Vishu

is the astrological new year of Kerala, where the sun transits into Aries (Mesha Sankramana) when sun is exactly on the equator and the duration of day and night will be almost same.This describes the origin of the word "Vishu" which in Sanskrit means "equal". Also, on the day of vishu, Malayalis start the farm activities for the year. TheTrikodithanam Shasanam by Bhaskara Ravivarman who ruled Kerala between AD 962 and 1021 mentions Chithira Vishu. It is believed that Lord Sree Krishna killed the demon Narakasura on the Vishu day.

Kanikkonna

The golden yellow flowers of Kanikkonna (Cassia fistula) or Indian Labrunum is the state flower of Kerala due to it's significance in vishu festival. This enchanting yellow blooms signals the arrival of Vishu , became the symbol of vishu festival. 

'ഏതു ധൂസരസങ്കല്‍പ്പത്തില്‍ വളര്‍ന്നാലും, 

ഏതു യന്ത്രവത്കൃത ലോകത്തില്‍ പുലര്‍ന്നാലും, 

മനസ്സിലുണ്ടാകട്ടെ ഗ്രാമത്തിന്‍ വെളിച്ചവും

 മണവും മമതയും ഇത്തിരി കൊന്നപ്പൂവും' 

- വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി (കയ്പവല്ലരി) 

Vishukkani

'Kani' means that which is seen first at the start of the day. The night before Vishu, konna flowers (Cassia fistula) nellu/unnakallari(rice/paddy), kodi vastram (new clothes), golden cucumber, betel leaves, coins, gold ornaments and a holy text preferably 'Ramayanam' in a 'uruli' (shallow panchloham vessel) etc are arranged infront of Lord Krishna's idol with a mirror behind. This is the Kani for the Vishu - Vishukkani -auspicious beginning of the new year as it is believed that a good kani will bring luck and prosperity through out the year. Since, only the 'one' female member of the family knows what is in the Kani, it adds a tint of mystery to the viewers in the morning. Families wake up early in the morning to view the kani and then burst crackers in joy. After wearing new clothes (Vishu kodi) they  together eat the festive lunch (Vishu sadya) the traditional Kerala meal on bananaleaves. 

Theyyam

- a colloquial word for 'Daivam' or God - it is a ritual performed in temples of north Malabar districts of  Kasargod, Kannur, Wayanad and Kozhikkode from october to may every year. It is a living slice of the ancient culture of malabar, thet has been practices for more than 2000 years. It embraces almost all the strata of the hindu society of the region.

Every village of Malabarwas bound to the 'sacred gardens' (kavu) with a sacred tree and a presiding diety.Theyyams are performed before these Kavus. The sacred dance performed amidst an enthusiastic crowd is believed to bring prosperity for the village. For the people of Malabar, Theyyams are visible Gods. 

Theyyam

Costumes of the Theyyam performers are designed by cutting and painting coconut sheaths in Red, Black, and White patterns. The Hood, headdress, face paint, bracelets, garlands, attire are unique for each theyyam and is crafted using coconut & palm leaves, dyes, twigs, threads, mirrors and embroidery, over long hours prior to the performance. 

Theyyam

There are almost 400 types of  theyyam, which includes female deities too. Some of the popular deities are Mutthappan, Pottan, Vishnumoorthy, Pulikandan, Thee Chamundi, Chembilot Bhagawathy, Muchilottu Bhagawathy, Gulikan, Bhadrakali etc. 

Village

പ്രപഞ്ചമേ, നീ പല ദുഃഖജാലം
നിറഞ്ഞതാണെങ്കിലുമിത്രമാത്രം
ചേതോഹരക്കാഴ്ചകള്‍ നിങ്കലുള്ള
കാലത്തു നിന്‍ പേരിലെവന്‍ വെറുക്കും?
-- വള്ളത്തോള്

Indian Village

das Dorf

Das Dorf

'Tis fine to see the Old World, and travel up and down
Among the famous palaces and cities of renown,
To admire the crumbly castles and the statues of the kings, --
But now I think I've had enough of antiquated things.

So it's home again, and home again, America for me!
My heart is turning home again, and there I long to be,
In the land of youth and freedom beyond the ocean bars,
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars.

Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air;
And Paris is a woman's town, with flowers in her hair;
And it's sweet to dream in Venice, and it's great to study Rome;
But when it comes to living there is no place like home.

I like the German fir-woods, in green battalions drilled;
I like the gardens of Versailles with flashing fountains filled;
But, oh, to take your hand, my dear, and ramble for a day
In the friendly western woodland where Nature has her way!

I know that Europe's wonderful, yet something seems to lack:
The Past is too much with her, and the people looking back.
But the glory of the Present is to make the Future free, --
We love our land for what she is and what she is to be.

So it's home again, and home again, America for me!
I want a ship that's westward bound to plough the rolling sea,
To the blessed Land of Room Enough beyond the ocean bars,
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars. 

An American in Europe -- Henry Van Dyke 

Zigeunerjunge

Zigeunerjunge

Ich war noch ein Kind da kamen Zigeuner Zigeuner in unsere Stadt

kamen in unsere Stadt
die Wagen so bunt die Pferdchen so zottig sie zogen die Wagen so schwer
und ich lief hinterher immer nur hinterher
Dann kam der Abend es wurde ein Feuer entfacht la la la
und die Zigeuner sie haben getanzt und gelacht la la la
Ein Zigeunerjunge Zigeunerjunge er spielte am Feuer Gitarre
und ich sah sein Gesicht aber er sah mich nicht
Zigeunerjunge Zigeunerjunge er spielte am Feuer Gitarre
dann war das Feuer aus und ich lief schnell nach Haus
Am anderen Tag konnt ich nicht erwarten die fremden Zigeuner zu sehn
aber ich durfte nicht gehen
die Wagen so bunt die Pferdchen so zottig es zog mich zurück an den Ort
und ich lief heimlich fort und ich lief heimlich fort
Dann kam der Abend ich fand die Zigeuner nicht mehr la la la
wo sie noch gestern gesungen da war alles leer la la la
Zigeunerjunge Zigeunerjunge wo bist du wo sind eure Wagen
doch es blieb alles leer und mein Herz wurde schwer
Zigeunerjunge Zigeunerjunge wo bist du wer kann es mir sagen
doch es blieb alles leer und ich weinte so sehr
Doch es blieb alles leer und ich weinte so sehr

Zigeunerjunge -- Alexandra (1967) 

Women

“every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself.” 

Oscar Wilde

portrait

“When you lose reasoning you forget humanity,When you forget laughter you lose Divinity. Munindra Misra” 

Devi

And now I see with eye serene, The very pulse of the machine; A being breathing thoughtful breath, A traveller between life and death: The reason firm, the temperate will, Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill; A perfect Woman, nobly plann'd To warn, to comfort, and command; And yet a Spirit still, and brightWith something of an angel light. 

-- William Wordsworth 

Krishna

Your body is my prison, Krishna,
I cannot see beyond it.
Your darkness blinds me,
Your love words shut out the wise world's din.

Kamala Das - Only The Soul Knows How To Sing 

Flower seller

"At first thy little being came:If nothing once, you nothing lose, For when you die you are the same;The space between, is but an hour, The frail duration of a flower" -- Philip Freneau 

Flower seller

"Women with flower" -- Naomi Long Madgett

I wouldn't coax the plant if I were you. Such watchful nurturing may do it harm. Let the soil rest from so much digging And wait until it's dry before you water it. The leaf's inclined to find its own direction; Give it a chance to seek the sunlight for itself.Much growth is stunted by too careful  prodding,Too eager tenderness. The things we love we have to learn to leave alone.

Poppies - Mohn blumen

“Summer set lip to earth's bosom bare, and left the flushed print in a poppy there.” 

Francis Thompson

Mohn 

From the poppies blumed in the spring of 1915, on the battlefields of Belgium, France, and Gallipolli this vivid red flower became the symbol of great loss of life in war. 

Canadian surgeon  John Mccrae in his poem 'In Flanders fields', realised Poppy as a lasting memorial symbol to the fallen.

“But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, it's bloom is shed;
Or, like the snow-fall in the river,
A moment white, then melts forever.” 
Robert Burns

Setting sun

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” -- Tagore  

Sun set

One of the incredible sunsets seen from the pristine beaches of Kerala 

"He saw all these forms and faces in a thousand relationships… become newly born. Each one was mortal, a passionate, painful example of all that is transitory. Yet none of them died, they only changed, were always reborn, continually had a new face: only time stood between one face and another."  Herman Hesse 

എനിയ്ക്കു രസമീ നിമ്നോന്നതമാംവഴിയ്ക്കു തേരുരുള്‍ പായിക്കല്‍;ഇതേതിരുള്‍ക്കുഴിമേലുരുളട്ടേ,വിടില്ല ഞാനീ രശ്മികളെ. -- ഇടശ്ശേരി ഗോവിന്ദന്‍ നായര്‍

A moody monsoon day

“The rain to the wind said,You push and I'll pelt. 'They so smote the garden bed That the flowers actually knelt, And lay lodged - though not dead. I know how the flowers felt.” 
Robert frost

A moody monsoon day

Magical experience of monsoon in Kerala. Flooded paddy fields stretching to the horizon seen through misty rain drops.....

മിഴിക്ക് നിലാഞ്ജന പുഞ്ജമായും 
ചെവിക്കു സംഗീതക സാരമായും 
മെയ്യിന് കര്‍പ്പൂരക പൂരമായും 
പുലര്‍ന്നവല്ലോ പുതുവര്‍ഷകാലം - വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി 

in to the wild

“We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”      Thoreau  

in to the wild

Wayanad - A picturesque plateau among the mountains of Western Ghats which is at the end of the Deccan Plateau. The land of paddy fields also has lofty ridges bestrewd with dense forests and deep valleys through which misty streams flow.

Works of my School days

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” -- Pablo Picasso

In my Kindergarten, I happend to win a 4th prize for a painting competition. It inspired my mother to buy paint and other articles for me. She asked the drawing teacher of the school where she was working, to give me some guidance. Luckily, then onwards, I won prizes in various painting competitions conducted in Kerala. 

Since I am not a patient perfectionist, I was more comfortable with watercolour. You decide what to draw and just do it. No scope for retouch and no need for spending too much time on one picture. Just enjoy the soothing serenity of  the painting... I love this pleasure.   

Here comes Mom

 "Here comes Mom" (1997) -- I was 14 years old. An attempt to try out Monochrome imagery in watercolour. 

"If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him" -- John F kennedy

Ariyidikkunna Sthree

"Ariyidikkunna sthree"- women pounding rice (2001) : A common sight of the afternoons in the village houses of Kerala during my childhood - women pounding rice in to flour for the next day's breakfast; mostly to make puttu, idiyappam, pathiri etc. The equipment is called 'Ural and ulakka' a bigger version of mortar and pezzle made of wood and stone.

Village well

"Village well" (1997) - women carrying water from the communal well : a forgotten system of drinking water facility in Kerala villages, public wells built and maintained by the local government.  These water wells are dug manually with shovels. Water is drawn using a small bucket tied to a long coconut coir cord, pulled of  by a pulley fixed to a log on the top of the well. Women used to share gossips and stories with her friends while filling their water pots. It was her 'social media' of the time.

Water carrier

"Water carrier"(2001) -  Girl carrying water from the village well                            

Fisher woman

Fisher woman

"Fisherwomen" of Kerala (2002) - the men catch fish and women sell it in market : The imagery of fisherwomen for me is inspired by 'Karuthamma' of the famous Malayalam novel 'Chemmeen'  

It's planting time

"It's planting time" (1999) - Wayanad is the land of paddy fields. I have been seeing different stages of paddy cultivation which inspired my works during my childhood. 

"The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box."   - Henri Cartier-Bresso

Chemparathipoovu - Hibiscus flower

Red Hibiscus plants - the walls between to neighbourhood in Kerala villages. The flowers are part of childhood memories of every malayali who enjoyed the good old childhood days.

Chemparathipoovu

The red hibiscus is the flower of the Hindu goddess Kali, and appears frequently in depictions of her in the art of Bengal. This flower is also used as an offering to goddess Kali and Lord Ganesha in Hindu worship.

The Pharoahs used hibiscus tea, and today it's still common as a toast in Egyptian weddings

Red Hibiscus flower is the national flower of Malyasia. 

Hibiscus Flowers where ever I look,
Reds and blues and the pretty white,
Freshly taken from a picture book,
They fill me with great delight.
Indoor Hibiscus Flowers delicate yellow,
Potted plants in my snug flat,
Great beauty that turns me mellow,
To all Gardeners I take off my hat.
The hibiscus is a flower to please,
Grown in a warm and temperate clime.
Reds, blues and whites do tease,
With glowing colours so sublime. 
 -- Bernard Shaw 

Song of the Village

 

VILLAGE SONG by Sarojini Naidu

Full are my pitchers and far to carry,

Lone is the way and long,

Why, O why was I tempted to tarry

Lured by the boatmen’s song?

Swiftly the shadows of night are falling,

Hear, O hear, is the white crane calling,

Is it the wild owl’s cry?

There are no tender moonbeams to light me,

If in the darkness a serpent should bite me,

Or if an evil spirit should smite me,

Ram Re Ram! I shall die.

My brother will murmur, ‘Why doth she linger?’

My mother will wait and weep,

Saying, ‘O safe may the great gods bring her,

The Jamuna’s waters are deep…’

The Jamuna’s waters rush by so quickly,

The shadows of evening gather so thickly,

Like black birds in the sky…

O! if the storm breaks, what will betide me?

Safe from the lightning where shall I hide me?

Unless Thou succor my footsteps and guide me,

Ram Re Ram! I shall die.

in to the Blue....

Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. Blue gives a feeling of distance. Artists use it to to show perspective. The earliest known blue dyes were made from plants – woad in Europe, indigo in Asia and Africa, while blue pigments were made from minerals, usually either lapis lazuli or azurite.

“I don't want a rainbow... Rainbows have too many colors and none of them receive the appreciation they deserve... I'd prefer a fading red or a striking golden, a shimmery silver or a sober blue... Ruling the sunset sky alone!” -- Debalina Haldar

“It's the colors that will make you stray. They sing to you, the not-blue and the searing light, and no matter how tightly you tie yourself to the inbetween, eventually you will break free.No one swims only in the shallow water.” -- Betsy Cornwell

“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.”    -- Haruki Murakami 

Pink Turns Blue

Pink Turns Blue

If Two Worlds Kiss
Lost somewhere in paradise
A lonesome king feels cold at night
A dreamy shadow memory
A wild desire I'm loving you
The hate I felt was never true
Impulses I can't understand
Lighted by your true blue eyes
I always knew I's telling lies
Waiting always everywhere
Love is changing all my life
Destined to make me laugh and cry
Despair has settled over me
If two worlds kiss
A kind of change is going on
The Gods have fallen, my safety's gone
Who gains the world I lost my soul
Restless eyes some pleasant smiles
I'm burdened for the rest of life
Enough to tell the definite truth
If two worlds kiss

© 1987 Fun Factory! Musikverlag
Music & Words: Mic Jogwer

Abstract art

  Beauty and meaning is in the eye of the beholder  

In the late Nineteenth century, artists wished to break away from traditional representation of physical objects in its real shape. They started to explore the relationships of forms and colours instead of representing the world through recognisable images. In this genre of art, the artistic content depends on internal form rather than pictorial representation. Various types of Abstract art includes Cubism, Neoplasticism, and Abstract Expressionism.

"We are all hungry and thirsty for concrete images. Abstract art will have been good for one thing: to restore its exact virginity to figurative art" 

-- Salvador Dali

"Painting, like music, has nothing to do with reproduction of nature, nor interpretation of intellectual meanings. Whoever is able to feel the beauty of colors and forms has understood non-objective [abstract] painting."

-- Hilla Rebay , The beauty of Non Objectivity

Everything is art, because there is an aesthetic component to everything one does.The feeling concieved by connoisseur is significant in enjoying Abstract art. Often our perspective reflects what we are and some times others don't see what seems plain to us. Along with the Artist, the viewer too can use his imagination in enjoying the piece of Art. This vivid scope for interpretation at  an individual level is the beauty of Abstract art.

 I was not fond of Abstract art until I bought some acrylic paint and started trying out the possibilities of experimenting with textures and shades. The overwhelming joy of playing with colours and textures. Just letting the hands move stirring the mind and pleasing the eyes. ....eternal bliss...!!!!

Though I wrote big words about my experience while playing with colours, I am not sure if my attempt to create abstract paintings reached the mark. But then, as someone told,

'Miles to go before I sleep'  I have time to paint more and refine myself............. 

Threshold 

Starting point of an experience.

 

Threshold

"...to appreciate a work of art we need bring with us nothing from life, no knowledge of its ideas and affairs, no familiarity with its emotions. Art transports us from the world of man's activity to a world of aesthetic exaltation. For a moment we are shut off from human interests; our anticipations and memories are arrested; we are lifted above the stream of life."

-- Clive Bell 

The Aesthetic Hypothesis, quoted in Modern Art and Modernism: A Critical Anthology

Kanikonna