Bloom. That was my word for the year. Its gentle energy felt like just the thing I needed after the intensity of Illuminate in 2017.
And gentle it has been. So gentle, that until I sat down to reflect on everything that happened in 2018, I didn’t fully realize the impact it has had on my year.Continue reading
Ever so often, when I write out a cheque to NGOs like WWF or Cry, I wonder about the smaller NGOs that are doing excellent work but that I know nothing about. Rather than supporting these larger, globally established NGOs, I prefer to support smaller organizations that are doing excellent work in their areas. The problem, especially in a country like India, is in finding NGOs that do genuine work.
One of the NGOs we support every year is Asha Bhavan, which is doing excellent work to rehabilitate drug addicts. Recently, I learnt of another NGO – Project Why – from my friends Damyanti and Ishieta. Project Why was started by Anouradha Bakshi in 2000 with 40 slum children who wanted to learn spoken English and a handful of volunteers. It slowly expanded to include women’s empowerment initiatives, so the slum dwellers could support themselves and their children. Since 2007, over a 1,000 women have been trained at the women’s center sewing circle, including Renu, the sewing teacher.Continue reading
I’ve been experimenting with abstract art recently, and it has been fun – challenging too, but fun. I find that I tend to slip back into slightly familiar territory when I am painting abstracts – adding in leaves, plants, flowers, or figures as a focal point and to try and bring everything together.
In this latest piece that I did, I was determined to keep it completely abstract, using only lines and shapes and color to tell a story. And what a story it turned out to be!Continue reading
A while ago, I saw this beautiful before and after post of an office-cum-creative space from the owner of A Beautiful Mess. She had done up the entire room in white, with a beautifully co-ordinated color palette and designated storage and wicker baskets for everything on a huge wall-to-wall shelf. The space looked organized and inviting. There’s also a certain feeling of calm that a predominantly white room exudes. It’s a pity that it is so impractical given how much dust and pollution we have here in Delhi.
But, I digress. Continue reading
Here we are, almost at the end of another year. Just two months to go, and we will be ushering in 2019. This year has been tumultuous on the global scale, with movements like #MeToo, which shook the patriarchy but also highlighted just how deep seated it is and how difficult to dislodge it will be.Continue reading
I thought I’d share this month’s issue of Gypsy Wanderings to give you a taste of the kind of letters I share in my monthly emails. I enjoy writing these letters every month – it feels so much more intimate than blogging, and somehow, a lot more personal too. I imagine you, my dear Wanderers, sitting with a cup of coffee and reading these words, and I hope they strike a chord with you each month too. You can sign up for Gypsy Wanderings at the bottom of this post. xx
Hello loves,
I’m watching the sunlight dappling through the window; the gentle swaying of the leaves outside creating a flickering, fluttering pattern of shadow and light on the white marble floor. The boys {my two tom cats, Simba and Loki} are fast asleep by the balcony door. The house is quiet – all I can hear is the soft whirl of the fan and the chirping of the birds on the windowsill.Continue reading
When I’m lost in the painting process,
there are impulses that arise,
dictating my color choices.
Ideas bubble up to the surface,
changing the direction of my painting.
Symbols appear between layers of paint and under my fingertips, Continue reading
What started out three years ago from my desire to cultivate a mindfulness practice, has become a regular feature that I look forward to each October.
Yes folks, The Mindful Break is back!Continue reading
It’s been a reflective September – a lot has come up in my journal for me to work through and integrate. And as I look forward, I wonder what the coming month has in store for me. Because as much as these are general readings for the collective, they contain clues and wisdom for me as well. And while I will do another reading that is specifically for myself, related to the exact areas that I want to focus on, these general monthly readings help me get a sense for the energetics of the coming month. I hope they do the same for you!
Remember, this is a general tarot reading for October 2018 for the collective. Continue reading
I circled back to this quote time and again last week, as I sat down to refine my why, my purpose. Why do I do what I do? Why do I think it is important? What do I want to offer to the world? What is my legacy?Continue reading