Track-'back'-on-Track

It was 6:30 in the evening and was time to pack up and leave. I was waiting for this moment from the time I stepped in the office. Somehow my day today did not start off on a very pleasant note. It was very slow and passive. I was jaded and bored to death and at the least motivated to do what I was supposed to do. Oh yes, I mean work!! I was indeed waiting for this minute to tick on my watch so that I could flee. I was engaged in some random thoughts, which beaded into a string and I wore it around my neck through the day. Almost every minute became more unbearable to pass by. I was growing impatient by the passing minute. And hence, I finally sighed and grinned when it did tick 6:30. I quickly cleaned my desk, packed my bag and rushed to catch ‘my’ seat in the bus. I sat by the window. Needless to say I was lost yet again in the traffic of thoughts which hovered my mind, as my bus made it to the road and became one with the traffic. Medley of events that happened in a certain point in time, within the time-space continuum played like a movie on the screen of my mind, without any significant relation to it with what’s happening with me at present. The feelings were conglomerate! It looked like the thoughts of a demented mind. And in no chronological fashion, it swung and swapped. I was indeed in the past! Some sweet ones. Some bitter ones. Some bad. Some sad and some utterly silly! It lingered on. I was lost in the traffic of thoughts. I ran through myriad emotions, all at the same time. I saw different colors being splashed on the canvas but somehow, I didn’t see it as the making of a master piece. I could see words and words and more words as I turned the pages of my past. But I failed to suck the meaning. I failed to understand what made me write this, who made me write and why did I write this at all. I tried slipping out of it as I got a lil irritated too for I just could not relate it to any particular context which could give it the right meaning. The right Sense. Nothing seemed clear. It seemed incongruous. The past seemed irrelevant! Right, the past IS irrelevant. I stuck with that thought. It hung low. Considering the present offers so many things to think about and to indulge in, the past is insignificant. Decisions made – good, bad or ugly sometimes – are made. There is nothing much that can be done about it. And truly some things ARE out of our control and choice!! I have no clue what it takes to revisit the decisions that are made. All said and done, you can’t turn it the other way round. Can u?? And neither do I have the patience to trace the path. May be, you could perhaps adorn the fabric you chose with some embroidered stitch with a contrast colored thread to make it look different and attractive and you could as well rejoin the torn parts, but the fact remains that you cannot substitute the cloth. It’s just too late if you wanna do it. Now, having said this, all I know is am happy with what I have today and that my cup of life is indeed filled with some rich hot dark coffee![Wink] What’s important is indeed how good the coffee is and not from what material the cup is made up of. Mind you, u can refill the coffee anytime you want. This thought consoles me and I feel at ease as I slouch in the seat. But this moment is going to get weaved in the past too. Time rolls. It stops for no one. There is continuity and there is uncertainty, as always and as expected. Hmm… But yet, it’s all about the present.

In the philosophy of time, presentism is the belief that only the present exists and the future and the past are unreal. Paradoxical, sure it is. But I only wish that this was accountable. Treat the present as a present and make the most of it. Exist in the present! I reiterate, past is irrelevant. So, just move on. As I was lost amidst the glaze of this thought, I feebly heard my friend call out, “Niveditha, it’s your stop”!! It took time for me to realize where I was and what’s happening around. I quickly got down as the bus moved on to its next destination, to drop its next passenger. I looked at my watch as I saw the bus move past and phew! it was close to 9 pm. I had failed to realize that our bus was stuck somewhere today! I had scuba dived in the ocean of past :) I had tracked back. And sooner than never, I was back on the track!! :):) I pinched myself to affirm that I existed in the present!

Tribes India

Had been shopping with a friend last Saturday to buy some wedding gift for yet another friend and landed up in St. Joseph’s College grounds. I was clueless as to where we were headed. And it was a surprise stop for me for it was a tribal art exhibition. I was so excited and was brimming with joy for am always game for any such exhibitions and shows!! I being a natural adorner, I shop almost anything that soothes and pleases my eyes! I have an innate and natural liking for jewelry and artifacts. And I also like to collect just anything that’s unique and interesting. It jus could be anything from a matchbox, pencil, beads, dolls, shells, stones, interestingly cut papers, any hoarding with beautiful wordings, interesting pottery, intricate jewellery,….. the list is endless. I prize things that are well designed and creative more than the material value. No doubt I am a terrific shopper and I end up shelling a bomb!!Trust me, I surely can shop till I drop[Tongue out].

Now what was special about this event was that various tribal artforms from across the country was on display. The whole ambience was very vibrant, colorful and appeasing. Made out of natural products, and hand made at that, everything that was on display, be it their pottery, jewellery, hand woven clothes, artifacts, furnitures, paintings et al were jus beyond the artistic perception. It was so bewitching that it could compel an impulsive shopper like me to go bankrupt(No doubt I spent extravagantly. Guilt some where did creep in post shopping but I soothed myself telling it was good to splurge on such things once in a while. After all I was shopping for the tribal cause. Good excuse isn’t it??[Wink]). . Many contemporary definitions of art and artistes are contingent on culture, resisting the aesthetic prescription. It cannot be standardized easily without corruption into kitsch. Now, needless to say, it gave me a new avenue to think and to take forward my creative pursuits.

And there was a folk dance program (tribal dance forms, of course) which was a delight to watch. Mesmerizing beats and amazing choreography. It was euphonious! The dancer in me was calling me to join them. I couldn’t stop myself and I started banging my head, tapping my foot and clapping my hands where eva I stood. I realized in a while that I was dancing too as if no one was watching me [Wink].he he he… I go crazy over the beats! Loved it!

Tribals of India, Adivasis as they are best known are literally "original inhabitants" and comprise an indigenous minority of the population. These come from various states of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, AP, Bihar, Jharkand and west Bengal and in extreme northeast states such as Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Officially recognized by the Indian government as "Scheduled Tribes" in the Constitution which is eligible for certain affirmative action measures at all socio-economic strata. The schedule gives tribal people incentives to maintain their identity. By the same token, the schedule also includes a number of groups whose 'tribal' status, in cultural terms, is dubious at best. They have their own tribal religions which are different than Islam or Hinduism and they follow what is known as Tantric Shaivism. These people have their own culture, language, social organization, religious affiliation, economic patterns, geographic location, and self-identification too, which is rich, as I see it and more sensible than ours, devoid of the basic education! These people always work and move about in groups and have greater social bonding and strength amongst them. What’s more important is the ‘samskara’(cultural heritage and upbringing) and the ‘kala-kaushalya’(artistic and aesthetic sense)! Perhaps, this holds true for any community. To stay happy without any cultural abomination and hatredness, to bring out the best in us as a community or breed this is what is most important. And what good is education if doesn't humble you down and work for the cause of humanity. William Cowper beautifully says,"Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose." Don’t you think so too? India could have been a better place today if it would have religiously practiced and followed the most hyped of phrase –“The land of Unity in Diversity”.

Anyways, I here, would like to emphasize the point that these tribal artisans and craftsmen are no less than any of the country’s most prestigious award winning and famed artists! And mind you, no job is menial! These people need a platform to show case their talent. It is the need of the hour to recognize such troops, to underline their skilled excellency, to focus on the importance of intellectual skills apart from the manual skills. And in this orientation, the government is doing a fabulous job in recognizing such people and giving them a chance to exhibit and to sell their products at its best price by organising such melas. It is indeed a great opportunity for the residents of Bangalore to be a part of such event. Do not miss such things when you do come across the likes of it in the near future. Let’s do our best too. Let’s just go and attend such events even if we do not have to buy anything from them. Let’s try and appreciate the art and the artist in them. Let's empathise, heartfully!

Now this apart, what makes this exhibition more memorable for me is that I gave a very brief interview to a local news channel. The event manager of this exhibition came up to me(naturally pulled by the number of shopping bags I had in my hand) and asked me to speak and throw some light on the exhibition to TV9(a state news channel) and share my experience. This was aired on Tuesday, the 14th of October '08 in the news hour at 9[Broad smile]. Howzzat?!

Tribes India - “Shop for the tribal cause”!
You could log on to the following websites to know more:
www.tribes.net.in
www.trifed.net.in

Much ado about ART!

Some vague thoughts crossed my mind and I just felt like changing the name of my blog from Tarang to ART which literally is an equation as follows:

Antarang(अन्तरंग )+ Rang(रंग) + Tarang(तरंग) = Art ... of LIFE and LIVING!
अन्तरंग के तरंग जब भजते हैं तो ज़िन्दगी का रंग खील उठता है है ना ?

Between, I welcome you all for the "re-naming" ceremony of my blog! [Smile]

One must have an ‘aesthetic’ sense to enjoy art. Art is all about expression. It is about ex pressing and transforming an ordinary experience. Now, this might be an odd thing to expect. It seems that art is confined and is the sort of stuff in the museums, architectures, galleries, poetry books, theaters, concert halls or more so everything that can be show cased in the places which are marked off as the zones of the unusual and the exalted. I do agree to this. But it sure is also about how ordinary things and experiences can transform and make a difference in the way we look at things in the so called unusual zones of display of talent! Which can make us more passionate, more engaged and much more oriented and more immersed.

Art for me, apart from self expression, is also about being fully present in the real. About co-relating the self with one another and with the nature. About getting unified and to fuse with the universe. About experiencing oneness. It is something that “absorbs” you. Now, this makes ‘that something’ an ‘ART’. Art is extraordinary. A creation of a genius, the creative mind! Crispen Sartwell beautifully says, “ Art is characteristically human way of being and loving the world. The process of becoming absorbed into living, of becoming present in one’s life.”

All of this is to say that art is perpetual. It’s beyond time and space. And that it also has a spiritual bend to it. Well, this doesn’t mean that it calls for the higher realm than the physical. It rather is human experience in its greatest depths and greatest intensity. Art is what we make of ourselves and the world. What we are in reality. Or perhaps what our world makes out of it! It’s a way of accepting. Ecstatically affirming the world in which we abide. If you look carefully and observe the world around you, both static and dynamic, you will see that everything is a work of art. Right from the one who makes the small nuts, bolts, bearings, carton boxes et all to the the giant aeroplanes and mansions. All are artists in their own right. A great work of display, all of them!! Isn’t it?

Each one of us are worthy of appreciation. Most of all the one supreme creation is the creation of this world and of course, man! Give it to the supreme power(call it what you want – god, super natural power, supreme consciousness, energy, wat eva!). Everything in MY universe is a surprise to me. How did this happen? I forget the theory and my imagination crosses beyond the theory. In fact, there is a limitation to all the theories and ideologies. It starts with an “IF”! So, only if the “IF” is true, will the theory hold strong. Else????? Hmmm….. My mind actually travels beyond time and space. Somewhere, everything is a mystery!! I bow and surrender to the supreme soul!!

Oh well, excuse me.. Allow me to back track..[smile] So friend, this is what I think... Living is an art. Put in your creative best. Let the canvas/ media be anything. You choose. Design it well. Give it a beautiful finish. Take care about the intrinsic details. Put it on display. Exhibit it! It ll sure turn heads! And you shall be signing your autograph...

And hence the name: ART.. of life and living!! Lemme know what you feel. Both about the subject of core discussion and of course the new name of my blog! Am looking forward to your response!