Music is "Spiritual Opium" - Maestro Zubin Mehta

Attended the concert "Zubin Mehta Live" on 30 Oct 2015 - Mehta conducted the flawless rendition by the Australian World Orchestra. The surprise of the evening was the short but superb performance by soprano Greta Bradman (grand-daughter of legendary cricketer Don Bradman). What a range of tones she was able to bring about to Mozart & Rossini's music!

The impressive finale of the evening was Schubert's Symphony No.9.
Today attended Zubin Mehta's entertaining interview. He is such a relaxed, down-to-earth guy. He shared about his childhood, continuing love for Bombay, introduction to music through his father who used to play at the Taj hotel,Bombay, on AIR etc, his father's angst towards the british rulers of india, his own sharing of that feeling, at 18 yrs he journeyed abroad, his mind-blowing experience of Orchestra music in Vienna....how inspite of being married to an american he still maintains an indian passport, even though that creates problems when he has to apply for visas, because he feels so indian at heart....a total joy to have heard him.

The jarring note through the interview was the interviewer who constantly veered from the subject of Zubin and music to communalism, the plight of muslims in india (obviously v sad in her opinion) etc. & tried to involve Zubin in this direction. Its a pity that Art & Artistes are subverted by politics.

Nonetheless a great experience...contemporary society being what it is we have to accept that the good, the bad & the ugly go together. Actually we dont have a choice...media is omnipotent!

Zubin's statement that alludes to how music transcends all - that music is "Spiritual Opium" was such a powerful self-explanatory statement. i shall cherish this and i feel the same holds true for my medium of expression - the Visual Arts, which too is "Spiritual Opium"

Its Halloween !

The Venerable Pumpkin

"Halloween" an amalgam of "All Hallows (saints) Evening" is celebrated on 31 October in many countries. It marks the eve of the 3 days of remembrance of the departed, including hallows & martyrs.

Celebrations include trick-or-treating & guising -Scottish/Irish tradition of donning costumes, going around the neighbourhood & singing a rhyme, doing a trick, or telling a story in exchange for candy, costume parties, bonfires, doing spooky stuff-playing tricks/pranks/scaring, watching horror/haunted movies & attractions.

Some observe abstinence from meat, eating vegetarian foods like apples, potato pancakes & soul cakes (small round cakes specially made on Halloween), colcannon (traditional Irish dish mainly mashed potatoes with kale/cabbage) & drinking apple cider.

Jack-o'-lanterns carved out of pumpkins have become symbolic of Halloween

kids at Purple Streak Centre for Arts enjoying making a Jack-o'-lantern

Happy Dussehra

Happy Dussehra

This Ravan was the collective creation of 5 kids ranging from 5-7 yrs, made in my art classes at Purple Streak

"Mesmerizing Momiji - Japanese Crimson" 

my upcoming show in December 2014

An image from the show

Congrats to Mars Orbiter Mangalyaan team

8 things more expensive than Mangalyaan Mars Orbiter mission!

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2014/09/24/8-things-more-expensive-than-indias-mars-mission/

I came across this wonderful viewpoint on Japanese Belief– Is it religion, is it atheism by Yukiko Murano

Sharing a shortened version

Yukiko Murano is a Tea Teacher, Head of the International Team of Japanese Tea Ceremony Omotesenke Way in Tokyo

a shortened version is given here:

Japanese live and feel with Nature. Nature are full of Spirits in Japan. 八百万の神 this is a metaphorical number of countless deities in Japanese soil. Mountains, Snow, volcano, Onsen, hot springs, Ocean, lakes, marshes, rivers, waterfalls, even wind, rain, typhoon, fog, big trees...everything are Spirits in Japan. We worship nature. The translation 'God' seems originally inappropriate, as the unique recognition 'Kami' which is right, but then may be 'Dou' is more right to explain our belief or behavior. Shintou神(道(tou-dou) is not 神(教(kyou-religion) after all. Not Allah nor God, but Kami. There is awe for the Invisibleness. Dou is the invisible restrictions and affirmations based on the individual moral criteria. Through timeless endeavour and study and research teachers of Dou teach people each of the Dou Ways. Like in fighting, mentors for Judou, Kendou, Aikidou and Sumo were needed, and in ordinary life- Flower Dou, Chadou, Kodo, Shodo. And may be how to love people 'Dou' based on moral way, which may be too traditional but not unfair. Teachers in Japan are like doyens. People pay respect to teachers. How to be a desirable individual and harmonize with others in the society. The basic answer is always in Nature. Not in Koran nor Bible.

Agricultural life-style and the constant repetition of the natural four seasons including natural disasters bring to the Japanese a stable belief that nature overwhelms, gifts and blesses, creates tragedy and sorrow. Earthquake and tsunami, typhoon and flood devour living things, but we see it as natural deeds, and try not to conquer them but try to co-exist and manage. No bible or Koran but based on the Classic forklore 'Kojiki'古事記、the mythical fable, that we believe our nation derives from. This is a reason we call ourselves: Non-God people, Atheists. But every one of us believes in natural Awe and behaves as Dou guides us.

Through the Historical coalescence, Shinto and Buddhism were together, 神仏習合 in Japan until Samurai Epoch. Then we do have Zen Temples where No Buddhist Statues are existing (some are), but priests guide people toward 'Zen' and 'Dou' mind. If you feel like questioning through the self-discipline, what is the 'Truth' of our being and how we can live our life in a right way. More philosophical than religious.

I have added here images of Ise shrine with pebbled garden -Shinto shrine (above) & Ryoan-ji dry landscape garden- Zen (below)

HIMMAT SHAH – India’s Living Van Gogh

HIMMAT SHAH – India’s Living Van Gogh

  

Today Himmat celebrates his 81^st birthday

May he go bouncing on to a century and like the great Japanese artist Hokusai keep on belting out more n more great art.

Himmat Shah's studio was for several years at the Lalit Kala Akademi’s Garhi Artists Studios complex in New Delhi. I joined the Printmaking studio after completing B.F.A. from Delhi College of Art and met Himmat, one of the greatest living genius of India... i compare him to my all time fav Van Gogh...thankfully he has not had such a difficult life

Below I give some excerpts from @myHimmatDiary, and some pix of his works

Today Himmat Shah lives and works in Jaipur 

Please check out more of his artworks and his fab book “Terracotta” on his website www.himmatshah.com

Garhi Artists Studios 1980’s

My first encounter with Himmat Shah

Huge wooden door coloured silver....ajar....Himmat in his lounge chair with his inveterate cap and little boy grin...its open house for all..

For me - who could only admire my fav’s like Matisse, Paul Klee, Jean Arp, Noguchi, Archipenko, Miro through books - a Pandora’s box thrown open.....what works of genius! an enthralling world of sculptures, murals, prints, drawings...the mysterious, the unsaid, the abstract has always appealed to me the most...and Himmat’s work is all that and more...

Garhi Artists Studios

What does Cabbage have to do with Creativity?

I worked in the Printmaking Studio. My mom came to visit me. 

She passed a studio with the large door wide open.

Her reaction “why on earth was a man slicing cabbage in there...

surely there should be an artist working at his art?” 

That man – Himmat Shah was slicing cabbage to make delicious gujarati khichdi for all of us young artists who often floated into Himmat's studio for a free meal.

For me (my mom an excellent cook always gave me a delicious lunch dabba) it was the sheer, ethereal joy of enjoying Himmat’s genius – and listening to his riveting musings.

By the way Himmat thought my mom was very beautiful with her flawless skin and doe eyes. I agree but lament that I have not been gifted her beauty

Triveni Kala Sangam

My first Art Exhibition of Etchings

Himmat came to the opening of my very first art exhibition. I was honoured...such a senior artist. My etchings were absurdly abstract and most people thought I was off my rocker...they thought the same about my heavily ethnic apparel too...which hardly anybody knew about then....now its available on the streets of Lajpat Nagar market and every Tom, Dick or Harry rather every Timsy, Dolly or Harpreet are wearing...sorry for the digression...

Himmat asked me if I would give him one of my etchings titled Amobae !!!! speechless I dumbly nodded my head                                                                                                                                     

                                 

Himmat’s house

“We are all Artists”

Post a wonderful time at the Delhi Book Fair, where Himmat managed to beat us in picking up the best Art books, we invited ourselves over for dinner. The cook entertained us with an impromptu “Magic show”. When we lauded his talent – he informed us “everybody in this house is an artist” on which Himmat guffawed – the cook had clubbed himself in the same genius as Himmat

Coffee Home, Connaught Place 1980’s

A frisson up my spine

Deep winter in New Delhi...dusk...Coffee Home spilling over with people, dosas, sambhar, idlis, tea (not necessarily coffee). I feel a frisson up my spine...there is a presence – a benign presence...i look up...its Himmat in his Himmat cap and husky phiran quietly standing beside my table, looking down at me.

Thanks to taking up a full-time job I had discontinued going to Garhi, this chance encounter with Himmat was so special

Getting Married is so Great

Maybe I should get married several more times....:-)

No doubt i am blessed with a great spouse

but one of the best perks possible of marriage – 

Himmat gifted us his most fab sculpture! 

now now stop being greedy...