The Sun, The Moon, and One Sky

Journey of knowing thyself

I believe that life is a journey, often sometimes incredibly cruel, but we are well equipped for it if only we tap into our talents and gifts and allow them to bloom — Leo Brown

The Fable Sky:

Ms. Rosario looked up smiling.

My art teacher in class V was leafing through my drawing book, splashed with mountains, rivers, thatched roofs with ponds, where ducks swam, mostly. But there was one page where I painted the sky, with a sun, moon, and some stars. She pointed at that page and told me, “one sky cannot have sun and moon and stars at the same time”, and that I should remember it, next time.

I was sad.

The painting was done from a fairy tale book I received as a gift on my birthday and took instantly fancy to. I tried to explain, that I saw this in my book and that page was my favorite, to which she smiled and returned me, my drawing book, repeating that I should correct myself. A little upset, I narrated the incident in our dinner table discussions, to which my father comforted me with,

“if you liked the sky to have the sun, the moon and stars all at once, then the sky will agree”,and I can carry on drawing the same.

What my father did that day was to save an imaginative mind from collapsing — knowingly or otherwise,I wouldn’t know.

But, for some unknown reason painting disappeared from my life, barring some occasional weekend gateway, till school ended. Our Art teacher, Ms.Rosario, a tall, brunette, anglo-Indian, affectionate and affable, had everything an Art teacher should have, but one — imagination.

That Moment:

It was 2017, and we visited my sister in Calgary, CA. Though she was mostly busy with her post-doctoral research then, there were days we found time for long drives, around twilight, and in one such evening I spotted the sky, quite common in higher altitudes:

The sun on right, moon on left and stars making their slow appearance in the brightly hued sky.It was straight out of my fairytale book, I left behind many years ago.

I remembered the incident and narrated it to my sister (we went to the same school) and really had a good time taking a hand at Ms. Rosario(may her soul rest peace) for being the Art teacher we should have never had.

Those few minutes of going back to school to all its laughter and banter was a breather. But along with it, my mind went through a silent revolution realizing I could observe,connect and detect things in a way even my art teacher in school couldn’t.

My moment of truth arrived noiseless.

The Journey Begins:

“Some journeys take you farther from where you come from, but closer to where you belong” — Ron Fransce.

Cut to May 2020, Covid occupying the unwanted throne and the world thrown in quarantine.

It was nothing new for me, as I was into this process for more than six years now.

Surprisingly, I found my friends turning to me for help as how to spend time qualitatively staying indoors, as I mainly stayed and worked from home (I still do). And a journey of “ How to make life meaningful from the confines of your four walls” started (I could have had my own podcast then!) and that’s when I wrote my first poem — Soul Window. I was hugely skeptical about whether any of my words will reach home and looked frantically for a visual that suited my poem. Failing which, rather morose, I brought this up with my partner-in-crime.

And the next day, I was gifted with a set of Artbook, paints, and brushes. Till then I was looking for a good photograph, and this infuriated me.

“You think I will sit and paint like kids now ?”

“No, like adults,” came a sharp retort. ” The way you explained soul window to me — put that on paper, paint that ‘speaking window’ we discussed yesterday”.

Completely out of my wits, with some very seriously restricted muscle movements, I sat to paint my version of ‘Soul Window’, holding brush for the first time after school, and painted the one I have shared above.

About the Painting: Many have asked me why I chose to paint a broken exterior with an orderly window. When analyzed, I think it depicts my ever in discomfort broken body, ill-fitted with a tread-milling mind. Needless to say, the painting travelled the distance I never expected it to, and from then on, all my poems/write-ups had my self-created illustrations.

ShabdAaweg:

Around October, last year, after joining this platform, I got introduced to Literary Impulse and its editors Priyanka Srivastava Somsubhra Banerjee who happened to enjoy my illustrations in a way I was not imagining. And with time I found myself working with the team in their independent publication ShabdAaweg.

This was my first hand at trying to illustrate other’s thoughts and me calling myself an Artist/Illustrator.

Know Thyself:

If I say that this is a dream come true, I will be economical with the truth here. This is not something I ever dreamt of, but find myself dreaming about now, that I have come thus far.

Beginning from Science Labs, speeding through Management Classes, trudging through a life-altering health crisis, and finally walking that one-eighty-degrees to reach to this point,I feel I am slowly inching home.

Not attending a single class on Art (not even online), relying on what I have been exposed to as a kid (all those art galleries, museum visits) growing up with very ‘creatively savvy’ parents, absorbing my surrounding like a sponge and trying to connect with the greater world, I am happy to be where I am today:

Painting my soul to my soul’s content

Every day, for a good few months now I am realizing, how important it is to heed the cosmic call, walk the path, life takes you to, and is the only way to heal and lead a happy life.

I take this opportunity to thank each and every one from the bottom of my heart, who played their part, big or small, in presenting this day to me, including my Art teacher Ms.Rosario, of whom I have many fond memories.

The Beginning….

I don’t know where I will go from here, how far of it, what else I have planned for this year will metamorphose, but for some reason, I am not worried anymore about not knowing the future. On the contrary, the journey to the unknown is what I am looking forward to.

Knowing where I belong, heeding my inner call which has led to healing to a great extent, and finding myself beside the river of life,collecting pebbles to decorate my barn, has been a process of Knowing Myself and finding the corner I was looking for, for a good few years now.

And the journey begins……..

Today’s shoutout is of a different kind.I will like to thank the edit team in Literary Impulse Nachi Keta Somsubhra Banerjee Priyanka Srivastava for ideating and presenting readers a quality reading experience through their brain-child ShabdAaweg. Please find the Winter issue enclosed shabdaawegmag/issue-xi-winter,(whisper, whisper….checkout my illustrations to the written pieces too) (#^.^#)

If you have a knack for some serious reading, don’t miss ShabdAaweg.

I am a big fan of emoji, and found this very interesting account @lenny-faces/get-lenny-face-, I happened to discover, when he sweetly decided to be my friend.Thank you Mortin for leading me to your original lenny faces. Thought of using them today !✌.|•͡˘_•͡˘|.✌

Thank you Yana Bostongirl for Know Thyself, and Diana C. for the vision to create a space for parking our vulnerable moments.

Thank you Coffee Times and its editors Winston Yana Bostongirl Dr. Preeti Singh Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles Sharing Randomly Marrisa W. for this wonderful hangout lounge.

Thank you to everyone finding time to stop by.