Poetry- What day owes to the night

 What's colors to children is what stories are to humans.

Surrounded by the hills, huddling under the blanket of sparkling stars Humans share stories A start, an interval, an ending Surrounded by the concealing laughs, rubbing hands to bring the warmth Humans share jokes Little reality, little fiction, little life, little darkness What day owes to the night is what humans owe to their selves in solitude.

TEDxTalks- Dare to be Sensitive | Kapil Gupta

After a long time, got a chance to catch up on a TEDx Talk. Kapil talks about sensitivity and how men are conditioned to suppress their emotions. To ask for help is not a sign of weakness but a strength. I love the way he started his talk with his story and delivered the main theme of the talk- Sensitivity and men. How often do we buy the beliefs that doesn't help us? 

Intesa- Viols and Voice

A lovely piece by the duo. I got a chance to attende a church concert performed by this duo

 

The Legendary Dosa Man of NYC | Street Food Icons

A very touching story. Thiru's story reminded me of all the travelers I met who flew away from their country due to war and other crisis. Recently, when I was traveling and had no cash on me, a person offered me cash and when I asked details to send the cash, he said, help someone in need and walked away. There are many instances where I was helped and supported through out. Staying open and receiving the love from the world seems to be the thought worth pondering upon. Grateful. 

Poetry- Written words

 

Poetry- To be and To have

 

Thought- Being healthy is a commitment

Being healthy is a life long commitment we need to give to ourselves. Many a times, many friends hinted me that there's a lot that goes to health more than hydration & nutrition. So far, I've learnt that hydration, nutrition, exercise & rest are the basics for our wellbeing. Learning the nuances of these, I learnt that we need physical rest, emotional rest and rest in wholesome terms. To be at rest is to be still. To be still is to be aware of the present. Moving stillness seems to be a paradox I like to contemplate on. Interesting journey. 

Travel Diairies- Life with Lola- Day2

I began my day by a walk and reached Abbaye, a historical monument at Arles Sur Tech. I enjoyed soaking in the sun and wandered around. The place is so small that I do not feel I'm lost. Wherever I'm I see the mountains which bring a sense of familiarity. 

After a long walk, I got ready and had a breakfast. After a heavy breakfast- Pasta & Coffee, we went for a walk with Lola. Walks are always fast and short with Danesh. We began our day with clay plastering. Clay is a very environmental friendly and maintains temperature during all seasons. I mixed and plastered clay on the walls which seemed hard but fun. After 3 hours into clay plastering, I called it a day and rested serving myself a heavy lunch. While D went on for work, I rested a bit and went ahead for a hike. 

Before I began the hike, I was reading and writing a bit. As I began the Loop hike, I was recording a few moments. After a while, I was so lost in the woods, I continued walking without bothering about recording the moments. Got some pretty good views and hiked for 3 hours. 

After a nice shower, some time with books and journals.  I realised that physical work brings out a lot of balance in life. It's good to involve oneself in physical work. That keeps us healthy and fit.  I had my dinner and caught up with Danesh on wood carving and some stories.A long day. A good one. 

Travel Diairies- Life with Lola- Day 5

A morning walk towards the village, I enjoy the morning sun and the rumbling water. A long walk along the waters and the neighbourhood, I got interested at the doors and the letter boxes. Satisfied with the morning sun diet, I began my day. Along with Dan, we did some work with wood and Doradango. Rob mentioned about the music gig happening at  Le Moulin des Arts et de l'Artisanat. I wanted to have some solitude time at the river and got soaked under the sun. Time in the nature always helps us to be more aware of the moments. After spending hours reading a bit and writing some poetry, I walked down to the venue, hearing the rhythms. A lot of them on Darbukas and a couple on traditional drums. The place got a vibe and I sat there enjoying the music. As the musicians took a small break, I continued to stroll around and met a couple of kids enjoying their cotton candy at an old mill. While strolling in an old weaving mill, I found out how the government has renovated a lot of dilapadated buildings, mills and brought back them into life. 

While I continued to walk around and spend time, the musicians got back into the game and we enjoyed the night moving our feet to our own rhythms.

Memories- Colourless

It's been a year to the colourless journey. On July 2nd, I had my first solo exhibition in Jaipur at Maah Space. Reflecting on the journey, I got reminded of two people whom I dedicate my book Colourless to- Dyu and Vaishnavi. When I decided to move to Rajasthan, I never planned or thought how I'm going to take up this new journey. Dyu came along and has been there through out my Rajasthan journey, sharing a house, meals and conversations. Though I passed out of college in 2016, I was merely bheaving like a college kid living in a hostel when I moved to Rajasthan. I was impulsive, naive and active. When I picked a brush and paint, Dyu looked at me and never bothered to say a word. At nights, I would wake up and paint. At times, he was startled by my erratic randomness but, never expressed it outrightly. I could do a lot of things I did in Sirohi, because I had time. I had time because Dyu spent a bit of his time, managing the home and the daily cooking. Willingly or unwillingly, Dyu did a lot of house errands and was quite flexible with me being erratic in picking house errands.  I was spending most of my time with books, writing and painting while he was spending time to prepare meals and manage some shopping. I'm immensely grateful for his support throughout. I couldn't have spend most of my time in my creative pursuits, If I had to dedicate a lot of time to cooking or doing house errands. I wrote  a lot of poetry and painted a lot, during COVID, thanks to Dyu for helping me to have the right environment at home, to write and pursue my expressions.

I met Vaishnavi in Uttarakhand in 2021 and got a chance to meet her again in Jaipur. Engaging in conversations about colours, Vaishnavi shared a conversations on her life perspectives and creativity.  Talking of colours and perspectives, I penned a poem- Colourless. With colourless poem, began my journey of finding colours and colouring the gray memories I had from my childhood. Also, Dyu always tried out continental cuisines and treated me with delicious food. Vaishnavi helped me to appreciate the aroma of fried onions and tomatoes and treated me yummy food. In one way, both Dyu and Vaishnavi treated me with their exceptional culinary skills. Thanks Chefs! 

With the help of Dyu and Vaishnavi, I paved my colourless journey and went ahead with my creative pursuit. Grateful for their company, presence and words, the least I could do was to dedicate my work to them. Thanks Dyu & Vaishnavi for inspiring and helping throughout. 

Poetry- Silence

Sensing silence in sounds and slippery water

Sensing stirring stories in sublime & sunshine’s strolling

Sensing self in the stream of several slithering selves

Does one sense the silence and the melody it speaks through?