An artist who paints for a different world!

This man has based the theme of his paintings on something so different yet means a lot in everyones life.

Read on at the Diversecity sectionof Sattva:
http://www.itihas.org.in/SattvaNovember2007.pdf

A for Action!

Pounding hearts, Butterflies in stomach, clasped hands, counting beats....Three, two, one and rolling went Vasanth's keyboard to get the audience's first attention in synchronous with the introductions. 'Welcome to Chautanki'!

It was our first time on stage , the first play to go and ON went the 'Pair of glasses team'. Minutes after the play began the butterflies vanished and performances came up. The actors complemented each other as though they have been doing the play all their life, as if the journalist and the military man's families in Gujarat were really neighbours ; singing and dancing. Shaunak's entry added the much needed seriousness to the romance and the slight humour which caught on and kept people busy laughing! The puppets coordinated each other perfectly, confused a little yet acting to the moment, working as a team and making that ending as good as it can get, garnished by Vipul's Shayari verses getting our grey cells working. They had a blast on stage and came back to the green room relieved and tired.


The next was really a task. I always wondered why Ranji wanted us amatures to do something as serious as Improvisation. This was no joke. The audience were asked to narrate a story from their experience and the actors enacted it on the spot. Spontaneity and creativity had to be in tune to keep it going. When i watched the first improv team perform i knew why. In the end it was more about living that moment, letting go and jus plain acting. You only improve when you perform! The story was funny and so were the actors. The rest of the team sat giggling uncontrollably which soon got retorted by a serious 'ssssshhh' from the musician who was right next to us.



It was fun, to watch others. I had this creepy feeling growing everytime i got reminded of my turn- for improv. I was nervous and had no idea how it was gonna be. It turned out to be a simple story, rather so simple that i felt there was no story (:P) ; well, we had to perform. I had no idea what i was saying or doing, so were the others beside me. But, i had fun! Guess thats how an Improv is supposed to be. The best part was when a sweet lady came upto me after the show and said 'Hey! your "Maa ko yaad kar was super". Pause. There was a bubble which grew above my head saying "Eeeeh! did i say that?". ofcourse i was sweet enough thank the lady but.

Time for some more drama. The last play in line was 'The unknown', a regular fiction with a mysterious ending. Infact there was no ending and was left the imagination of the audience. This was designed to be a scary one and who else could be a better choice to scare ppl. Yes.... you all got it wrong, it was the tiny little poor me (grinnnn). In plain words, i had ball on stage. One reassuring thing for me before i got on was it was all dark (:P). No one could see me in light except for a small candle in front meant to make me look scary! But that was just on the first day. Sunday was all let loose, i couldnt wait to get there! I tired to get a lil creative thou for which i had the consequences to follow (:D). seriously, grt fun!







The entire show was a culmination of a lot of things. For me it was the curiousity that kept me on. I was extremely inqusitive to know what happened to me on stage, end of all those weeks of interaction. And the good news is the results were astounding. It was just too much fun pilled in a single day for all of us. It really was tiring but one of those times when you enjoy being tired. When all that pain is worth it (sob, sob ) (:P).


Like all good things come to sweet endings, the weekend cheer ended with a well deserved lunch at 'Legacy of Punjab'. This was well deserved cuz of two reasons. one, it was three in the afternoon and people hardly spoke to each other when they saw food. two, we paid a price for it (;D).







PS:

Few things that just could not go unnoticed at chautanki:





Annie's perky simle all over the place.

Manisha's cute and feminine ways at things. The best 'ma' around!

Vineet's adorable daddajish 'dum dum dum' - hilarious!!

Anish - The most lethargic military man! :P

Vipul's theartrical traits and artistic looks.

Abhijit's concern and unmistakable sense.

Ambika's easiest approaches to most complex situations.

Gaurav's awesome voice.

Bhargav's commitment and witty attitude.

Hari's compelmenting hairstyles :)

Sound and strength alias khadir.

Kishore's heartening and memorable speeches

Laynum's voice and prominence in all photographs [;)]

Madhu's hero ishtyle.

Goshia's grace that kept most men busy :P

Mayank- sense and sensibility

The magnitude of things that Nandhini has to say. Everytime! :)

Prashant's funny bewilderment at normal things.

Ranji's serious yet not so serious looks.

Rovan- The journalist babu, who sings for neighbours wifes!

Saurab's immense knowledge about cosmetics!! (:P)

Shaunak's flow of complicated hindi

Vasanth's mellifulous tamil tunes ;)

Karthik's camera skills off stage!

and the tiny but tuny and not so tawny Priya!


If I had to describe the entire show of ' Chautanki' in two words I would say Ranji and Nandini. The directors playing their cards fabulously sailed the entire team through a fun filled Journey which could not be deciphered unless experienced. Kudos YT!!

Its the Block!

There is defenitely a block right now.
A block to do anything at all. Its been extremely impossible for the last 24 hrs.
There was a respite when i heard SPB and Kamal for sometime.
But its just there. Feel like just cribbing and resigning.
I want the higher calling to take precedence, the satan to relieve.
I want liberation!!!

My interaction with art in its true form

It was a perfect winter morning. The light yellow early rays of the sun brought some relief to the goose bumps in my hands. I entered the place with a lot of preconceived notions in my mind. What i saw there was a difference i dint quiet expect.

I got out of the auto right in front of the Chitrakala parishad. To my right were two students busily discussing something. As i walked inside, the girl got up and walked into the campus. Her friend screamed out to her " All the best daa, copy well, dont get caught, ha ha ha". Usual college talk.
I walked through the shaded green pathway looking to find the gallery. I found loads of students all across the steps, the pavement, benches;busy with books, pulling each others legs and sharing jokes. It was a great place to just sit and watch around till the gallery opened. Students kept walking in and out of that place, there was this buzz all around the place of exams and books though they were not so serious. I realized that everything about that place was very typical, something that would remind you of your college and exams. Yet, there was something different. Each one of them had something to convey, in the way they looked, they dressed, the bags they carried and the way they walked. They whole place was overwhelming with like minded people who were so expressive. Extermely subtle and captivating, exactly how any art form is.

I sat on the steps chatting with the security men around when i saw a middle aged man wearing a nice khadii kurta climb up the stairs towards the gallery. With the change in expression on faces of the security men i realised that he was the owner of the paintings which were on display that day. I smiled at him and he gave me a wide smile back with a handshake. "You have changed a lot , u look different" he said. "Im sorry sir, Im meeting you for the first time." I replied. "Oh, is it! ha ha ha.. i thought u were the student i met yesterday. U look similar to them." That was the normal naive attitude that Mr. Eby Joseph, carried with him. Extremely humble.

A walk around the gallery with him was like a sojourn to the interiors of kerala. Multiple shades of green was in prominence on his landscapes . Every painting was real. The thick forests of Waynade and Kumorakom with the early sun rays on the leaves could take the audience into the scene. There were also shots from cochin and a couple of scenes of Mr. Joseph's native. A conversation with him about each painting took me to notice the details and little nuances in them.



The paintings had a rough and a smooth part. The rough part was at the bottom of the canvas and formed the land or the leaves on the floor in this case. They could cause an optical illusion to the viewer. When viewed from far they looked like leaves and land and when viewed standing close to the paining they seemed like strokes of colour. It was phenomenal. A time to explore for me. I kept moving back and forth to look at those paintings and was spell bound. A small stroke of yellow colour from close looked like sunlight through the leaves when i looked from a distance. I was amazed by the magic his fingers could produce with simple combination of acrylic colours when intelligently combined. That was "Kerala Darshan", as put down by Mr. Eby N. Joseph.

An hour long journey in the interiors of kerala ended with a quick chat with Mr Joseph when he told me his plans about making a "Bharat Darshan". When he would give the feel of entire india as he had with this collection of Kerala. Soon after the conversation, i saw him searching his draw for something and he flipped out sheet of paper. He asked me to sit where i was and not move for sometime. The result of 15 minutes of concentrated viewing was a mind blowing sketch of me that Mr Joseph made.

I was delighted! He gave me his comments book where i genuienly poured out my feelings at that moment. I thanked him and promising to visit his gallery in kannur soon i bid adieu.

Update: Here is the sketch that he did, of mine :)

A life so different

It was one of the most boring trains one could be in on a sunday afternoon....
I watched out of the window for a long time.After a while when i got used to seeing the paddy fields and the dark green shrubs that was all way through the journey, i got back to doing the most common time pass in trains. Indulge in a not so intersting conversation with my sister where there was more of listening and less of speaking to do [:P]
We were in the midst of a time pass discussion about what is the most important thing they look for when you go for a UK visa interview..(yawn..) and there was this dark figure who crawled into our bay. He would be somewhere around 10 to 12 yrs. He was topless and his brown skin tanned due to the heat was exposing his ribs. He was wearing a rugged denim which protected his limbs as he crawled through the dirty rail compartments. With the dirty cloth in his hands brushed the dirt in the passage. He got into the bay and collected the spilt food particles and black remainants of god knos what with his bare hands while removing the footware and luggage lying there.
I was shocked at the plight of a 10 year old. I looked at my sister and we had the same thoughts running. I picked up a 5 rupee coin from my bag and gave it to him, while the others in the compartment continued to function oblivious of a soul who just picked up their footwear and cleaned their bay. The boy tried his luck by calling people, touching them and begging with his hands out. No one gave him a second look.
Half an hour later, an old haggered looking man walked in. This was something really unusual. He came in to the bay and and had his shirt unbuttoned. He had a huge scary looking organ hanging out of stomach. It was the dirtiest and scariest thing one could ever have. The moment i saw this man, my immediate reaction was to just close my eyes and just wanted him to get away from the place. The first thing in my mind was not pity, it was to just get rid of the dirty feeling and seeing something extremely disturbing.And my companions continued to be in their own worlds. In fact, nothing could make a difference there.
Sometime later, i thought about my attitude change towards these two underprivilidged human being i came across. Why was it that i wanted to help the boy and not the old man? May be because i thought i had to help the boy, he was trying to earn money by working. But why not a dirty suffering old man? I dont know.
In my entire journey i met a couple of more people in similar situations to whom i did not know how to react. I was confused about the attitude i had to show towards them. I really cant go around helping all the ten people i see everyday. But i also cant close my eyes to a 10 year old who picked up my footwear to clean it.

Colouring All The Way

Colouring All The Way

A cacophonic small room filled with people of all ages, including a bunch of school children, fell silent when ‘Colour Wheel’ walked onto the stage.

Read on.. at http://www.itihas.org.in/SattvaSeptember2007.pdf

Recognising that Glow

'Hatred' can be safely classified as the worst quality someone could possess.
Alas, we are all humans;we all experience this feeling sometime or other in life.
Beating this deadly infectious disease could be a great leap towards,
being at peace with yourself, rejuvenating and working towards being enlightened.
I experienced that the best way to do this is by spreading love,
looking into the positive about that person and breaking that mental block.
I'm amazed at how some people can do that so easily.The sheer look at that person, makes you feel happy and gives you fulfillment, even though you hardly know them.
It definitely is a divine quality, the gift to tame that bundle of emotions for good, the intention to look at the positive in people and just forget the evil, the ability to look at a child's innocence and own it, the innate nature to enjoy the trivial things in life and cherish them.
Its not something that everyone can do that easily or something that can be taught or learnt..
Its congenital.
I think they are those people whom we call 'God's own kids'.We still experience goodness because of these people alive.
No, they aren't politicians, celebrities nor social workers...
Some normal human beings, who go on spreading this divine quality.
People who are all around, who just need a second glance to be identified,who all posses an inborn glow.
They could be your mom, dad, neighbour or the person sitting next to you.
I'm so sure that there are so many of them, celebrating humanity and love.
Cheers to all those divine humans, I'm glad i was able to recognize some of them.

Is the money burnt, the Joy earned?

Stunning clothes , expensive food, the best of places available in town, music is a must and crackers too sometimes!3 months of planning, Suggestions from even the not so well known relatives, confusion all around the house, but we claim to enjoy it.Its takes 3 whole days for the boy to tie just 3 knots around the girl's neck....and shhhhhh no one here talks about how much all this costs, it just has to be spent, its just once in a lifetime afterall!

Feels like we are headed to making a status quotient through the occassion, everyone wants to make a big wedding.The rich ones have the money and they have to spend it, the not so rich ones have some money but then comes the 'once in lifetime' quote, the poor cant show that they are poor else how do they get their daughters married?, so even they have to spend...by hook or by crook.
We belong to the modern world ,we have girls who earn equally well .According to us dowry is a thing passe'.There are just two questions which go unanswered amdist all this,
One, are we moulding the so called 'dowry' to a much subtler version through lavish weddings?
Two, are we putting the burden through our weddings , jus because we could afford it, on to the people in the lower social strata?
This seriously needs a second though.

A whole new meaning.

Its that feeling which makes me think about one reason worth living.
Its that moment when i can just sit down and cry.
Its that phase of life, when nothing that i do adds any value.
Its that time when i feel alone, stranded, miserable.
The grief and pain it causes, stays on for quiet sometime.
It takes every bit of me to recoup and think sane.
Nothing can make it better, except that one single want.
Yes, happiness at that point of time is nothing but just that one want.
Just that one single want, the want worth living!
Maybe its not the worst feeling in life then,
i know that one single reason worth living.

Words can create a passion

" He seemed to pluck notes from an impregnable abyss; sewing them seamlessly into dazzling swaras with a tone so rich it moved people to tears."
These are lines from an article about the great musician T.R.Mahalingam, 'flute mali' as he is fondly called.
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/11/10/stories/2006111000680300.htm
I was touched when i read these lines. Rather i was fascinated by the author's involvment.Can music really make people cry?
I had never listened to instrumental music before that, especially flute.
The next thing i did was tried to go get a cd of 'flute mali'.
Being in bangalore,i went to Crossword, Music world, Planet M, and every other shop which looked like having a decent collection.I tried to look for a carnatic music section and realised that there was only a classical music section and that too was filled with Hindustani music cd's.I hardly did find anything in vocal or instrumental carnatic music.I decide to ask for some help and went to the man in the counter and asked him if he had a cd of TR Mahalingam. He looked at me as if i was asking for some alien inhabitant. 'Execuse me' was the reply i got.
I repeated 'T R Mahalingam, he plays the flute.'
'Oh... would u like to try Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, he is amazing' he said.
'Mmm...sure, but not rite now, as i am looking for T R Mahalingam' i said and walked out. This was the reply or even worse in most of the places.
I logged on the Raaga and listened to his music. It was phenomenal.I really din kno, instrumental and that too flute could sound so exceptionally amazing.Well, thats really not it all.. theres so much more....
It got me to explore a whole new genre of instrumental music.
Now it seems plausible, it really can get u cry sometimes.....