This piece of illustrative art is inpired from a recent beach trail. Thoughts have always been perceived as an imprint. More so, thoughts transformed into a plan of action would have heavier footprints and would leave trails of fruits of labor.
..“The mist after rain, uninterrupted rainfall on rooftops, pitter-patter intellect. The thoughts I leave behind like footsteps.”
― Chris Campanioni, In Conversation
Explore more fine art : )
This photograph would easily be one of my recent favorites in terms of framing. I was staying on a traffic lane and the car just stopped at this beautiful frame at the centre, as if this moment of click was to converge and fall in place like a click of a button or a tight latch. Although the overly done post-processing is off the roof, I just wanted it to be illuminated this way.
“To photograph is to hold one’s breath when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.”
― Henri Cartier-Bresson, The Mind’s Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers
Lacuna refers to an unfilled gap. I’m extending it to the scenario now wherein I’m back here in this space from a considerably long hiatus. I was actually moving my home to a different place and was rebooting myself as well. For me, I need that calmness and serenity to write/work on art-related stuff. The obvious chaos ensued from a house shift had to settle itself down. Netta and myself had been pondering a lot on moving to a new space. The earlier space that we’ve been living is an area that I’ve been in for around a decade or so. The new place is also in the periphery of the same area, but there’s a different vibe out here. Loving every aspect of it so far. This blog as it has been ever so still continues to be a book or a toolbox of intuition and spontaneity. This has been in chase of the mind wandering soul that I’m.
Remember our culinary series? ‘Culinary Experiences’ is a series of visual stories that we started on our website for journaling some of our best ambrosial culinary experiences, be it the finest cordon bleu delights of a master chef or a cheesy experimental simmer at our little kitchen. We are trying to scribe it humbly here. This is not intended to be a recipe archive or a cookery show in case if you wondered. We’re only sharing the experience of trying and some of the art behind it.
The dessert below is called Chaina Ram Wala Ghewar. It’s a traditional Rajasthan style Ghevar (a Rajasthani cuisine ) served with berry rabdi on the top. (Rabdi or Rabri is a sweet, condensed-milk-based dish, originating from the Indian subcontinent ). We tried it from The Yellow Chilli by Sanjeev Kapoor.
“I am starting to think that maybe memories are like this dessert. I eat it, and it becomes a part of me, whether I remember it later or not.” ― Erica Bauermeister, The School of Essential Ingredients
Trying some product photography with layering effects ! : )
Tinkering edits with Pixlr. Not remembering where I photographed this from. Probably from Quilon, Kerala.
“Each day is born with a sunrise
― Suzy Kassem
and ends in a sunset, the same way we
open our eyes to see the light,
and close them to hear the dark.
You have no control over
how your story begins or ends.
But by now, you should know that
all things have an ending.
Every spark returns to darkness.
Every sound returns to silence.
And every flower returns to sleep
with the earth.
The journey of the sun
and moon is predictable
But yours,
is your ultimate
ART.”
This work of art was inspired during a visit to Netta’s work laboratory in a university in Dubai. Although I worked on it pretty in the instant, I liked the way it turned out. From the colors and shades of the equipment to the stickers around to vibrant tones of chemicals around, it all set that mood to instigate a creative fervor. Notice the DNA shades on my tees as well. Now, this is a frame that was bound to happen right down to its finest details. I’d like to correlate this theme with something else.
Today I was listening to a generic talk and the speaker was gently enunciating that what we physically work on or dream initially forms as an abstract in our mind. Any material object that we procure or any project that we pursue would first form in our minds. So, he was saying that in order to chase dreams, first sculpt them in our minds with a deep passion and to try our best to draw in an action plan to chase it. Very interesting. Our mind is the lab of our dreams If we philosophically postulate an extension for this artwork. God bless.
Out of blue moon, I recollected an old trek to Wadi Al Helo with dear friend MHP a couple of years back and I had some visuals and photographs from that visit. So, I tried to play around with it to have a memorable montage of the visit. We started very early in the morning by around 4 AM and could see the marvelous sunrise and we were able to trek through Wadi Al Helo outskirt rocky mountains in the desert. Wadi Al Helo is located off the E102 Sharjah-Kalba Road, 20km southwest of the coastal town of Kalba in the eastern region of the United Arab Emirates. It’s tiring to climb to the top structures, but that’s worth it when you get a breathtaking 360-degree view of the mountain ranges nestled between the Hajar Mountains. This is a protected area for endangered birds, reptiles, and freshwater fish. There is an old fort at the top of the hill. This area also houses some archaeological sites and has a restored watchtower.
Index of montage films I’ve made if you’d like to explore more 🙂
Like me, you should also be remembering instances and encounters from your life where you were blown away by the quality or passion with which you’d find a person would work regardless of the field they’re into. It can be a CEO, a laundry guy, an engineer, a programmer, a person running a grocery, the person delivers food to you, a farmer, anyone! I’ve read somewhere that monetary income is a deceptive way of seeing a man’s true worth. I’m trying to share some of my short memories from over the years that’s pouring into my mind right now as I think about it. The one thing that I can tell you with certainty, at least on what I have seen is that when a person is truly passionate and enthusiastic about what he does or the service he delivers, he or she wouldn’t be overly money minded. Of course, everybody would require money for their needs. But you get what I mean, it’s that their prime intention is to deliver excellence in what they do or giving the best service and the monetary aspect is secondary. There’s a tremendous difference if the primary intention is monetary benefits as opposed to “being best”, “delivering excellence’ etc.
I very distinctively remember an online cab driver who came to drop me and Netta at the bus station on our journey from Chennai to Pondichery. He was a very old man, and when we spoke to him, we learned that he has retired from his primary work and is working as a cab driver. We fondly remember his politeness and the way he served us during that short ride. When we were about to reach the bus station, for our convenience, we asked him whether he could do a Uturn and drop on the other side of the road. His response with a cheerful grin was ” Of course, This is your car ” That left a smile on my face. See how he made us happy with his service.
The guy from the laundry service that I rely on during our stay in Sharjah is a very smart young man Uttam from Nepal. He is very good at what he does, is very well mannered and leaves us happy.
Similarly, since I’ve been living in the same town in Sharjah for almost a decade now, I have been almost visiting the same salon for many years now. My favorite one among the barbers there is a guy named Sulayman, who absolutely loves what he does. Unlike some other barbers who’re in a hurry with no focus or attention on what they do, Sulayman does it slowly ensuring perfection on the cuts and I always leave the place with a smile.
To the point that I’ve been speaking of, all of us can make our best efforts to do what the best in whatever we engage in. It uplifts us and would fill us with fulfillment. Not everyone in this world is blessed to be in a job that they’re in love with. But even then, with a positive frame of mind, we can align it as an opportunity of learning and excelling in what we do. The quality of what we do, even if we don’t try to show it off or advertise it, would be perceived. The reason I quoted some examples from my life is that I find it almost very universal that it’ll be a pleasure to be around with people ingrained with such a frame of mind. As we might have read, when we try to chase the world, it goes away, and if we despise it, the world would be behind us. From what I’ve read, it would take a lifetime of experiences to convince us of this truth and it’s tough to remember it when we are going through tough times.
As Oprah Winfrey famously said, “Let excellence be your brand… When you are excellent, you become unforgettable. Doing the right thing, even when nobody knows you’re doing the right thing will always bring the right thing to you.”
Some of my previous essays that I’d like to put in here:
Quality | indelible objectivity
Small Business – Lines of thought
Yes, back here after a short hiatus. The art used in this post is inspired by one of my favorite moving image slices I’ve ever produced. Remember “Membranes of Memories“? In a journey towards having stillness and serenity.
“Men cannot see their reflection in running water, but only in still water. Only that which is itself still can still the seekers of stillness. If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe.”
— Zhuangzi