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.

From the bowels of Gods own country- Kathakali dancer

Kathakali, an Indian classical dance form that found its roots in the temple towns of Kerala, is truly one of the most vibrant and enigmatic dance forms. The heavy caked layers of makeup, the over exaggerated facial features, the heavy  rich layers of clothing and the tantalising long silver nails makes for a treat for the eyes. I remember watching a Kathakali performance at one of my cousins weddings in Kerala and every graceful move and facial expression left me awestruck. Another influence or  rather a memory I have of Kathakali as a dance form is a movie I watched - ' Vanaprastham' with the South Indian actor idol 'Mohan Lal', thank God for subtitles for us pseudo- mallus, the movie wouldn't have made much sense without it. It unveiled a side of the art form that most people don't get to see, a melancholic tale riddled with alcoholism , caste discrimination it's definitely a movie I recommend.

From an artist point of view, the Kathakali dancer is a challenge because it goes against the fundamentals of proportions and aesthetics. Starting with the almost ghoulish base colour of a face which is green, to add to it there are facial features that are over exaggerated, like the bloodshot eyes, the heavy kohl and almost unrealistic lip shape. There is many a Kathakali artwork I've come across that lands up making the dancer look unappealing.

The challenge is capturing the beauty in the non-conformity. It's not an easy task and I'm not sure I've been able to do so, but every Kathakali dancer kettle I've painted tests that.

A dragonfly in my mind's eye

Some nights feel like they are made of magic, where you feel an almost primal need to express something. This artwork started like most, a faint glimmer in my mind's eyes and with each brush stroke morphed into something beautiful and heartfelt. If you've followed my artwork and blogposts you'd know I do have more than just a soft corner for dragonflies, so much so that I've had one inked on my body. 

At the fag end of every Monsoon season, I find myself standing on my terrace engulfed in a sea of dragonflies, it's a surreal experience where you smack dab in the middle of a bustling city and yet in your mind you feel like you're in a lush field filled with dragonflies, so real is the feeling that I can almost smell the fresh grass and feel the soft mud between my toes.

This artwork which is still a work in progress, is a humble expression of all of those feelings I've felt over the years. My little haven and escape from the realities of living a fast paced city like Mumbai.