From my Art Journal – Ganesh

Ganesh, the elephant-headed God in Acrylics

Rabi Thakur

We recently went for a ballet performance titled “Rabi Thakur” presented as part of the South Asian Theater Festival 2011 at NJPAC, Newark. The ballet focused on the life of Rabindranath Tagore and more so specifically on the significant events that shaped Tagore’s persona and his creative vision.

Rabindranath Tagore is well known artist, dramatist, poet and author in India and across the globe. He is more famously as the founder of Shantiniketan, a school in West Bengal based on the traditional gurukul concept and for his contribution to West Bengal both in the areas of arts and humanities. Tagore’s life has been one rollercoaster ride with emotional upheavels which did shape his creativity helping him make significant contributions to the civilization. He travelled extensively and read widely, his knowledge of both creative and spiritual matters was like that of an ocean…endless.

Presented by Chhandayan Center for Indian Music; Conceived, composed and directed by Samir Chatterjee, this ballet portrayed Tagore’s life through a series of 7 movements which are as follows:
Movement I – New to Life – Education – Father – the Himalayas
Movement II – Journey to the West – Early Return – Romantic Enthusiasm – Sudden Marriage
Movement III – Encounter with Death – Restlessness – Inspired to Creativity
Movement IV – International Appreciation and Acknowledgment
Movement V – Shantiniketan – Abode of Peace – Unity in Bengal
Movement VI – Crisis in Civilization
Movement VII – To Eternity

The transition between the movements was seamless as the performers blended in and out of each others movements without so much of a flaw.  Having studied Tagore’s life and his short stories as part of a Supplemental Literature course in Middle School, I can vouch that it was perhaps the best of the literatures I had read apart from the epics. As for the play, Ballet enthusiasts may find it entertaining as well as informative.

Bamboo Shoots – Pencil Sketching

My latest experiment in pencil sketching…the inspiration for this sketch is the vase in our apartment. I shaded this by the evening light late last evening.

Landscape in Watercolors

And presenting is the 3rd piece of my Watercolors paintings…an old Irish landscape that I painted from memory. While the original landscape is dark and bleak, I chose to depict it in colors on a broad daylight.

Landscapes: Ravaged by Time

Polygon in Watercolors

This is the 2nd one in a row that I painted over the weekend. I have a very pretty red quilt with colorful polygon patterns designed on it. Its very cheerful inducing a very warmth and happy feeling in the winter months. So I wanted to preserve a pattern I liked the most and what better way than to paint it.

Snapshot of my quilt in watercolors