiles,
many fond memories of childhood, growing up, adolescent,
and finally leaving home, from then to the present.
Reminiscences are strange, they fail you sometimes, I lament,
So I try and commit to memory, some special moments.
At least I need not be afraid about smudges in word documents,
Made by my tears as I go through nostalgia in the following sentences.

Looking at the world mostly perched on his shoulders,
I was the Princess and could win anything with honors.
Playing doctor to my doll, washing away my artwork from the walls,
Driving to the beaches, playing with sand-castles and the balls.
Amazing tricks with a rope climbing the wall to violin music, oh boy.
Even a simple garbage drop would be an extra trip to buy a toy.
A talented artist in his own right, working on oils, clay or pastels
he would see my crawly pictures of supposedly pretty girls,
looking like beheaded mummies, as signs of great promise.
I wanted to be like him! He ensured the smile on my face.

Started school and made friends, though boarding school was a fright,
Waiting for a bright 3D post card with his message on it, the only highlight.
Summer vacation, being with family, our happiness, he knew the best,
Soon we left boarding school and were just like the rest.
But there were times when he used to be so protective that it embarrassed me.
I especially remember the time when I had a fall at school and scraped my knee.
The next evening he was at the school grounds asking my friends,
While I stood there, hoping no one took offense,
if anyone pushed me on purpose, his darling daughter cannot fall by herself!
From that day, I made sure he knew that I could take care of myself.
My friends admired him for his gentle attitude, his smile, his good looks,
his knowledge on a wide range of topics, his collection of books,
Not to mention he was the gallant and willing chauffeur
being the one always to pick us up from a party or movie theatre!
He also gave the final touch to our Biology diagrams to impress our teacher.
Always the one to help – friends, neighbor, stranger or near & dear.

He had his rules about the books I read and movies I watched in my teens.
And when I sneak in a juicy romance novel, he had his uncanny way and means
In finding them in the most ‘unfindable’ place! The incriminating evidence in hand,
I would be in for a long lecture, a Charles Dickens, to read it, a command.
I still managed to read those books (it’s a girl thing, I guess!)
in between the Dickens but somehow I feel that he knew about it and did not stress!
He promised me a moped if in my 12th exams I crossed the 90 percentile
I did it, more to see the pride in his face than the moped I could ride in style.
College was fun as I zoomed up and down, but I ensured and squashed my fears,
that my friends’ whispers about me being a menace on two wheels did not reach his ears!

I went on to do my Masters, and this time in a Co-Ed class,
I ended up with more friends of the opposite sex! A tomboy that I was,
I remember the day when I gave a lift to a boy of my class on the pillion seat
He saw me and I knew I was in for a sermon complete.
I was feeling rebellious. So giving a boy a lift doesn’t mean anything, I frowned!
We talked about trust and openness that day and I never let him down.
He knew all my friends by name and when boys came home, oh brother,
he would hang around in the hall poking at something or the other.

Got a job, rode a better bike, read any novel and spoke to any boys I wanted,
watched Michael Jackson shows on TV in spite of his frowns, undaunted.
But I was still his little girl, he knew and he trusted,
I was a piece of him, and will always know as I adjusted.
We had some daily rituals, like a game of chess,
he would let me backtrack, when my side was in distress.
He was still the magic-fingers-Dad to repair my glasses, my bike
and my ego, whenever and as often required!

Time flew and he started looking for an alliance for me
and rejected all the boys based abroad, no one across seven seas!
Married and settled in Bombay, I left the home I knew for over 24 years,
New life, new family, everything new, but he allayed my fears.
Junior was born, and in my early days of new motherhood,
I went through panic fits for things I never understood.
When the puny fellow used to throw up or refused to sleep
or cried endlessly for God knows what, just to make me weep!
He used to take over and carry him in between feeds,
telling junior stories of great people and their deeds.
While I looked at him disbelievingly as to how junior will understand,
being so young, holding out his tiny hands around his old wrinkled hand.
His argument was that his grandson will register the stories
And influence him later as his destiny has in store many glories!

Some years back, he went through 2 major surgeries,
My superman was unwell in the hospital and that shook me up.
He came back home, much thinner and older
but he insisted that his heart was 20 years younger.
He has gone back to his old ways of driving the scooter for any small reason,
climbing the walls to pluck the elusive mango from our tree.
Now it is my turn to advise him to take care, not to eat pickles, no tension,
Not to climb trees, to get his tests done and he smiles through the phone.
And then I go about telling him what we are doing, work, weather, politics everything
what junior is up to, our plans to visit them and it keeps us going.

You must have known by now he is my Dad.
Today I see the same admiration in the eyes of my son for his Dad!
No! Today is not Father Day! It is just any other day,
and we love our fathers just the same, needless to say!
I pick my phone to talk to him at the end of this outpour,
Knowing I am still his little girl, however I grow older.


Moms are fantastic too and I have one – so beautiful in heart and brave in spirit but that is a whole different poem!

Phase of Ganeshjis

"Vakratunda Mahakaya 
Surya koti Samaprabha

Nirvighnam Kurume 
Deva Sarva karyeshu sarvada"

This is a prayer to the leader of the "ganas" (the demi-gods The purport being:"Oh Lord with twisted tusk and great body and the one who shines with the brilliance of a crore of suns. Please remove the obstacles in my path always and in all times".

Ram had a dream about elephants a month before our son was born and he knew then that we would name our baby - Vignesh. And he was born soon after Ganesh Chaturthi :)

Lord Ganesha, who is known by many names in Hindu mythology is also called Vignesh - the remover of Obstacles.

While I dont want to go into the etymology or the symbolism or festivals related to Lord Ganesha  in this blog, you can drill down further into it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GaneshThe elephant-headed God has let many creative mind explore Him and His magnificence through sculptures, songs, chants and paintings. While I have a small collection of his miniature sculptures, I have attempted to also inquire into myself by painting Him in bright acrylics. I dont possess any of these or the other Ganeshas anymore which I have given away to friends. But someday I want to attempt them all again, this time together in one big canvass, as in several small paintings in one canvass. Someday... if Ganesha will remove all obstacles in the way ;)