More Cognitive, Less Affective.

So i'm back! in the sense, i'm back with the 'kind' of art i usually do/started with.Currently being somewhat trained in skills and techniques of art i had almost stopped doing my crazy 'free association' art , whether it be thoughts, ideas or emotions. Nevertheless, combining the skills required in art (such as shading, perspective,observation, proportion,etc)CONSCIOUSLY is gonna take some time to seep into me. Somehow when i do art/(more so-used to) i never used to think about HOW it's gonna come out to be. I just did it and let my thoughts give me direction.
This is another one of those pieces...i did recently, and yes, it is more cathartic. I call this 'Twisted Nerve'- and as described in the title, it is more cognitive, and less affective. Somehow these days i've stopped FEELING, for better or worse, just a phase i guess! =)

Twisted Nerve. A3. Natural charcoal and dry pastel on paper.

 The title is of course inspired by the Kill Bill soundtrack. 

Muse

Inspired by Hazel, i had made a sketch of her as an incentive to practice figurative art a few months back, but never really acknowledged it! (coz i believed i sort of spoiled it due to bad shading) Nonetheless, worked on it as a graphic and had some fun.

                                                                                                          pencil on paper(A4)

photoshop

Amidst Ruins

Favourite Place. Favourite People. Favourite Date. Favourite Trees. 

 
some captured moments of Hauz Khas ruins, beside the lake on February 13,2012
with people i always love to be with- Aks,[Anwesha's omnipresence], Maitreyi, Ritz & Prateek.

Read about Hauz Khas Complex- Hauz Khas Complex

Overwhelmed!

Recently, I had a wonderful opportunity of attending a book reading by Gulzar ji's Neglected Poems, his new collection of poems translated by Pavan Verma. Gulzar ji is a gem of a lyricist and a poet. I absolutely love his lyrics...
Nevertheless it was a dream come true to hear him read his poetry...so I grabbed my copy and needless to say thoroughly enjoyed reading The Neglected Poems. Gulzar ji's poems are simple and oh-so rich in imagery!
Sharing one of my favourite from the collection..

ऐश ट्रे पूरी भर गई है ...

जगह नहीं और डायरी में
ये ऐश ट्रे पूरी भर गई है
भरी हुई है जले बुझे अध् कहे ख्यालों की रख-व-बू से
ख्याल पूरी तरह से जो की जले नहीं थे
मसल दिया या दबा दिया था , बुझे नहीं वो
कुछ उनके टुर्रे पड़े हुये हैं
बस एक दो कश ही लेके कुछ मिसरे रह गए थे

कुछ ऐसी नज़्में जो तोड़ कर फेंक दी थी उसमें
धुआं न निकले
कुछ ऐसे आशार जो मेरे 'ब्रैन्ड' के नहीं थे
वो एक ही कश में खांस कर , ऐश ट्रे में
घिस के बुझा दिए थे

इस ऐश ट्रे में
'ब्लेड' से काटी रात की नब्ज़ से टपकते
सियाह कतरे बुझे हुए हैं
छिले हुए चाँद की त्राशें
जो रात भर छील छील कर फेंकता रहा हूँ
घड़ी हुई पेंसिलों के छिलके
ख्यालों की शिदद्तों से  जो टूटती रही हैं ।

The Ash-tray is Overflowing

No more place is left in the diary:
This ash-tray is completely full!
It is full of the ash and smell of
Half-lit, half-burnt, half-said thoughts;
Thoughts which were not yet fully alight
Stubbed or pushed away, not yet extinguished;
Only some remnants lying about
And some verses
From whom only one or two drags were taken.

Some poems broken and thrown in
so that they do not smoulder;
Other couplets, not of my brand,
Stubbed, after coughing on but one puff.

In this ash-tray
Lie extinguished black drops
Dripping from the vein of the night
Cut by a blade;
Slivers from the moon
Which I have scraped the whole night;
Shavings of pencil which
Kept breaking against the extremes of thought.

Source: Neglected Poems, Gulzar
Translated by Pavan K. Varma

10/10

So these days every other girl wants to be model eh? Have you realized lately,that every other girl is seen posing in an anticipation of getting her dream portfolio made!? =/
So how could my beloved Hazel be left behind in the race? well, the sad part is that she has become very temperamental these days...[and yes i'm missing her] she remains dirty,doesn't take care of herself even if she's cleaned, still craves for the warmth but doesn't reciprocate much, i don't see her around much, specially not regularly when she would wait for my friend and me in the same spot for my early morning class..summer blues i guess. But nevertheless, sharing some of her old photographs...
She's soo sexy, isn't she?! ;) :P

 

Direction and photography: Maitreyi and myself

Madhubani and Mithila art

 Mirror becomes a razor when it's broken, Wood becomes a flute when it's loved...

  

                           1. ink on paper                                              2.ink and metallic gold on paper

Flute

Listen to this soothing track by Ananda Shankar

 

A World of Scarecrows

 

 

Who is a Scarecrow?
People who are mentally ill, or people who make them feel one?
What is insanity?
Who then is really normal?
A world, a World of Scarecrows

In the process of my training in psychology, I often wondered why is it that people who are different, people who challenge the so called 'normality' are put into grids, as if stratified into rows and columns? We all do it, society does it. We box them and keep them aside. We adhere to the manual. We dictate them as right or wrong, as eccentrics, probably as even the scum of the earth. We justify our acts so as to keep the society safe, not bothering to see whether THEY are safe at all.

The play ‘A World of Scarecrows’ is an attempt to create Mental Health Awareness amongst common people and to give them a glimpse into the lives of people suffering from distinct psychological disorders, the stigmas they're often subjected to and the ridicule they face at the hands of the society. We targeted particularly four psychological disorders, namely-Schizophrenia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The presentation culminated in the form of the stage production with elements of music, lights and an installation. With this, we asserted the necessity of being receptive to their needs and to integrate them through adjustment as part of the larger society.
A milestone worth mentioning is when we were invited to stage our play at a medical conference in Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital. Here, targeting a different audience was an experience that will be much cherished!

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