Coming soon.

Define: Happiness

Define: Happiness. 'The state of being happy'. 

Okay, then Define: Happy. 'Feeling or showing pleasure or contentment'.

Contentment. We often use the word 'content' when we're satisfied with our life, food, job or sex life. I know not much about life and wouldn't act smart and say I know all about food and keeping the sex life private I say I know what a contentful job means. It means not having to pretend you enjoy it when you don't. It also means that just may be it doesn't really need you to be a post grad to do this job. And that a fairly decent amount of online browsing and a presence of mind can get you a job in the industry I work in. But does it? Hell no!

We like the corporate s**t. we like it when someone gives out their business card with both their hands like its the holy water from the Ganges and a slight bow to show your innermost respect come out to give someone your business card (your own Business card, mind it!). Sanskar, you see. We like it. 

We like when you say 'it was a pleasure meeting you today' even when both of us know it was nowhere close to a pleasure. We scathingly review these sanskars you carry from your B-schools and your ability to make simple things complex and hire you. You know you've cracked the interview when you don't know what you're talking about yet you make sure you speak impeccably well and talk like its your business, like you know what you're talking about. There lies the key. 

Why did you leave your last job, they ask. To grow and explore greater challenges, you say. Of course now why would you tell them you weren't appraised well last month and that you had the coldest eye-burning look of rage in your eyes every time you saw your boss.

Bad thing. Bad thing. Keep mum. We like that you want to explore greater challenges and grow. 

The reason this post started off with defining happiness is because I know for sure that happiness is not just having the perfect life. Not just having a perfect job or food. You are never going to be content with your salary or your boss or a certain colleague. You may find them incompetent and undeserving. But you know what, that's alright. Look what you can do and do it. Don't like what is happening around you? Quit. Find another job. And yes that's a gamble. The next job, for all you know, could be just as bad as the current one but let's just cut the corporate shit for a day and the world would be a much better place to live in.

Let's not start an email conversation with 'It was a pleasure to meet you' when it was not. And yes, say it was when it was indeed a pleasure to meet someone. Don't say 'It was good to see you today' when it was not. Don't hold your business card like it would split in two if you held it with just one hand. Respect comes from deep deep within and not how you (superficially) hold a card. No. 

Cut the crap. Be Nice. And just be.

Of Paints and Canvases

Something that I haven't shared here for a while now. My recent work with Acrylic.

A 3-piece painting. Extremely attached to this particular one. Perhaps because it now hangs on the wall of a very very dear friend of mine :) #Happy

Trying to paint a water droplet. (Does it look like water to you? Let me know!)

Here's another one.

Learning to perfect the shadows

Close up

Just a preview of something I'm currently working on.

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did making it. Stay tuned!

How To Waste Time Properly

With all this free time I'm startled at how confused one could get when at a point you barely managed to cut your toe nails and suddenly you're set loose. Released from the grip of a crowded 10 am to the even more crowded and tiring 7 pm  8 pm. Freshly out of a workplace & believe me it feels liberating. So much so that it leaves you confused what to do with all the free time on hands.

So here were my options, I thought.

a. Lie on the couch at 2 pm watching TV.
b. Get married to the laptop.
c. Paint.
d. Shop.
e. Attend weddings.
d. Try Quilling.
e. Paint on a bigger canvas.

Except for the Quilling part, I think I'm doing a good job here :) Although I'm a little disappointed at how my little break from work isn't appreciated by the working class. Or so I call them now. I do not have any financial commitments just yet, fortunately. I have no loans to repay nor do I have the pressure to pay the electricity bills. Besides, it's a break & not a retirement! So no justifications needed, I believe. I, from the bottom of my heart, look down upon the ones who find such sabbaticals meaningless.

Epiphany isn't something we discuss very often now, do we?

My Kabir.. for You.

And here's my very first piece of art on sale. A very dear painting of mine inspired by a gorgeous lady I know who also happened to give me my first pottery lesson - here & here.

  (please click on the image to open the online store)

Ud Jayega Hans Akela

Ever since I saw this magnificent Kathak performance on Kabir's Ud Jayega Hans Akela, I've been spellbound by this song. And the lyrics. The dance group - beej made the song look simply WOW! No other adjective. You had to be there to understand why I write this or painted this 30X40 cm canvas.
A very small attempt at bringing this poem to life.

--
Sung by Pandit Kumar Gandharva

LYRICS :-
Ud Jayega Huns Akela,
Jug Darshan Ka Mela
Jaise Paat Gire Taruvar Se,
Milna Bahut Duhela
Naa Jane Kidhar Girega,
Lageya Pawan Ka Rela
Jub Howe Umur Puri,
Jab Chute Ga Hukum Huzuri
Jum Ke Doot Bade Mazboot,
Jum Se Pada Jhamela
Das Kabir Har Ke Gun Gawe,
Wah Har Ko Paran Pawe
Guru Ki Karni Guru Jayega,
Chele Ki Karni Chela
Ud jayega hans akela
Jag darshan ka mela...

Translation
The Swan Will Fly Away All Alone,
Spectacle of the World Will Be a Mere Fair
As the Leaf Falls from the Tree
Is Difficult to Find
Who Knows Where it Will Fall
Once it is Struck with a Gust Of Wind
When Life Span is Complete
Then Listening to Orders, Following Others, Will Be Over
The Messengers of Yama are Very Strong
It's an Entanglement with the Yama
Servant Kabir Praises the Attributes of the Lord
He Finds the Lord Soon
Guru Will Go According to His Doings
The Disciple According to His

You're Fired!

The pottery sessions are coming to an end and all I've got is a crazy schedule back at work. No time to update the blog with the pictures of my hard work. No time to even see my own glazed work back in the studio :'( Believe me that's super sadening.

However, this is not what this post is about. No cribbing. *Promise*

The first round of firing has been done and dusted and oh boy! am I happy?! :D :D
Call it my premature happiness or the philosopher in me talking..whatever-happens-happens-blah-bleeh. Irrespective of the glazed version surviving or not, I'm happy now. I'm happy with what I've done with that piece of clay. I'm happy all the train travels on weekends paid off.

Mulga-Mulgi

Mulga by Tweety, Mulgi by Me 

The Glaze

Swati's Couch Dabba

Swati's & Sweety's. The jinxed long nose had to face a tragic end though.

Sweety's plate.

And the Homework wall :D

It is. I hope.

Is it normal? Wanting to go in the mountains all alone?

Switch your cell phone off and just walk. Alone. Is it normal? 

Wanting to quit your job and just learn something new. 

And then worry about not getting paid? 

Is it normal to have a thousand awesome thoughts and not executing even a single one? 

Is it, then, normal to imagine that one of those awesome thoughts have materialised & get back to your real-time normal self? 

Is it normal?

Look Maa..Tomatoes!

There really is something about home-grown vegetables. Firstly, you don't feel like eating them :D And secondly, the fingers don't stop clicking them. My first set of tomatoes, almost ripe! Woohoo!!

Not done with the clay yet ^_^

Hand-built Clay box, vases & cylinders. Eagerly awaiting to see what it looks like post glazing and firing.

Clay Lau

There has been a lot happening lately. So much that the acrylics and the canvas has taken a comfortable back-seat for some time now. And you won't hear me complaining!

So what's new?

OOooo now where do I begin from.Well, this started out of a phase I and a friend of mine were going through i-wanna-do-something-awesome-but-i-have-no-effing-idea-what.

So after a week long research on the internet and a couple of phone calls later, from ruling out kathak to cocktail-making we landed here! AHM Ceramics. (till date I don't know what ahm stands for). I will eventually though :D

Here's something I recently made. A box. Very much functional. Just hoping and praying it comes out safe after it is fired. Because from what we have been told, one should never have high hopes. One nasty air bubble in there & c-r-a-c-k goes the hard work :'(

And it gets better when you have company. I can't take credit for the snake bowl by Swadi (yes, those are snakes on top) and the little cute one in the front by Tweety.

 

The not-so-happy-feet post the sessions

More to come in the coming weeks. Though I admit I crib a little sometimes because I have, sort of, ruined my weekend sleep and I travel farther than what I do for my job on weekdays. But its clay we're talking about, and you can't stay mad at them for too long, can you?