Turquoise Dreams

We love Mr.Men and Little Misses.

2020-08-03T12:12:00.007+06:00

The whole world has changed in 2020. With the global pandemic, I find many of us our turning to the artist in us, panting, decorating, singing, as we nurture ourselves in these uncertain days. Being creative is also what makes us human isn't it? We make things, we paint, we draw, we build, we write, and we read which brings me to what's on our bookshelf.

Instead of buying some new books recently, I decided to browse through our existing little library and pull out what we already had. I felt like reading with M our little Misses and Mr.Men books. Can you tell from the above picture which one has been read the most? 😊 Of course! Mr.Tickles!!! With his long arms stretching up walls, going through a window and giving a good tickle to an unsuspecting teacher, causing all the students to burst into laughter😊 Oh, how naughty and mischievous

Instead of purchasing the entire set, each time M and me used to visit a bookstore, I would buy one more Mr.Men or little Miss book to add to our collection. These days her favourite is Mr.Nonsense who lives in you guessed it, Nonsense Land ! Eats porridge on toast and sleeps in a boat instead of a bed, up a tree 😊

Just thinking about the books makes me smile. Mr.Roger Hargreaves is no more but he certainly has left behind some wonderful whimsical characters to make you laugh and smile with your family.

Happy reading in lockdown days.

Love + light

See you in another post,

Sabrina.

(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

The most wonderful time of the year!

2019-12-10T09:33:00.001+06:00

Hello!

A warm greeting from my cozy sunlit sofa 😊 We're in December, yay! my favourite time of the year. I love the beauty of all seasons, but there's just something about

winter, Christmas, the pleasant weather here in Mumbai.

During these cooler months, I love spending time outdoors as much as possible and the list goes on!

Speaking of lists, I've marked down the Dadar Christmas Market for this weekend, 14th December'19. Dadar, itself has so much character and I would love to take my little 6 year old and see what treasures we find.

My hot chocolate is almost done, and time to get on with the day.

Have a cozy and warm festive season.

Love & light,

Sabrina.

2019-10-30T12:02:00.000+06:00

An adorable paper cup craft by our
Kindergarden and Std I kids.

Ever since I've been taking private classes
from home for children, I'm always amazed by how simple everyday, objects transform under tiny hands with just some paint, glue
and beads in this case into a delightful little craft.

Allow me to share a little about the process.
We first painted the cups and left them aside to dry.

Then I took a length of fish net thread
and after passing it through a bead, made a knot to secure it.
Only then did it I give it to the children for beading, so that the beads stay instead of just rolling away from the other end.

They had lots of fun, selecting colours and shapes of their liking.
We did this four times, in the end, I used the pointed end of a safety pin, to make a tiny prick on the rim of the paper cups
and passed the fish net beaded thread through.

The knots I made, as it is a little tricky for them yet.

And Voila! Paper cup mobiles are ready to take home. 😊😊😊

Thank you for staying a while and see you in another post

Happy October !
Sabrina.

Have a Sparkling Diwali!

2019-10-27T16:44:00.000+06:00

It seems I had almost left my blog for a while there, coming back for a post or two once a year. Here I am, still getting to know myself, almost 40, my baby girl is now 6 years and I find I have grown roots in my neighborhood, all thanks to my daughter.

Today is lunar-wise, one of my favourite days, a no moon day or Amavasya, today is also Diwali, the festival of lights, the joy permeating the air today is so infectious.

The unusually grey skies in October gave way to warm sunlight this morning.

It's been a special Diwali this year for me, seeing how far I've come.

Making new connections, some of the seeds planted have grown and what a lovely garden it is growing into.

My daughter seen here with a sparkler or phool-jadi was invited to a Diwali party by one of her friends, who also happens to attend my art classes, I love how one connection leads to another and before you know it, you are part of a community.

Well, the children had a lovely time, t child's mother had arranged, terracotta diyas, piggy banks and elephants for them to paint and take home with, sparklers to light, and even a Diwali themed cake!

Later, stuffed with all the good food, I asked my daughter to accompany me on an evening stroll, there she met another friend who was lighting child friendly crackers with her big sister and so the fun continued, we were out till late watching streams of light shoot up.

I pray it's a safe Diwali for us all!

Happy Diwali and New Year to you and your loved ones!

P.S: These are the paper lanterns, we

made in my art class for Diwali.

See you in another post.

2018-09-22T09:05:00.000+06:00

Good morning friends,

It is a cool saturday morning as I write this. Woke up to a lovely rainy day, the birds are chirping, already getting on with their breakfast I presume😊

As I sit with my steaming cup of tea, I decided to pick up my journals and think and dream a little, instead of read, the list of disasters which is the newspaper. I often do glance at the front page first thing as I pick up the milk left outside our door and alongwith it, the newspaper.

But not today, the Autumn Equinox is coming up on September 29th, and I want to think a little about it, reset my plans, goals, dreams, visions and while doing so reflect on the lessons learnt and many gifts received along the way.

The weather is changing here, as monsoon gives way to autumn, well we don't have a true autumn here, the trees being semi-deciduous and all ( remembered that from school!!), still they do get drier, all this lovely monsoon mossy green on the hills near our home will turn yellow, which is pretty too.
In October, the days do get really hot, but evenings have a cool touch with the sky a reddish hue as the sun sets.

I'll get back to my tea and journal😊☕ have a lovely day, a great September and Equinox.

Blessings, Love and light!!
Sabrina.

A little post mid-night art.

2018-07-05T17:33:00.000+06:00

Hello dear friends, a warm welcome to my blog. Hope you are doing well whichever part of the world you live in, whether it be summer, or monsoon as we are ecperiencing here in Mumbai..😊
Today I'm sharing a little spontaneous/ drawing I made on a plain matt cover of an art journal. I couldn't sleep one night, and I had been dying to try out a white gel pen on a black paper.
I loved the effect, the way the white lines stand out so clearly against the stark black and I can't wait to create some. It is almost like working in reverse, as in a negative instead of positive space,
interesting... It is always fun to experiment and try out fun things!

Keeping this post sweet and simple.

Have a great July, and Happy 4th of July to anyone from the States and I really pray
for true freedom for "everyone".

Love, bright light& blessings.
Sabrina.

2016-09-23T02:35:00.002+06:00

Let's Grow!

2016-09-23T02:35:00.000+06:00

When reaching for the usual ingredients while cooking one day, I found my garlic cloves were sending out shoots and not just one or two of them, entire pods! I don't know what it is about this batch of garlic but they really want to grow! Their urge to take root so strongly expressed, I kept aside one or two cloves to be potted.

Now I must mention that in the past I have attempted to grow garlic. We have two balcony spaces which house the potted plants where they get ample light and air. On my previous attempt, the plant showed promise but soon wilted and then I didn't try again until I found these super fast growing ones!

Is it the moisture-laden weather that is causing them to grow ? or do they simply have more life-force-energy in them? ;) Don't know the answer to that but I planted one clove in the spare planter that I had and I even gave some to a friend living in the building who grows plants and vegetables in her balconies.

Inspired by my own act of sharing, I'm now all the more enthused to go visit my neighbourhood nursery and get planters and soil to sow more garlic cloves.

I have watched quite a few tutorials on YouTube as to how to grow these herbs, and apparently you need to give the garlic enough depth and a couple of inches of space between the cloves for the garlic to grow. One youtuber did say that if you do closely space them, the only difference would be that they will be smaller in size, which was alright by her.

Let's see, I'm enjoying the sight of the young garlic shoots echoing the freshness and newness that monsoon brings. We face the south-west end of Borivali National Park and the hills are so lush and green with such a good rainfall this year, nearly everyday we are treated to the beautiful sights of misty clouds passing over the hills.

It has been perhaps over three years since I last posted on this blog. During this time I became a mother and life took a pleasant and completely new turn. I'm now back to drawing and painting and writing on my blog as well. My daughter Mila Norzom is now 3 and half years old and is quite the curious preschooler. But more on that later.

I will love to share how the garlic plants develop in future posts.

Happy Autumn Equinox! Praying that we all find our peace here on this earth.

Love + light.

Plants on my mind

2013-02-20T16:49:00.001+06:00

Lately I've been giving the flat a make-over or clean-over of sorts, just been feeling the need for freshness, to simply let go of stale energy and make room for the new and unexpected :-) I've been feeling the same way about our balcony-garden. It's not really a garden but that is how I like to think of it :-) We've got potted plants, forming sort of a window-frame to the view outside.

I had been thinking of adding some new plants to the balcony, maybe some flowering plants, perhaps..I must admit to a curious habbit here, whenever I'm walking about, I will always look at people's flats and windows to see what kind of plants they've kept and how well maintained they are. A well-maintained window-scape always impresses and inspires me.

A few weeks ago, I happened to be in bandra, lunching with some old friends whom I hadn't met in the longest time, and on my way to the restaurant I'd spied a nursery right at the curb of Pali market. So after lunch I requested my friend who would be giving me a ride home to come with me while I looked around in the nursery hoping to take some new green friends home. I took two plants that day, the succulent in the picture above and another flowering plant (whose names I don't know yet but only how to care for them).

The net in the picture is to keep the pigeons away, ever since we've gotten these stretched across the balcony, the balcony has been much easier to maintain and they offer protection to the plants from the pigeons incessant habbit of picking at their stems and leaves.

Now that we've long since taken care of the mess the pigeons were creating, (they are so peaceful otherwise) I love the way the space is slowly gaining character, each plant and knick-knack finding its place.

love + light always :-)

Merry Christmas and Happy NewYear 2013 !

2012-12-22T17:39:00.000+06:00

Hello everyone!

the world did not end on 21st December 2012 as some speculated it would, in fact we are now entering a New Age. For a while now I've been reading about how the Piscean age has ended and we are now entering the Acquarian age where we will not look outside for a saviour but within. This thought resonates with me as I often find myself stumbling on books that just seem right for me at the time, or I see people prefering a path that helps them to find their own answers to their life's lessons.

Either way, by Decemeber 31st we will be at the end of a solar cycle and it is an excellent opportunity to make a fresh start and what better way to end the year feeling all warm and happy than Christmas :-)

I've put up a little tree at home, hung tinsel and decorations, strung some fairy lights on our balcony and have sent out beautiful christmas cards to close friends and family. Somehow, in this age of hurriedly dashed off emails and sms's I quite enjoy taking the time to write to a friend and maybe doodle a little around the writing, take the trouble to get the postal address and send them a card, and what a joy it is to send these paper-cut christmas tree cards which I received from a friend in London. It is even a bigger delight when my friend's tell me that they received them :-) I feel like the postal santa!

I wish everyone I know in the blog-world, my friends and family a wonderful cheer-filled Merry Christmas and may the New Year bring perfect Health, Prosperity and Abundance to all! A chance to make new beginnings and to quote Louise Hay,

..to make the rest of our lives the best of our lives

love + light always

My First Children's Book Illustration - The Imp and the Strawberry by Yasmin Shubber

2012-06-18T01:19:00.000+06:00

It is with great pleasure I present to you my first childrens' book illustration, 'The Imp and the Stawberry' by Yasmin Shubber, a delightful tale of the lovable and gifted elf , Syrnel, and his adventures as he sets off one day to eat delicious wild strawberries. To buy the book online or simply to preview visit here.

When I received my first hard bound copy via post from Yasmin, I was thrilled to hold in my hands the physical manifestation of our creative efforts. I especially loved the cover, and I'm mighty pleased with the design, and layout, a big thank you to Yasmin for all her efforts. Yasmin has also penned several books for adults including a book of poems on Ladakh. You can learn more about her at her website.

I've always enjoyed reading and collecting children's books, some of my best finds have been, 'The Other Bone' by Ed Young, a word-less story illustrated with fine drawings where the reader can tell the story in their own words, then there is the all time classic, 'Just so stories' by Rudyard Kipling, (I have the one illustrated by Safaya Salter), and then I have a weathered copy of 'My Father's Dragon' by Ruth Stiles Gannett, bought years ago at a second hand bookshop, and more recently I bought 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar ' by Eric Carle to gift a friend's child.

I'm sure there are many many more authors and artist-illustrators whom you adore, I've only named a few. Do share with me if you wish some of your favourite books, I'd love to read all about them. (^_^)

If you wish to get in touch with me about doing illustrations for a story email me at turquoiseland@gmail.com.

Have a great week ahead.

Love + Light

Monsoon reflections

2012-06-08T04:41:00.001+06:00

Add caption

About a year ago I had bought this plant and the pleasant thing about it is that it starts to flower in the monsoon. Almost a week ago I spotted a clump of buds, with the flowers curled inside waiting to enter into the world. I knew it then, we were closer to the rains, and rain it did yesterday to the sound of children laughing and playing outside.

The beginning of monsoon also marks the beginning of new cycle for me, finally I have completed the first year of my Post Graduation Course in Buddhist Studies and to avoid sounding immodest I will simply say that I did pretty well. For me the real satisfaction lies in knowing that I did my best and I now look forward to working on my thesis for the coming year.

In the meanwhile I've also been doing a lot of inner-work, reading, contemplating, its amazing how I'm intuitively lead to a site or a video on youtube or a book which had knowledge that I was now ready to receive. For instance I only recently watched the film on Louise Hay's book, 'You can Heal your Life' although I'd first read the book in 2007. (Btw, I love to gift this book to friends and family and I always have a copy on my shelf ).

I'm enjoying this journey challenges notwithstanding, I always ask myself , 'what was the lesson for me here?' The choice always lies with us, we can allow ourselves to become bitter or we can become better and for that we must all do our homework in this school of life :-))

I wish everyone a wonderful monsoon, may we be blessed by rainbows and may our lakes fill to the brim. May we feel renewed.

love + light + gratitude

While you are waiting

2011-10-04T02:19:00.014+06:00

Goddess Uma

While I met my husband when I was just 21, quite a few my fgirl-riends who are now entering their 30's still haven't met their Mr.Right, and society especially Indian society certainly does not make it easier for them, and nor does facebook, with its pictures and pictures of happy couples, exotic holidays and babies.....
I ache and feel for my friends and I wish I could do something to assure them that everything will be fine, and they will meet the right person and they will just know it with each passing day of their lives....and so I wanted to share with my woman friends Meadow Linn's blog, 'Savour the Day', I happened to find Meadow's blog while browsing thorugh her mother, Denise Linn's website (I adore her mother for her book 'Sacred Space').

I identify with Meadow on one common ground, how she lives her life in creative colourful celebration, expressing it through her love for food. Check out her recipes and delicious photos to go with them at the end of each post.....

Most of the times, I can be quite the introspective bear, and I balance that side of me as I process my thoughts and emotions and do something creative and useful with my life no matter what is going on in the background :-) be it with my art-practise, cooking a lovely meal, re-arranging the look of my home, a small kind gesture for a friend, any creative act becomes a source of joy and can transform the initial pain or worries into an acceptance of life's mysteries through the path of creative living.
Everyone is an artist of life, all my woman friends are great cooks, lovers, sisters, daughters, weaving together the tapestry of life as only a woman can with her intuitive nurturing wisdom that only grows with age.... :-) like a gnarled old tree or fine wine :-)

Marriage has brought with it it's own challenges, and today I read in Dr.Wayne W.Dyer's book, 'You'll see it when you believe it', that, "We often love someone who represents an undeveloped part of ourselves". Now I'm sure this sentence will mean different things to different persons....

take care lovely ladies, my divine Goddesses :-)

love + light
x

Tree spirit

2011-09-27T22:58:00.003+06:00

Dreamin'
Originally uploaded by kidrdaso

One day I hope to find my own tree, under whose shade I can just be me :-)
I already do feel close to a rain-tree where my parents' live, its twisted branches are so familiar to me from years of looking at from the window and playing hide and seek as a child around it's trunk....
may there be more trees amongst us
we need our tree-spirit friends

love + light
x

Owl

2011-09-25T21:00:00.001+06:00

Owl
Originally uploaded by Shailendra Pandey

awww....what a sweet pair!
love owls 4ever!

love + light
x

Buddha image from Alchi Monastery, Ladakh

2011-09-21T22:01:00.005+06:00

It is my dream to one day visit Alchi Monastery in Ladakh, sigh! I came upon this beautiful image of Sakyamuni Buddha on Buddhist Art News, click here to see more images. On reading the article I was happy to know in advance that photography isn't allowed inside, that way I won't feel disapointed when one fine day I actually do visit Alchi Monastery, I imagine I can always sketch what inspires me... which I find is a much better way to appreciate and assimilate art :-)

love + light
x

Rainbow Blessings

2011-09-11T17:00:00.006+06:00

As the last of this season's monsoon showers come to an end, I'm reminded of the beautiful rainbows we were witness to last year. On one such sighting, I remember, the sun was about to go down, and I saw this beautiful wide arc of the rainbow, straight from a children's story book, rising from the horizon in the south-east and descending in the north-east. I was so overjoyed that I immediately started to text some of my closest friends to tell them of it, one of them called me and we stopped doing whatever is it that we were doing and just stood near our windows and balconies admiring this gift from the heavens, breathing in this transient display of of ethereal light, it was hard to belief, here in Bombay! such a beautiful sign!

(The picture above is of another rainbow siting, the one I'm speaking of was a complete arc, even if I could have taken a picture, it would have been only a part of it, as it was so wide!!! from one end of the city to the other..)

Rainbows always feel so magical, they stay in the sky for all of us to see only for a brief period of time, making their appearance all the more special, because we know it won't last, it will change...
it is a simple natural phenomenon really and yet it evokes so much awe and delight....

Personally I love to think of rainbows metaphorically as spiritual lessons or realizations even gifts learned or received after the dark challenges of cloudy days...like a metaphysical treat! :-)
may we all see the 'rainbow' in our cloudy days....

love + light! :-)

Crabby Crab

2011-08-28T19:11:00.001+06:00

Crabby Crab
Originally uploaded by jmpp333

I love the toy and the photo of the cute crab on the tank, it all comes together beautifully doesn't it?

Antinoüs Mondragone

2011-08-05T23:41:00.001+06:00

Antinoüs Mondragone
Originally uploaded by Yvan LEMEUR

Such beauty!

I stood before a Qin terracotta warrior

2011-06-10T13:40:00.039+06:00

Ever since I can remember I've always had an affinity for all things oriental, arts, culture, landscape ... I cannot explain it, maybe its a past-life thing, which was one of the many reasons why I could not miss the oppurtunity to see Emperor Qin's famed terracotta warriors face to face:-> Two of these exquisite warriors were exhibited at Mumbai's Prince of Wales Museum (now known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahaliya) as part of the exhibiton, 'Treasures of Ancient China’.

The exhibiton has since ended and I myself went to see it only the very last day. These exquisite, life-size warriors, a whole army of them, were discovered buried near Emperor's Qin's mausoleum, making it this century's most sensational find. The terracotta army, has also been declared as the eight wonder of the world!

Before coming in to see the exhibition, as eager as I was, I had paid for the use of my camera, only to find a symbol pasted on the entrance-door which made clear, photography was not allowed in this particular exhibition !!:( So I said to myself, never mind, I'll take pictures of the other regular exhibits that I enjoy and have been meaning to photograph :-)

I was happy to find other than myself, the notable playwright Meher Pestonjee, accompanied by two children. It made me smile to hear her describe the artifacts to them. Sometimes its nice to be an observer and know there are others who love and appreciate art as much as you, there is a certain kind of warmth in this:-)

As I walked through the exhibition, enjoying the intricately-detailed metal objects and ceramic-ware from the different ages, I took time to read the texts on display which explained their history and chronology. Incidentally I'd recently read, Chinese Myths by Anne Birell as a result of which not all the names of the different ethnic groups that came to form the Chinese nation seemed absolutely unfamiliar.

The exhibition was spread across three rooms, and the two warriors were displayed in a small room to themselves. Seeing the terracotta figures within the confines of a small space, could not have conveyed the feeling of witnessing them in the burial pit as part of entire army which had tood silently for centuries until their discovery, but even the opportunity to see a piece of history was good enough... :-)

Being a student of Buddhism, I'm intrigued by the way Buddhism evolved along with the previously existing Confucianism and Taoism in China. This is is one area I would love to learn more about. Apart from the warriors and the various other impressive artefacts that were displayed, one artefact that stood out in my mind was a stone stupa, (shaped like a small dome) maybe 3 ft high and under 3 feet in diameter. (Unfortunately I have no picture to support this description with due to the reason I mentioned above) On its sides were niches, within each of the niches (two I think) was a seated image of the Buddha in high relief. Foliage of trees, in low relief ornamented the plain surface of the dome. The stupa also bore a chinese inscription which I could not read of course, but still this stupa intrigued me...you see, one does see stupas and other Buddhist monuments in India, but the inscriptions here are in the native scripts, ( Brahmi, kharoshti), seeing the stupa with an inscription in chinese said to me, more than what books can convey that, look! how how far Buddhism had travelled! :-)

I leave you with a few pictures from the Tibetan Arts section to enjoy...
one more thing, the exhibits being encased in glass, have some amount of caused reflection.

Tara, Nepal, 18th century A.d.

Prajnaparamita, Nepal, 17th century A.D, Prajnaparamita is the personification of 'transcendental knowledge' embodied in the Prajnaparamita-sutra (Mahayana scriptures)

Matrika (Mother Goddess) From set of Ashtamatrika (eight goddesses), Nepal, 14th century A.D

Bodhisattva Manjushri with his shakti, Nepal, 18th century A.D (Manjushri is the Bodhisattav of Wisdom, that which he holds aloft in one of his arms, is an adamantine sword which cuts through ignorance)

Terracotta Buddhas, Mirpur Khas, Sindh, Pakistan, 5th century A.D. this is one of my favourite exhibits, I love the beautific smile :-)

love + light!

Spring diary

2011-04-18T11:58:00.011+06:00

Hello everyone :)

Have you noticed any trees around your neighbourhood which are in full bloom? Don't you just love the bright colours of spring? the thing that fascinates me the most is the sight of a tree completely dry, devoid of leaves, fully crowned with fragrant flowers!

This Sunday I took a walk in Aarey and the path-ways were lined with fallen blossoms, makes you wish the rest of the city was kept that way...

Now, a little bit of what I've been upto, last June-July, I'd enrolled for the Post Graduation course in Buddhist studies at K .J.Somaiya Centre for Buddhist studies . One of my teachers whom I have grown to love and adore, Mrs. Sharda Sanghvi suggested I try the Pali language class (Diploma) and before I knew it I was studying both!

It has since been an amazing journey, and I wish to keep studying, exploring....
I'm grateful to Mrs. Sanghvi for putting me onto Pali, without which my studies would have been incomplete.

If your wondering, Pali is an ancient Indian language, older than classical sanskrit. The Buddha taught in Pali and majority of the Buddhist texts are preserved in it. Hence, its importance.

At present, I'm studying for my exams, just got over with Pali and I have four more papers to give (Buddhist studies), so wish me luck! :)

I wish to leave you with these pictures of Lotuses I took during my last vipassana course at Dhamma Pattana, Gorai. They inspire me towards my goals :)

Love + light!

Urban serenity

2011-03-13T12:59:00.006+06:00

Hello! :-) Today I would like to share a few pictures of our resident Buddha, he is just over an inch in height. Sometime back I had placed him at the root of a potted ficus, in a symbolic gesture to invite Buddha delight and protection into our home. The little house I bought from 'Mitti', a store selling ceramic products at Versova road. Recently, my sis-in-law brought to my notice how it seems as if the Buddha is meditating outside his hut, I never thought of it that way, how lovely!

hope you enjoy this tiny landscape......peace and serenity to everyone!

may all beings be happy! :-)

love + light!

Buddha Purnima, May 27th, 2010 at the Global Vipassana Pagoda

2010-06-06T17:19:00.020+06:00

We had our first showers yesterday and it was wonderful to feel the cool breeze and see children playing in the rain. The weather has much improved since the auspicious day of May 27th, Buddha Purnima Day, weather department said it was the hottest day in May in the last 5 years!

I remember everyone in the Pagoda fanning themselves with whatever piece of paper they had with them, but spiritually, the day was wonderful! Thousands of meditators gathered at the Global Vipassana Pagoda, Gorai. One could truly feel the pure vibrations of dhamma in the air :) (dharma, Pali)

On this day Guruji Goenka unveiled a 21 feet high statue of Gautama Buddha, a gift from the Government of Myanmar (Burma). The Buddha's golden robes shone brightfully in the sunlight and the extreme humidity was made bearable by Goenkaji's teaching on the dhamma.

Here are a few pictures from that day :)

From a distance the Pagoda ressembles a golden bell placed on the horizon :) To reach the island of Gorai on which the Pagoda is built one needs to take a ferry either from Malad-Marve Beach or Gorai Jetty (Borivali).

The interior of the dome is purely functional, serving only as a hall for meditation. While being seated I like the sight of a few pigeons who have managed to get in, as they fly across from one niche to another under the great dome. I also like the Dhamma wheel depicted in gold, the only adornment at the top-centre of the dome.

The Large entrances have a beautiful slanted arching shape. Due to the sheer scale, if you happen to go out and then return, it takes a good deal of looking around to find your seat !! :)

The Pagoda is still not fully complete and each time I visit, I'm delighted to see some new developments. I liked this juxtapositioning of an unfinished part and the rich gold-yellow of the Pagoda.

The Pagoda glowing in the intense evening sun.

The 21 ft high statue of Gautama Buddha, gifted by the government of Myanmar (Burma). People were really happy with the smiling presence of the Buddha :)

An elderly monk descending towards the jetty at the end of the day.

You may watch Guruji unveling the Buddha's statue here

If you wish to visit the Pagoda, or if you are visiting Esselworld do drop by as it is on the same island. You can get more information at their website.

Wishing you a good week :)

and good rains!!!

Love + light!

Weak Tea Weak Mind Mug

2010-05-31T01:04:00.001+06:00

Weak Tea Weak Mind Mug
Originally uploaded by mooosh ♥ miso funky

For all those who love their tea strong ! ^ ^

Love + Light!

A whale of a time!

2010-05-15T12:27:00.011+06:00

Ever since I can remember I love making things out of paper, my good friend Gaurika will remember, once during our J.J days, we had gone to Sanjay Gandhi National Park to do landcape painting (ah! those were the days, were'nt they? hehe....)and the sun was really beating down on us, as a solution I took a sheet of newspaper and folded it this way and that, made a tear and made a quick hat for her....I hope memory has served me right.... :)

Which brings us now to origami, I was browsing the net once more to learn something new and I made this whale. I love creatures of the sea, must be something to do with my Piscean moon-sign :)

(I pasted the whale on white paper and painted few atmospheric strokes around it, you can learn to make it here)

I found some simple origami designs for children, in fact I wish to share this with Gaurika's little girl, maybe my neighbour's kids (if they haven't learnt it in school yet) and also some of my close friends (just to feel like children again :))

I was so happy to find some origami paper at the local student supplies store while out on my grocery errand yesterday. These are lovely solid colours, but I hope to find subtler shades too :)

If I question myself why I like doing these simple crafts, I don't know... maybe my art-practise is becoming quite research based, and maybe I read so much that I like to balance it with something that takes you to being a child...or perhaps I like the unpretentiousness of it....some years back I would even buy children's books and I have always enjoyed folk tales, myths, legends, creation stories, etc from around the world. I would collect these books for their beautiful illustrations and stories that got you dreaming :)

I will share more creatures of the paper soon as and when I fold them :)

Have a lovely weekend!
Keep cool :)

love + light!!