The Melancholy Jaques of Hundred Acre Wood

The word Melancholy is derived from the Greek melaina chole or the black bile, one of the four elemental bodily humours. The concept of humourism or humours regulating human behaviour was adopted by the ancient Greek and Roman physicians. Hippocrates is believed to be the one who applied this idea to medicine. Human beings are

“Boys and girls come out to play, The moon doth shine as bright as day…”

“Boys and girls come out to play The moon doth shine as bright as day; Leave your supper and leave your sleep, And come with your playfellows into the street” Come with a whoop, come with a call,Come with a good will or not at all.Up the ladder and down the wall,A halfpenny roll will

3A Station, Saigon

Saigon’s 3A Station is a 3 year old memory now. A favourite haunt of the youth, 3A (Alternative Art Area) Ton Duc Thang  Street used to house small cafes, handicraft shops, art shops, small boutiques and so on; a vibrant art venue where the alleys pulsated with amazing wall graffiti. 3A used to be a

Lanterns and Magic!

The ancient town of Hoi An turns into a kaleidoscope as the sun sets. The streets shimmer and sparkle with myriad silk lanterns of different sizes and colours hanging all over. As Toru Dutt says “One might swoon drunken with beauty then, or gaze and gaze in amaze”. The variety of the vibrant lanterns is

The iconic Non La, the conical hat of Vietnam

Áo dài (the long silk dress), the conical hat nón lá, and don ganh tre/quang ganh (the bamboo shoulder pole with baskets on either side) are the symbols of quintessential Vietnam. Non la is an integral part of the daily life of Vietnamese people, especially the hard working women. It is most commonly used by farmers,vendors,

“I’m out with lanterns looking for myself”

This October has been a disappointment as far as sunsets are concerned…Almost everyday the glory of the setting sun was smothered by dull clouds. Today was a different day. An old Malayalam song came to me as I kept a lantern on the window sill  and clicked the Sun ”ശരറാന്തൽ തിരി താണു മുകിലിൻ കുടിലിൽ, മൂവന്തി

‘I dream my painting and then I paint my dream”

Remembering Vincent Van Gogh, the genius… Recently watched the animated film on Vincent Van Gogh. Loving Vincent is the world’s first fully painted feature film. More than 60,000 oil paintings were painted by hundreds of artists to make the genius’ biopic. A remarkable task indeed! Starry Nights, caffe terrace, blazing corn fields, wheat fields in

Neelathamara, The Blue Lotus

  Lotus that rises pure and fragrant above the muddy waters has always been a symbol of purity and spirituality. In Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism the flower is highly regarded and has a very prominent position. In Buddhist art and literature lotus motifs are highly symbolic. . A fully bloomed flower symbolises enlightenment where as

Life is all about balance

Today, the 21st of June marks the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere and the Summer Solstice in the Northern hemisphere. Beautiful photographs and videos of summer solstice when mother Earth leans her head towards the Sun to ‘apricate‘ (a new word I learnt today, borrowed from Latin which means ‘to bask in the sun‘)

Morning clouds define my day…

 Morning clouds define my day! Painting the morning sky! A sky filled with fluffy clouds forecast a bright and happy day for me, hence I give a few brush strokes here and there in the morning. ”The morn is up again, the dewy morn, With breath all incense,and with cheek all bloom, Laughing the clouds