A warm welcome 2018 !

At New Year brunch

All that hype and hoopla about the New Year is finally over and world seems to be coming back to normalcy. Please don't mistake me for a New Year's Grinch. I have "been there and done all that" I seem to dislike about The New Year now. 

Since last few years, it has become our family tradition to go for languid New Year brunch. It is great start for the New Year where time is spent unhurried, just the way it ideally should be amongst the family but isn't always possible due to routinely frazzled schedule of everyone. 

There is this undeniable lure to the New Year brunch that somehow manages to fulfill our stomachs and spirits with the magic wand of great food and ambiance. Albeit, there is more to it than delectable food! It is the conversation, slowing down for a few hours unnerved by all the frenzy and feeling connected, strengthening the bond as family, laughing out louder and longer and feeling the comfort of  each others' company. 

This year too we followed the tradition, whetting our appetites with words and inchoate thoughts waiting restlessly to be shared, soaking up in tales of each others' life, reflecting on the year gone by. Nostalgia came wafting and eyes brimmed with tears with memory of my mother in law and a facebook friend; an immensely gifted photographer and writer whom we lost in 2017.  As they say, grief takes time to heal.

Life is slowly getting back to routine that prevailed before my mother in law surrendered to cancer. Being primary care taker of a patient of life threatening disease can be physically, mentally and emotionally numbing experience. And getting out of that zone is quite a challenge! Fortunately, the focus is slowly but surely shifting back to myself and the New Year promises to bring back many possibilities. That deep concern over meandering trajectory of  my life that was thwarted due to changed priorities and extraordinary circumstances is melting away with each day. 

I plan to get back to my passions and that includes this blog that I have deserted almost entirely last year. I pray 2018 brings new hope and promise for you and your loved ones. 

A very warm welcome year 2018!  

Picking up life from where I left

Writing articles for this blog is the first thing that disappears from my radar when life becomes too demanding and leaves me absolutely frazzled! I have barely written on this blog, mostly due to pressures on my time and energy.

And then there are moments of self doubt. "I have lost touch" I tell myself staring blankly at the screen while words jumble in my mind teasingly!

 

“What do I write about?” I’m shocked at my own self for having that question in first place as there are so many things I wish to write about (and believe me, I often end up writing articles in my mind while doing some random work at the oddest place and time).

Those of you who read this blog regularly know I lost my mother in law to Cancer few months back. Life is slowly getting back to the routine that prevailed before we were faced with this tragedy. 

As a primary caretaker of my mother in law for almost three years, I have learnt great deal about life, human beings and relationships. It was a physically, emotionally and mentally most exhausting period of my life that changed me as a person. More than the physical exhaustion it is shocking realisation of some harsh truths about life and frailty of human relationships that shook me completely. 

It is amazing how death teaches us about life, we tend to ignore otherwise.  

Nursing patient of life threatening disease with serious psychiatric issues can take a huge toll creating negativity, causing havoc in one's life. One needs to disconnect completely and create healthy detachment from the inner circus that keeps drawing back attention to emotional wounds that bleed, seethe making one vulnerable, angry and helpless. 

Past few months I have consciously tried to take a step back and reconnect with my core, listening to my body, mind and spirit. 

In these last months of conscious solitude, I have rediscovered myself layer by layer and have realised, there is much more to life than sum total of our experiences, relationships, aspirations, achievements, hurts, failures and many more things that we so routinely get weighed down by. 

There is calm that this solitude has granted me and I am all set to pick up life from where I had left it, some time back.  

 

 

 

Rendezvous with real fashionistas on the road!

Last month, we went for a long due pilgrimage at hubby’s native in Gujarat. It was a hot day and we were getting weary by the scorching heat; irritated and hungry, searching for a decent place for lunch that seemed like impossible dream. Only respite was view from the car; tiny little hamlets here and there, a pond or two with buffalos enjoying blissful siesta with sage like calm, fresh crops in the fields and birds!

The drive was getting too long and I was on verge of dozing off when I spotted this group of beautiful women; unskilled labourers heading for their work unperturbed by the ruthless Sun. I asked the driver to stop the car a few meters ahead and waited for this group to arrive. My first few shots were candid but the moment they noticed me with the big camera, they were intimidated and that’s when I introduced myself in their language, Gujarati. It helped to break ice.

Between the obviously irritated calls from my hubby and son and my fervent pleading to them to tolerate my madness, I was granted a few minutes. The ladies were in hurry to reach their work so I had to walk (run) with them as we interacted.

These women do “maatikaam” on construction sites. Conferred upon by the responsibilities of looking after children, home and work, they are subjected to struggle between long work hours, poor pay, dangerous and unsanitary conditions.

They were gentle in conversation yet feisty, their dusty hands and feet; evidence of hardship they put up with everyday and their genuine loud laughter, high pitched clamour stole piece of my heart!

Each lady from the group posed willingly albeit pleasantly surprised that an educated “madam” should be interested in their " dirty clothes and life in general! For those few moments of my interaction with them, world ceased to exist for me. I instantly fell in love with their inner beauty that seeks no understanding and needs no definition in a confining language!

I’m not sure if I could capture their beauty and elegance in folds and layers of their stunning attires. These barely literate women, their sense of style and beautiful attires floored me! The sarees they wear are more like “dupattas” for urban women, the combination of their clothes, simply mind blowing and the elan with which they carry themselves can give run to any professional stylist and model run for her money. For me, women like them are true fashionistas!   

Have you ever experienced unfiltered beauty and love that catches you completely off guard and you are so moved by sheer joy that makes your eyes brim with tears?

I returned to the car after interacting with these lovely ladies, overwhelmed by sheer joy of my encounter with raw, genuine souls. It felt like having experienced yet another pilgrimage!   

The ME to WE, at "A hundred hands" exhibition !

An Art and handicraft lover like me always gets spoilt for choices in a city like Bombay that is known for its exuberant Art scene.

One notable exhibition I recently attended was the second edition of “A hundred hands”; an NGO from Banglore, a handmade collective, that provides a platform for handicraft artists and educates them in enhancing their products and encourage them to understand contemporary styles and compete with global products. 

Indian handicrafts is a very vast realm when it comes to writing about it! Millions of Indians still depend on indigenous modes of production, traditional skills and techniques to make a living based on handmade products. 

Traditional handicrafts are unique expressions of a culture or community through local craftsmanship and materials. With increased globalization however, products are becoming more and more commercialized and artisans find their products competing with goods from all over the world and that is precisely the reason, NGOs like "A hundred hands" play a major role in helping the artist carry forward legacy of their land and its culture, myth, and religion in their art practices. 

Traditional arts define the true identity of a civilization. In India, handicraft and its artisans were highly regarded and duly rewarded until the outbreak of 19th-century industrialization. Unfortunately, one of the challenges the Indian handicraft industry faces today is that our markets do not recognize the true value of craft and this trend has led a large number of artisans to move to urban centers in search of low, unskilled employment. While crafts received royal and aristocratic patronage during pre-independence days, the sector presently carries the stigma of inferiority and backwardness and is viewed as decorative, peripheral, and elitist despite being the second-largest source of employment!

"From me to we" is an initiative of"A hundred hands" that provides a boost to hundreds of artisans by building a network of artisans, empowering, encouraging, and helping them sustain the revival of their crafts without losing its ethos. 

Here are some snippets from the exhibition that showcased stunningly beautiful art with its complex, colorful, simple yet captivating raw charm and the immensely gifted artists who were such delight to meet with! 

Wooden blocks used for traditional block printing 

Block printed newspapers that can be used as gift packs or book covers! 

Bags made from recycled denims; cool, contemporary and recycled 

Mustak, third generation from the renowned Khatri family associated with dying art of "Ajarakh" 

The ancient Art form Sanjhi from Mathura 

National (president) award winner, Patta chitra Artist Akshaya Kumar Bariki, showcasing his work and singing folk songs that narrate story of the painting! 

Bags made with banana fibres

Nandan and his colleague from Aarohana keenly show the presentation on laptop on how plastic is dangerous for environment

Artistic combs made with ebony wood

Necklace made with lacquer  

Card holders made with tyre tubes

As the year 2016 ends

It is that time of the year when the world goes absolutely bonkers about celebrating the New Year! Due to My mother in law's health, New Year celebration is going to be at home, subdued, sans any fanfare. My aim is to find a few hours to unwind, hang loose, not worry about anything and just relax with family.

As the year 2016 comes to end, I realize I have barely written on this blog this year. Honestly, given the choice, I would not like to revisit last three years that gave us toughest time of our life. My mother in law's cancer has taken toll on all of us. It feels as if last three years moved so slowly that it started to us hurt deeply and we are at end of tether!

Death and serious illness teach us things and open our eyes about some harsh realities of life. 

It would be easy to just say nothing much of value happened in 2016! But that wouldn’t be true. I have learned great deal about life, frailty of human relationships and above all, value of human life and realized how grateful we are to have such a wonderful life! 

There have been instances when I wanted to write posts but was stuck in quagmire of emotions that typically visit a primary caretaker of a person fighting life threatening disease. Many a times my mind crossed timelines trying to figure a rhythm to settle down but just could not and so the articles never got written on the blog despite me having written them many times in my mind at some random hour.  

I wish to correct that in the year 2017. Thank you my dear readers for having faith in me and writing to me and encouraging me to continue this blog. Your love and support mean a world to me. Many of you have reminded me "the show must go on" and it will!

Here is wishing you and your family a fantastic year 2017! May you find all the happiness in coming year and may your dreams come true! 

Loads of love !!!