Old me and the Sea

I've managed to draw something after a very very long time (more like years) and I'm not very proud of it but at least its a start. 

I recently read the book 'Old man and the Sea' by Earnest Hemingway, his final  work published during his lifetime. It is a fantastic book with some great messages. It teaches you some incredible things. My favourite quote from the book is "Man is not made for defeat...a man can be destroyed but not defeated". [Further reading here] Inspired by the book I decided to pick up my dry pastels and fill a sheet with something that makes sense to me. The result is displayed below. 

Definitely not even close to one of my best works but this is one thing that I made purely out of inspiration and not just something I did at art class. Or maybe it's more of an inspiration to inspire me. So for anyone who wants to understand, it's basically  a pair of hands pulling out a bright soul from the black sea with the help of a fishing rod. Kind of representing my state right now where I am trying to find my soul or my core. Things that I have lost in the past couple of years, my lost talents - dance, art, etc, new talents that I always wanted to develop but for some reason didn't go through with, and anything at all that made me happy or made me ME. In the name of work, I left myself somewhere behind. I've decided not to move forward unless I know who I am and what I want. 

Maybe posting these thoughts on the web might be considered a bit absurd, but everybody's got a kind of a coping mechanism I guess. 

Another quote I recently fell in love with was from the movie Hugo - "So I figured if the whole world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part, I had to be here for some reason, and that means you have to be here for some reason too."

Till next time.

P.s - Its my blog after-all. I'm going to post what I want. 

Rediscovering my city

Recently I was asked to show some friends from France around Mumbai. Turns out I know as much as they do about my own city, or even lesser. I spoke to a lot of my local friends asking for tips on where to take them and apart from restaurants or bars nobody had any concrete suggestions. So I asked myself, does living in a city since birth actually make you a stranger to your own city? Or have we become so lazy or engrossed in our life, work, commitments etc that we have no time or inclination for discovering our own birthplace? So, I set off to discover Mumbai from a tourist's eye and actually witness the living city.

The Pastry Walla - In all my years in Mumbai, this is the first time I have actually seen pastries sold in a tin box!

Ban Ganga - Apparently this is the holy water from the river Ganges and every year in Feb, they celebrate the Ban Ganga festival where people from all over come here to bathe in the holy water and purify their lives. 

Chai Walla

Booty Call - interesting saree patterns and drapes, something we locals always tend to overlook or refuse to observe

Other random clicks at Dhobi Ghat:

When the French got a taste of India: (A typical religious procession in Mumbai)

   I also happened to visit INS Vikrant, Indian Navy's first aircraft carrier ship. Something to be proud of. There is so much more to this city than just restaurants. Turns out Mumbai is indeed a charming city, and not just a busy commercial hub. We hopped onto a cab and took a ride around the Bombay High Court, Mumbai University(Gothic architecture), Oval Maidan, Azad Maidan, CST station (the only functional UNESCO World Heritage Site), the BMC building. Now these are places I pass by almost every day but have never stop to take in their magnificence. 

I've made a list of places I plan to visit in the near future: 

• Jehangir Art Gallery - They've just completed 60 years and are hosting a variety of events currently. For further details check here. 
• Prince of Wales Museum - Look at the size of that thing. 
• Mani Bhavan - Gandhi's museum. Even Obama visited this place on his trip to India in 2010. Shame on me!
• Asiatic library - getting myself a membership here. 

I came across this link for anyone interested in further reading about Mumbai. 

Other interesting places for tourists or locals are: 

• Bhau Daji Lad Museum
• Catching a play or just hanging in the cafe of Prithvi Theatre
• Walking or sitting at the Queen's necklace
• Colaba Causeway and Gateway of India, get a coffee at the Taj and maybe dinner at Ayubs

So, that's that. I'll see you around.