Chai tamaasha !

My passion has taken another turn!

Ideyna in Arabic stands for "our hands"

It is an absolutely beautiful venture that is bringing incredibly gifted local handicrafters, artists and makers together.

Living in the UAE for many years 

Nafisa and Ekta 

found themselves bumping into astonishingly talented

 and creative people constantly 

So they decided to create a platform

 to help them showcase 

and sell 

their awesomely handmade products to the world.

 Their idea was also to build a community

 where knowledge, resources,

 inspiration and imagination

 runs wild while being shared generously. 

I am happy to announce

 that my "Chai Tamaasha"...the tea tantrums

 is on Ideyna now!!

I am feeling super excited on this new journey. 

To those who are visiting me 

for the first time here on my blog my "Chai Tamaasha" may sound new.

 So I must tell you that

 "Chai Tamaasha...the tea tantrums"

is a story of dramatic transformation 

of this tiny little tea bag 

which always meets its end in rubbish,

 into a piece of art

 which is a treat to the eyes 

and makes hearts smile.

Each piece has a distinctive character.

 It is eco-friendly.

It may feel vintage to some and modern to others.

 It can be a perfect gift

 for your loved ones

 and the best part is 

it can be customized as per the taste!!

"Behind My Eyes"

(...I can see the dreams that I inhaled last night )

available at Ideyna!

"Magic"

("No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle." Winston Churchil) 

available at Ideyna!

I am lurrving each mark and every stroke :)

So what are you waiting for

grab a cuppa and join me on this delightful journey with Ideyna :)

I am sure it's going to be classy and fabulous !!

Just Listen

I surrendered myself

to the moment

and then in a flash

felt it injecting

tons of joy boosters

into my veins

each tiny peck

clinging to the other..

tenderly

caressing each other

once they were all inside me...

began to create a beautiful mosaic

incomparable

magical...musical

and I could listen ...

yes I could listen to

the beats of love.. sprouting

from the tiny tree of life

in my heart...

wowness... bringing

a smile to my eyes

...wider than sky

and bliss was all over me!!

and I embraced it all !!

UNSHAKABLE

 Henosis is the amalgamated world of two artists,

 combining their unique styles to bring forth a new dimension of morphed reality.

I love to draw and paint

 the themes that are unusual and off the beat.

Now what do you say 

when you hear from Henosis 

that they are holding an exhibition

 and the theme is 

"22 ways to Kill your Boss"

 I know you already have that smile on your face and tightened fists.

Why 22 ? Because 22 artists were chosen to display their emotions :)

Now since I do not have a conventional boss 

and I am my own boss...

I was in a fix but then

 I immediately realised

 that in the recent past 

certain negative people and 

negative situations have acted quite bossy on me

and I have managed to overcome 

those without harming a soul

 and by managing my anger in a quieter way.

In no time I decided what I wanted to show through my art.

So here is a glimpse 

of the opening night on the 5th of June

for all of you to enjoy !!

I called my painting UNSHAKABLE and here is a short description of what I wanted to show

"I am constantly on a mission to eliminate all sorts of energy vampires around me.

 Now they may be people with negative frame of mind or situations 

but I have taken a pledge to be just me…

a happy, calm, composed, compassionate and peaceful person at heart. 

I would never ever sacrifice my own positive thoughts

 which I treat as my most valuable possession 

and be a slave to such dysfunctional mindsets

 and will keep reflecting the same through my artistic endeavors.

“I will not allow anyone to walk through my mind with their dirty feet”…as is so truly said by Gandhi ji. Through a simple maneuver involving free will and choice, 

I have learnt how to deploy my own thoughts 

to break through limitations,

 turn failure into success,

 and activate my own healing powers.

 The negative, discouraging forces around me continue to show their powers

 but then in spite of these provocative negative forces

 I will continue to stay positive, poised and peaceful."


        ...and here is my piece....

So this is my way of the 22 ...

do let me know

what would you do !!

A slice of moon !

I take a fine slice of moon

place it on my dish

then whip well a cloud

with a delicate wish

next is a wedge of rainbow...

looks quite like a candy

sprinkles of stardust

come in quite handy

a dash of mist for the dressing

and a generous squeeze of rain

then I stir in a lot of love

with passion insane

flambe it with my breaths

a pinch of love again for the garnish

the divine soul food is ready...

to go straight through your eyes

to your heart... in less than a while

and my eyes

wait to see the taste

on your rather lyrical smile.

Emerald Wok

The UAE Green Festival came to an end last week.

 Actually my heart is not full yet and 

my creative juices are flowing still.

I am getting addicted to the Recycle Reuse Recreate mantra.

And why not 

this spirit should run every day all year through!

Well, I am doing my bit

 and

 it makes me smile :)

UAE Green Festival organised a Green Menu contest

 in collaboration with Signor Pomidor Dubai...a family run healthy Italian kitchen and fresh deli.

Now this contest demanded a Green Recipe.

So here is my submission "Emerald Wok".

And guess what !!!

My illustrated recipe is

 the winner of the contest !!!

And this means 

I get a chance

 of an incomparable cooking experience 

at Signor Pomidor :)

I am a pure vegetarian 

and a true believer of

 "You are what you eat" 

and  I try not to be Fast, Cheap, Easy or Fake !!

I have high respect for the sacred human body.

 If art is my first love ...

cooking comes next :)

(and here I have combined both )

I love love love to cook 

healthy and wholesome 

and try to incorporate rainbow colours 

to my food through fresh vegetables and fruits :)

How do you like your food to be?

 My recipe "Emerald Wok"  is a super hit among my family and friends.

So when I read about the contest

It was easy for me to go for this !

and here it is for all of you to try out ...

trust me you will not be disappointed :)

The ground work for all happiness is

good health...

so my dear dear friends take care of yourself...

listen to your body...

choose what you eat ...

 stay healthy...

and happy  :)

"Around here"

So now you know where did I vanish !

We are having a UAE Green Festival here.

 I am associated with a beautiful online art gallery

 called Kobo Art.

 I got this opportunity

 to be a part of this green drive in Dubai through Kobo Art.

 It was great fun to create art pieces

 from recycled material !! 

I always always believe in the magical ways

 of recycle and reuse !!

 It saves you some pennies,

 reflects your love for mother earth 

and is soooo much fun !!

This is an installation which we have done at 

the Heritage House, Bastakiya, Dubai.

Empty water bottles have been used

 to show the depletion of natural resources

 and the disastrous situation

which we may face if we do not choose to recycle and reuse.

Done on a hard board,

 residue of coffee (which had been brewed and filtered) 

has been used to give a lot of textures to this art piece called "Adventure"

      The work is inspired by nature,landscapes and geology.

 The textures give a three dimensional look

 and the trails of overlapping colors 

led me to quite an intuitive and magical "Adventure".

If you have visited me in the last few weeks,
 you would be aware of
the tea bag illustrations I have been doing.

Now since the tea bags have been
 recycled  and reused
after satisfying the tea lover in me

it was a good idea indeed to display them as recycled art !!
My kettle, milk container
and that little garden chair are also on display.

"Around here"...as I named this work of mine

 is a big scale work of art
done using a variety of recycled material.
The base is a Gypsum board

 which had been earlier used for a graffiti workshop

... broken in the middle

 and has an irregular shape.

I used an empty pack of ferrero rocher chocolates 

to represent a solar window.

A blue water bottle lid here 

and the tiny water droplets show that we need to save water!

The face of my,Eco-Angel as I have named her,

has been done using an old burlap rice sack :)

and also the little birds singing the "Green songs" !!

Her neck shows photo film negatives and some round seals from spray paint cans !

 The wing of the Eco-Angel has been created using some old music sheets!

The Eco-Angel has a message to spread...

"Around here...or there...together we can make a difference!" 

By the way the tiara on her head is the beautiful beady portion of my chappals (shoes)  :)

and her earring from a matchbox !!

Are you finding me crazy ?

Yes I did go crazy and quite adventurous while doing this art piece!! 

So here is my final piece...what do you think ??

   

Chai...A sip of India !!

When I was told by The Indian Trumpet

that their March April issue is celebrating Chai

and that I needed to do some illustrations for them

I was thrilled because

Chai is ...

a sip of India !!

It carries a great importance in the life of an Indian :)

and so I began my journey...

Do you drink Chai ? Which one is your cup of tea ?

Different regions in India have their own special Chai ...with special names !!

Masala chai is a healing elixir if it creates a state of balance within our being. 

During winter, warming spices like ginger, cinnamon and pepper

 will keep us in harmony with the season. 

However during summer, 

mint, fennel, coriander, saffron, and the cooling nature of sweet milk, 

can help us stay cool and balanced.

Hum Saath saath hain (We are always together)

 shows the various things that go absolutely, crazily well with a cup of Chai...

I asked a few friends the first word that comes to their mind 

when I say Chai...

and then this illustration came up :)

These are a few tea labels which I illustrated ! Some known...some old  :)

These are a few of the excuses we Indians take to enjoy a cup of Chai !!...

morning chai....chai with breakfast...

chai for no reason....family time chai

chai with friends.....and so on  :)

This is the humble Chai waallah (Tea Seller) who is the life line of India :)

Hope your voyage with my cup of Chai has been memorable :)