Mothers and Mothering 😊

I was fifteen when we shifted into our own home. My mom and I. 

I had a room to myself for the first time and I was given enough choice and freedom to choose my own colors and decorate it the way I wanted 😊. 

I painted my bathroom wall with this sprig of flowers. Even today the instructions to the cleaning lady is to just dust it and never use a harsh detergent on it. It looks the same as it did when I made it three decades ago! 

My mom’s home is full of my paintings, but nothing gives her more joy that this one, done spontaneously by her teenaged daughter, who had stars in her eyes, a deep love for nature and painting and no idea what to do with it. 

This one wall reaffirms for me just how much someone’s faith can give power to us…

Everytime I have an exhibition I think of this wall and relive my journey… My mom never rubbed it off, given that she is a stickler for cleanliness, somewhere she saw in me, the seeds of something that I was unaware of… And she nurtured it, without saying a word… 

In believing in me she gave me the greatest gift she ever could…. That of believing in myself… 😊

Morning Walks and Treasures

Morning walks… 

Fallen pods
Spilled seeds
From unknown trees
Catch the eye
And take a ride back
In a loose pocket
To be observed and admired
Sketched and painted
Till the walks
Becomes a distant memory
And my sketch?
Its reality… 😊

#nature #beauty #morningwalkmagic #asketchaday #SimplePleasuresofLife #joy 

Just One More… 😊

With paint to spare and 

Paper right there

One can paint free

Without any care

It’s the end of the day

Why throw the paint away? 

So do the next best thing

Before closing the door

Make another artwork… 

Just one more! 

😁

Kindred Spirits 😊

It took

The wildness

Of nature

To make me realise

We are

Kindred spirits…. 😊

Mothers… 😊

Just the simple ritual of hand-beaten coffee before the moms leave for Doon has an unusual sanctity…. We all wait for it…The tray is laden with their favourite snacks and mugs of coffee dispensed. They sip, we discuss myriad topics, their gentle presence adding to the serene atmosphere of the room where they have been room mates for a few days 😊… I admire them unabashedly.. Their beauty, their comfort with each other, their honesty and their strength…

And then they leave. Neat bags all zipped up, smart handbags well arranged with their daily needs, and off they go in a whiff of some floral perfume that they love!

Colours of Faith

This season sees a multitude of men and women undertake a journey by foot, walking hundreds of miles sometimes, to collect the pure water of the Ganges in Haridwar and take it back to their villages and towns to bathe their family deities with that water. 

They never keep their beautifully decorated water carriers on the ground. Good samiritans and the government provide rest stations with stands made in them where they place their pure water, rest, eat and carry on with their journey…. Sometimes alone and in small groups at other times… 

It’s a show of their faith and quite a few walk bare foot… 

That Wild Feeling!

Acrylic and Oil on Canvas 

No rules are needed… Just start off and enjoy!!