Fiery Fall 4

Vacating branches for new life to propagate,

the leaves with fire in their veins,

surrender themselves to fate.

Fiery Fall 3

Fiery Fall 2

• Autumn or fall is one of the most beautiful and vibrant seasons of the year.The time of the year when miracle unfolds right in front of our eyes, one day at a time.The tree  which hardly made its presence felt, suddenly transforms itself into a showstopper.The vibrance of reds, golds, oranges and maroons electrify the very core of the soul.Though the leaves are close to their demise, they breathe life into the forests like never before. 

Fiery Fall

Miracle unfolding slowly. The green Earth donning colours trending in October.

Roses and Candle

 

Waiting patiently to be lit. To spread the gold of candle light. To please the eyes of the beholder. 

Elephant grass in a basket.

Sunflower and Calla lilies

Lucky Bamboo

Poppies in a bottle

Sketch 11

Sketch 10

Sketch 9

Sketch 8

Sketch 7

Sketch 6

Sketch 5

Sketch 4

Sketch- 3

Sketch 2

Sketch 1

Strangers I knew and missed.

Stranger is a person with whom one has had no personal acquaintance.They  are strangers because we don't get to meet them. They stay strangers because we choose not to meet them.We do recognize them as we see some of them everyday. These are the ones we can claim to know and miss.

Waiting for the office transport at a bus stop, I used to check my watch daily by the presence of a middle aged gentleman. He would keep pacing between a tree and a bench till his ride arrived. His restlessness calmed me down as I would know I was on time. He always wore sunglasses, even on cloudy days. Sometimes his head used to turn towards me and stay for longer than a casual glance. May be noticing my perpetual frown, just like I noticed him.

Under the tree used to stand three children with their mother. Children, who were somehow always charged with energy, pulling at each other's bags and water bottles. Ruffling each other's hair. Talking loudly and their mother stiff with agitation and praying for the school bus to arrive. Her lips pursed and anger wielding in her eyes.

Then there was this Air Force officer who used to walk straight and proud in his uniform with a briefcase always in his right hand. He would cross the road then scan each and everyone at the bus stop. Nod at a few people and wait patiently, standing, never sitting down on the bench.

My favourite though was a St.Bernard. Large, brown and white, red drooping eyes and a face like a sand bag. It walked its owner. The owner thought otherwise. The St.Bernard used to pull the leash whenever and wherever it wanted to stop, halting the owner in mid inertia. The owner embarrassed at his helplessness and always masking it with a smile would be jerked again into a walk, whenever the dog wanted to move again.

While we waited, an elderly gentleman wearing a golf cap would walk out from a lane and stop after every 15-20 steps. He would walk and stop, resume walking and again stop, and so on. Never ever did he miss  even a single day.

Most disturbing was this person who appeared to be made of concrete. His body language never changed, arms folded across his chest, face blank and expressionless, eyes focused on some distant thing. Always at the same spot as if he was transfixed there. He was always there when I arrived and my ride always came before his, so never saw him move. Sometimes he freaked me out by being so motionless.

Stangers, yes! But they meant a lot to me as these were the people who eased my nervousness everyday. I could relate to them, they were the ones who imparted familiarity to a new city.  Their absence used to make me a little lost as they were the ones who calmed me down as I reached the stop, piercing my way through a sea of unknown, alien faces.
So I checked on them daily and wished them well.

The Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was in news recently which inspired me to publish a poem written in 1992.

Tender eyes emotion stained, hearts over brimming with love,
Lips sealed for words could not express.
Hard to believe reunion was real,
But remembered the separation clear.

Then hair was not grey and eyes blue,
Taut skin fresh and youth full bloom.
Sunlit were the days after the war,
People had hopes to reach far.

Horizon had to be touched,stars settled,
Houses to be rebuilt, lives taken ahead.
Income was low but hopes high,
Defeat or victory couldn't make them die.

And then it happened! A blow to humanity,
Concrete and bricks were erected to divide nationality.
Politicians pulled the reins tighter,
Citizens couldn't stop them either.

Grandmother lost her grandchild,mother her child,
Siblings were separated never to unite.
The structure grew higher, on blood and bones,
Lived those who compromised,others died jumping stones.

Hearts were divided by this structure tall,
Which they later called the Berlin Wall!

But it had to happen someday,love had to win over hatred,
Wall was painted with screams and appeals, desire to regain lost home, no further could recede.

Anger and emotions struck the wall together,
Making the strongest of bricks shudder.
The outburst was stronger than the wall,
Now it had to fall, once and for all.

The Tricolour

Design 23

Design 22

Posting two artworks to bring the series to an end.These artworks were prepared by Nimisha Kaushik.

Foundation of friendship.

Friendship day is observed in many countries on the 1st Sunday of August, it was founded in 1919 by Hallmark. In 1998,"Winnie the Pooh" was declared to be the ambassador of Friendship day at UN. In 2011 UN declared 30th July to be observed as International Day of Friendship.

Friendship day is approaching and it holds different meanings for different people.

A building is as strong as its foundation, similarly a relationship is also as strong as its foundation.  Talking about a very important relashionship " friendship", one can say that friends are earned at different stages and from various spaces of life. Be it from school, college, neighbourhood, work or God forbid from virtual space.
What remains the same in all these cases is the equal effort required in the form of attention, consideration, love, compassion, empathy  and mutual respect to bind the cement of companionship.

It has been written earlier and experienced  by many, that the age and duration of a friendship is not what makes it work, it is the quality and the depth of understanding  between two friends that makes the foundation strong, increasing its longevity .

People often take for granted the people they have known  for a long time. Sometimes they do not invest their energy or time in  fathoming the intricacies of a person's characteristics, instead impose their self absorbed tendencies on others and this one way interaction results in  the weakening of the foundation of friendship.

Another lightning bolt wrecking havoc on a relashionship is ego, it is one of the foremost reasons in creating cracks in the foundation, it eats the very core like termites eating wood and makes the foundation so hollow over time that the whole building of friendship crumbles like a house of cards in seconds as soon as it is put to a phase of emotional turmoil. All those years gone waste in the blink of an eye!

It takes such a long time in building trust that friends should take care that those precious moments, memories and melody of a beautiful relationship be nurtured, without traces of ego, envy, mistrust, conditions  and too much expectations to ensure a healthy, long and strong friendship which can withstand any emotional storm.

Design 21

Design 20

Design 19

Design 18

Design 17

Posting a series of artworks created by  artist Nimisha Kaushik.

Design 16

Design 15

Design 14

Designs made by Alankrita Sharma on app, she is 2 and a half years old.

Design 13

Design 12

Posting a few designs made by Alankrita Sharma,she is 2 and a half years old.These  are digital designs made on Apps.

Monsoon 4

Monsoon 3

🌈

Monsoon 2

Monsoon

Subconscious

The sixth element

Sky

Element of Nature

Air

Element of Nature

Earth

Element Of Nature 

Water

Element of nature.

Fire

Elements of nature.

Popsicle

Non-existent, Existence.

An old wooden chair in the verandah, occupied by an old person. Around him children running, screaming, singing, playing;mothers reprimanding them for being too loud.
Everyone talking, communicating, being vocal except for just one person whose face is a field of wrinkles. The eyes sunk deep in the soft, vulnerable, suffered skin. His eyes and mind focused on some distant memory. Remembering, cherishing, nurturing the past. The past when they lived! Not  just existed like in present, where they are non- existent in the minds of people around them.

Those eyes have become weak, the faces of their own children evanesce like smoke.The  same eyes which had seen the young ones take their first steps. Seen the first lines of tension on the faces of growing adolescents. Seen the first look of anxiety on their first day of job, now searching for a meaningful look towards them.

The strong hands which toiled day and night to bring up family and educate them shake today while holding a glass of water. Wondering if someone will help the glass to their lips.
Once they were the masters of the house; loved, feared and respected. Whose presence was enough to scare, reassure, comfort and bring security to a household. Today they sit in a corner like a well used furniture whose presence has become irrelevant but whose absence would be felt.

Nobody enjoys talking to them or ask for  their suggestions. They are considered to have reached a state when their minds are degenerating and deteriorating. The same mind which  taught the children to think, process, analyse  and argue.
They are well taken care of, healthy food, comfort and luxury bought  by money is provided  to them. Everything except for one key ingredient, communication. Speech, conversation, language. Verbal interaction, the one thing that differentiates us as humans. Something which improves the quality of life and increases longevity according to new researches.

Enemies Of Humanity

Written in 1991, everyone can relate to it today.

They are the ones, who live to spread death; mislead by enemies of humanity, their souls have fallen in dirt.

They are the ones, who kill for fun, no matter what is done; obsessed with violence, they find no other way, but do not know that their children may also fall prey, to the bullets of the guns, which bring widowhood, anxiety, sorrow and pain.

They think, they are superior to us, but have committed greatest of crimes by betraying  their nation, just in mistrust towards us.

They have till now pierced nation's heart, for those, who once were a part of this very nation, now divided by political bars.

Not only do they support those, who sliced their mother nation's food bowl but even drained half life from her wounded soul.

They who think will free the people, don't realize, are snatching right to live, in multiples.

What freedom and peace can they attain? When their own mind and body is caged in devil's fist for certain.

Which nation can they be building? When have broken flourishing homes willingly.

What joy and progress can they achieve? When their way is brutality in chief.

Whose tears do they promise to consume? When their conscience is already buried in tombs.

What life can they give? When themselves don't know how to live.

No eyes to see the truth, they are blind to the core.
No ears to hear the cry, they are deaf, filling the world with hatred.

Not that we hate them, its their deeds we despise; lets tell them they are humans and not God's alike.

Let no child become an orphan, let no mother be devoid of her child.
Lets tell them they are wrong and we may retaliate.

Lets tell them to live and let live on our land, for the day is not far when people will not accept fate's hand.

Beware! the ocean of fury may rise, among those who have sacrificed their loved ones for a meaningless cause, wiping their existence once and for all.

Chandalika

Posting the last painting of this series by Mrs. Kanak Sinha. She graduated from Vasanta College for Women,Banaras, which is affiliated to Banaras Hindu University.Her fine arts teacher was Shri Avni Kumar Sinha, lovingly known to students as Avnida. He was from Kolkota School Of Arts.The unique thing about his classes was that all the students in his class were given just a topic and every student had to  compose a painting on their own thus no two paintings under the same roof were the same, there was no copying , all compositions by every student were original.
CHANDALIKA
This painting depicts the story of an "untouchable" woman, Prokrithi who was mistreated by villagers because of her caste.She found a new life when a Budhhist Monk named Anondo requested her to give him water to drink from her well, breaking all the barriers of caste rules and told her she was equal to all other humans. This story was written by Shri Rabindranath Tagore in 1933 to bring awareness about the futility and unfairness of caste system.It was turned into a dance drama in 1938.

Abhisarika

This painting depicts a young woman in love, "Abhisarika" refers to a lady who does not care about what the world thinks or says about her, she is in love and intends to meet her beloved without worrying about the consequences.I tried to look up an English word for this particular word in Hindi but could not find one.

Santhali Folk Dance

Santhal are a tribal community ,they form the largest tribal community in India and inhabit many states of India like Jharkhand,Bihar,west Bengal. This painting depicts their folk dance  performed by women, accompanied by male musicians.

Mother & Child

This is one of the most favourite paintings of Mrs. Kanak Sinha.

 In Hindi language, the word "love" has many different names depending upon the relationship shared between two people. A mother's love for her child which is referred to as " Vatsalya" is considered second only to love for God " Bhakti".

Painting By Kanak Sinha

Friends

This painting depicts how companions used to spend their time during summer. Summer means holidays. Televisions, video games, social media was missing from people's lives and friends spent countless hours in the company of each other. 

Summer meant day dreaming together, chasing dreams, talking your heart out. Discussing each and every thought harboring in the heart. Just sitting idle in the shade of a tree, watching clouds change their forms, enjoying the bond of silence with your best friend. Picking flowers for decorating the house, adorning the hair or making garlands for Gods and Goddesses. 

Nature also specializes in accessorizing summer with the most brilliant flowers, fiery orange of Gulmohar (Delonix regia) depicted in the painting and sunshine yellow of Amaltas (Cassia fistula) are the two very prominent beauties of the brutal Indian summer.

Painting By Kanak Sinha