Archives for category: Photograph
At the doorway into our home, in the slanting, cool, morning light, she lures me and halts me in my footsteps with her delicate, ivory beauty. Bending down to kiss her soft petals with the tip of my nose, I leisurely inhale her sweet perfume.
At twilight, I step out into our garden, and glance back at her. Her tender petals are wilting with the fading evening light. I sit next to her in sisterhood, observing her frailty. Her fragrance grows stronger, as she surrenders to her dying.
चंद्रभागा 🌙 Chandrabhaga
She is monsoons, spring, autumn,
and a quiet snowfall …
She is beauty, passion, compassion
with moist, clear, playful,
and sparkling eyes …
7th September 2018
29th August 2018
20th August 2018
20th August 2018
19th August 2018
7th August 2018
7th August 2018
Monsoon hill climbs in Maharashtra, gift unexpected encounters with beautiful mountain people, and inspire me to sketch and paint. This sketch is of ‘Chandrabhaga’. A shepherdess who I chanced upon on my afternoon walks on a hill under the shade of grey monsoon clouds, while vast fields of tender green grass and unexpected pools of water, lured me with their colours and shimmers. She embodies the spirit of a river in full swell ~ untamed, yet calm, curious and vivacious, free spirited and attentive. She moves through the green pastures with poise, grace, and elegance. She gave me permission to film her. I went ballistic with my camera, trying to catch her spirit in a photograph. She softly asked me with curious and clear eyes, “What do you do with these photos?” I responded, “I want to capture this moment in my memory, and sometimes I make paintings too. If I make one, I’ll bring it along to show it to you.” She smiled. We conversed for a long time in the noon hours. She told me about her daily routine. Her long climbs with her herd of goats, without a water bottle/phone/hat, just her long wooden stick, and her thick woollen blanket. She spoke about her goats, their behaviour, her life under the wide open skies, her community, and their campsite at the base of these hills …
Its been more than a week, since she plays on my mind. Today, was a day when my being fills with peace and inspiration. I feel the same delight ignite my entire being. And little by little, my beautiful Chandrabhaga, converses with me. I meet her in these pigments, in the brush strokes, in the light shower of rain that touches my skin, when the winds get more frisky, and words form sentences and express feeling on this page.
{journal entry, 7th August 2018}
SKETCH, 7th August 2018
Watch an animal, a flower, a tree, and see how it rests in Being. It is itself. It has enormous dignity, innocence, and holiness. However, for you to see that, you need to go beyond the mental habit of naming and labelling. The moment you look beyond mental labels, you feel that ineffable dimension of nature that cannot be understood by thought or perceived through the senses. It is a harmony, a sacredness that permeates not only the whole of nature but is also within you.
~ Eckhart Tolle
Ashwini Pawar Kaarthikeyan
Kaarthikeyan Kirubhakaran
Hema