Many nature walks have happened in the recent past and thought I’d do a quick post to share a few moments from there.
I was walking in my mother’s lovingly tended garden last Sunday and felt so comforted. I am going to make my own oasis of a
wild, secret garden to escape into with my dogs and lots of books, where time cannot get the better of me.
{ 0 comments }
” I looked for my body, but
it was hidden within the Linga
I looked for the Linga, but
it was hidden within my body
I looked intently at the Linga within me
and saw a great Light.”
~ Hadappa Lingamma (Vol-5, Linga-anga, verse 1247 ) translated by Basrur Subba Rao
Dissolve; created for Nirvaya
~ o ~
” The Sharana on the mountain tip
is like the light set on the door sill:
he knows inside, he looks outside
he knows, he forgets
he sees, he does not see
he transcends subject, object and knowledge…”
~ Hadappa Lingamma (Vol-5, verse 1297 ) translated by Basrur Subba Rao
The gateway; created for Nirvaya
~ o ~
Nirvaya is inspired and informed by the profound & abstract Kannada Vachanas or poetry of the 12th women mystics called – Sharanes.
Dance and original photo art merge and sometimes move parallely whilst translating the profound concepts of 3 lesser known women
mystics- Lingamma,Muktayakka, Molige Mahadevi & the radical poet Akkamahadevi
Their philosophy is Linga- advaita or monistic Shaivism, with roots in the Vedas and Kashmiri monistic Shaivism.
The Sharana salvation is ‘Nirvaya’ –‘ becoming nothing’, disappear or vanish without leaving a trace , like camphor on fire.
Dance and original photo art merge and sometimes move parallely whilst translating the profound concepts of 3 lesser known women
mystics- Lingamma,Muktayakka, Molige Mahadevi & the radical poet Akkamahadevi.
~ Madhu Nataraj
~ o ~
When Madhu sounded off the idea behind Nirvaya, six months back, I was so taken by the idea and the abstract-ness it
presented. I like to work with fluidity and abstract thoughts through certain phases. I like to watch them grow, take form, unite,
disintegrate, and come back together at some unexpected point in time. Besides, the idea of exploring the thoughts and profound poetry
by the lesser known 12th century women mystics from Karnataka was divine. So I jumped at the opportunity and we started working
not knowing where the collaboration would lead us. She would create the movements and I, the visuals along with other incredibly
talented artists bringing in the major pieces such as music, vocals, stage design, film and costume. Somewhere we would all surely
meet as we had done in our past collaborations, with the process itself being a testimony to the soul of Nirvaya.
Madhu Nataraj, my dear friend is a great dancer who is known for her pioneering presence in the dance scenario, internationally.
She will be presenting Nirvaya as a part of the “Mad & Divine” conference at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Chennai on Friday,
the 23rd Dec 2011. Please do come if you are in Chennai.
~ o ~
{ 0 comments }
Hello everyone !
Dogs have been a big passion for me like many of you I know, and it has been a privilege and joy to create this calendar
for CUPA (Compassion Unlimited Plus Action) an amazing animal protection and welfare organization based in Bangalore.
We are ready to launch the calendars and each contribution would greatly benefit the cause. The theme of this year’s
CUPA / WRRC calendar is – owners and their adopted dogs. It features heartwarming stories taken from across demographics.
We look forward to joining hands with you in creating awareness towards this cause.
Love, ramya
~ o ~
{ 3 comments }
Again. I’ve succumbed to the charms of the retreating Monsoon.
Personally, the rains lift my spirit as much as a healthy dose of sunshine does and more often than not, I find that I function better on gloomy
days. I don’t mind the shades of grey and those generous clouds and all else that comes along.
~ o ~
{ 2 comments }
I was driving back home the other day and made a quick stop to capture the colors of a rain water puddle and take in the fragrance
of the rain washed air. Along comes a little boy and floats his paperboat and runs back into his house at a nearby construction site.
He squeals in excitement when he sees me taking a picture of his boat. We exchange happy smiles and I drive back lingering on how
little it takes to open our hearts to the ephemeral beauty and hope that surrounds us only if we could stop a moment,
breathe. slow down and listen.
~ o ~
{ 2 comments }
Photographed in Galibore on the banks of Cauvery & in Coonoor, August 2011
I am in love with the Lensbaby ! Talking gear is definitely not among my favorite pastimes, but it does feel amazing not to be
walking around with an immaculately engineered heavy duty lens but opt for a completely new way to see my world. And feel it,
swimming through abstractions and infinity. I’ve been playing so much with this baby and doubt if I’ll ever tire of how it lets me
interact with the world. There’s nothing like simplicity. Don’t you agree ?
{ 8 comments }
making the most of my days . . .
. . . even as time eludes me
leaving me behind . . .
. . . more often than not
Some experiments with my Diana and a Fuji Instax back. Baby steps as you can see. It’s absolutely refreshing to be
getting back to photography where less is more, process is pleasure and the results are mostly surprises life throws
back at you. There are some more experiments to be shared though. Soon enough.
{ 4 comments }
A cool breeze, grown pleasant through contact with the scent of the earth refreshed by your showers,
which is inhaled by elephants with a pleasing sound at their nostrils, and which is the ripener of wild
figs in the forest, gently fans you who desire to proceed to Devagiri.
There, you, taking the form of a cloud of flowers, should bathe Skanda, who always resides there, with
a shower of flowers, wet with the water of the heavenly Ganges.
~ Excerpt from Kālidāsa’s Meghadūta , Verse 45. Translated by McComas Taylor.
I find the rain washed colours of nature so enthralling that photographing them is something that I crave for.
It’s the whole sensory experience – the monsoon air, the smells of the earth, the textures of glistening rocks, the brightest of greens that
surface, forgotten things that come to life and the clean washed feeling that prevails.
A quick note about the excerpt above : I was recently reading a translation of Meghaduta by Kālidāsa, who is considered to be one of the
greatest Sanskrit poets, and felt that it captured the soul of the Indian Monsoon in such a mythic, beautiful way. It narrates how Yaksa, one
of King Kubera’s (god of wealth) subjects in exile, pleads a passing cloud to carry a message to his wife residing in the Himalayas.
I loved the work and couldn’t resist sharing a piece of it here.
{ 6 comments }
The Nilgiris, November 2010
While I’m on a constant search to fill up on inspiration, I see a positive shift in how I feel about photographing and making images in
general. Less inhibited. Less afraid of perceptions and criticism. The need to conform to set moulds is also on a receding path. It has
something to do withgrowing up for sure but beyond that, I think it has also to do with making peace (gradually, of course) with both the
devils and angels of one’s creative life. Not the most fun thing to do particularly for the sorts like me, but I’m learning to like all states right
from melancholy to joy. Just let them all be. Come and go. Let the negativity and fear hit-and-whizz past without too many questions or
confrontations, so there’s less chance of setting off new chains of unwelcome reactions. Become also a spectator and not just the experiencer
is basically what I’m trying to say. It is liberating and lets ideas stem from one another and from places you’d never expect – simply because
we are letting our playground become more expansive and less aggressive, besides bringing an element of objectivity into the volatile lives of
those of us who thrive on creativity. I’m trying. So far so good. I’m in the process of developing some new work and the newly alert spectator
cap puts me in a better state of flow while I think and work. I like this state of flow and the uninhibitedness that comes with it. Who knows
how long it will last , so I’m going to make the most of it for now and report back if this little theory of mine backfires.
Hope all you people are living your most creative lives! I will be back next week with a little post on my favourite season, the monsoon,
which is in full bloom right now this side of the world. Meanwhile, I thought this quote by JK reflects the spirit of Flow so beautifully.
{ 4 comments }
