Dusk shadows

I visited an old haunt the other day, tucked away in this concrete jungle there are serene escapes for those who look hard enough. My little sanctuary- it's a lush paradise where the sound of crickets drowns out the drone of city life, where colourful frogs croaking in glee, as grey herons bicker over nest space and if you're lucky you can catch a glimpse of striped wild piglets go about their business with wanton abandon.

It's a place I would go to daily for an evening run- run fast, run hard, run till it feels like every muscle in your legs are on fire, your lungs feel like they are about to explode and the wind hits your face till your eyes tear up. It's a delightful cocktail of physical exhaustion and  feeling alive. It's also a place where you can either rummage through the clutter of thoughts in your head and hope to file them neatly or it's a place where you can choose to just don't need think - not a thought in your head or a worry on your mind.

What I also love about my green heaven are the old abandoned buildings, mere skeletons of what they once used to be and etched on their walls are the small telltale signs of the people who once called this place their home. Instead of window grills today all you can find are beautifully woven tapestries of creepers as nature reclaims what was once hers. Enormous trees, who I'm sure have a story to tell as their roots spread deep and far, untouched and left alone for decades. There's an indescribable beauty about this spot in the middle of a bustling city like Mumbai, it's pure and so rare.

Every time I visit this place, I have this urge to bottle up the smells, the sights and my emotions into a jar full of memories, just incase I might never get to experience them again. It's always bitter- sweet to walk away from a place I was once so familiar with.

My heaven- I promise we'll meet again and if I can help it, it will be much more often.

A sea of Elephant Gods and a trip to paradise

As a city is overtaken by a sea of  Elephant Gods, the sounding of drums beckons me to escape this chaos, I took refuge in my home away from home - 'my little slice of paradise' this weekend. A place where my terrace garden comes alive with luscious green foliage, grey herons sit perched precariously on nests filled with hungry fledglings, I feel one with nature and so blissfully unaware of the religious fervour that grips the city.

I packed my paints, canvases and art supplies and spent a delightfully refreshing weekend slowly soaking in what nature has to offer. With hot cups of tea to fuel the engine, I sat on my terrace under a pale blue sky with only butterflies as a welcome distraction. What would have otherwise been a stressful weekend turned into paradise and a very fruitful exercise indeed.


Later that evening I took a stroll down memory lane, a large isolated, greenery filled patch known to only a hand few, where the sound of crickets and the croaking of frogs filled the fresh rain kissed air. Have you ever heard the crackle of electric wires?- as they sway like swings abandoned by impatient children, it's a surreal feeling walking below them, so much power just waiting to be unleashed, to light up homes and lives...

Feel like an electric wire today as I sway to the rhythm of life, careless, unabashed at the stares shot my way at this display of arrogant oblivion.

Holding my dreams close to my heart I swing higher and higher to the point of tipping over! Dreams that come alive when the world sleeps and the mind wanders into the wonderful unknown. Where magic takes over and reality is but a distant blur. In the twilight I sit with arms stretched out in the hopes of touching delicate candy floss clouds, I catch myself thinking silly thoughts - How wonderful would it be,to be able to take a ride on a wispy white cloud?!

Love the crackling electric wires for weaving dreams built on webs of futures untold. Love that I took the time to create a space where I could work and relax at the same time.

Brush strokes into bliss

Wish every Saturday afternoon could be like this, in seventh heaven!!! With some Eddie Vedder in the background and a myriad of colours to paint with I couldn't ask of more!! Here's to many more paint filled, blissful afternoons!!