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!!!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
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.
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 :)
Sunday, November 11, 2007
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.
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.
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