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The Road Not Taken

by ramya on February 17, 2012

in fine art, Still life

A friend gifted me something really, really special the other day. It was this little metal box that seemed to have travelled distances and well. I loved it even before I could see what was inside. Felt like it held many stories, adventures and lifetimes. I opened to find a beautiful antique compass. The etching on the inside of the lid is a poem that is well known to us all and a true guiding light. I suspect there are few and far between who might have not dwelled on it. And what a truly thoughtful home to place it in. This exquisite compass to lead the path ahead.

Thought it would be nice to revisit the gem with you all and make an emulsion transfer of the image with the Fuji peel apart film I am currently addicted to. Read on !

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

As you see, my blog has a new look – I have designed and put it all together with lots of love. It also has a name ! daydreams and footsteps. I felt it nicely summed up the things I like to share and talk about. My website will be moving as well. It has a new face, cleaner divisions, tighter edits and better interface making it more manageable for me as well. All these changes and facelifts will come together soon. And an online store is also in the making as is a bi-monthly content rich newsletter with lots of content around creativity, fine art photography resources, techniques, artist interviews and much more, all carefully put together/written by me. Hope the blog is pleasing on your eyes for now :) I'm still fixing odds and ends as we speak. Do chime in if you have any thoughts/ideas/feedback.

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A Walk in the Garden

by ramya on January 31, 2012

in Still life

Many nature walks have happened in the recent past and thought I'd do a quick post to share a few moments from there. I was walking in my mother's lovingly tended garden last Sunday and felt so comforted. I am going to make my own oasis of a wild, secret garden to escape into with my dogs and lots of books, where time cannot get the better of me.

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Nirvaya – Dissolving in Divinity

by ramya on December 21, 2011

in Uncategorized

"I looked for my body, but

it was hidden within the Linga

I looked for the Linga, but

it was hidden within my body

I looked intently at the Linga within me

and saw a great Light."

~ Hadappa Lingamma (Vol-5, Linga-anga, verse 1247 ) translated by Basrur Subba Rao

5.-Water-sparkles-with-dancer.jpg

dissolve

" The Sharana on the mountain tip

is like the light set on the door sill:

he knows inside, he looks outside

he knows, he forgets

he sees, he does not see

he transcends subject, object and knowledge…"

~ Hadappa Lingamma (Vol-5, verse 1297 ) translated by Basrur Subba Rao

7.Gateway.jpg

gateway

Nirvaya is inspired by the profound & abstract Kannada Vachanas or poetry of the 12th women mystics called Sharanes

Dance and original photo art merge and sometimes move parallely whilst translating the profound concepts of 3 lesser known women mystics- Lingamma, Muktayakka, Molige Mahadevi & the radical poet Akkamahadevi. Their philosophy is Linga- advaita or monistic Shaivism, with roots in the Vedas and Kashmiri monistic Shaivism.

~ Madhu Nataraj

When Madhu sounded off the idea behind Nirvaya, six months back, I was so taken by the idea and the abstract-ness it presented. I like to work with fluidity and abstract thoughts through certain phases. I like to watch them grow, take form, unite, disintegrate, and come back together at some unexpected point in time. Besides, the idea of exploring the thoughts and profound poetry by the lesser known 12th century women mystics from Karnataka was divine. So I jumped at the opportunity and we started working not knowing where the collaboration would lead us. She would create the movements and I, the visuals along with other incredibly talented artists bringing in the major pieces such as music, vocals, stage design, film and costume.

Somewhere we would all surely meet as we had done in our past collaborations, with the process itself being a testimony to the soul of Nirvaya.

Madhu Nataraj, my dear friend is a great dancer who is known for her pioneering presence in the dance scenario, internationally.She will be presenting Nirvaya as a part of the "Mad & Divine" conference at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Chennai on Friday, the 23rd Dec 2011. Please do come if you are in Chennai.

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CUPA Calendar 2012

by ramya on December 2, 2011

in Uncategorized

Hello everyone !

Dogs have been a big passion for me like many of you I know, and it has been a privilege and joy to create this calendar for CUPA (Compassion Unlimited Plus Action) an amazing animal protection and welfare organization based in Bangalore.

We are ready to launch the calendars and each contribution would greatly benefit the cause.

The theme of this year's CUPA / WRRC calendar is – owners and their adopted dogs. It features heartwarming stories taken from across demographics.

We look forward to joining hands with you in creating awareness towards this cause.

Love, ramya

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Here With Me

by ramya on November 4, 2011

in monsoon colors, mountains

Again.

I've succumbed to the charms of the retreating Monsoon.Personally, the rains lift my spirit as much as a healthy dose of sunshine does and more often than not, I find that I function better on gloomy days. I don't mind the shades of grey and those generous clouds and all else that comes along.

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Linger

by ramya on October 12, 2011

in monsoon colors

I was driving back home the other day and made a quick stop to capture the colors of a rain water puddle and take in the fragrance of the rain washed air. Along comes a little boy and floats his paperboat and runs back into his house at a nearby construction site.He squeals in excitement when he sees me taking a picture of his boat. We exchange happy smiles and I drive back lingering on how little it takes to open our hearts to the ephemeral beauty and hope that surrounds us only if we could stop a moment, breathe. slow down and listen.

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This Dream is Real

by ramya on September 12, 2011

in creativity, fine art

Galibore, on the banks of Cauvery and in Coonoor, August 2011

I am in love with the Lensbaby ! Talking gear is definitely not among my favorite pastimes, but it does feel amazing not to be walking around with an immaculately engineered heavy duty lens but opt for a completely new way to see my world. And feel it, swimming through abstractions and infinity. I've been playing so much with this baby and doubt if I'll ever tire of how it lets me interact with the world. There's nothing like simplicity. Don't you agree ?

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These Days of Mine

by ramya on August 18, 2011

in fine art, Still life

making the most of my days . . .

. . . even as time eludes me

leaving me behind . . .

. . . more often than not

Some experiments with my Diana and a Fuji Instax back. Baby steps as you can see. It's absolutely refreshing to be getting back to photography where less is more, process is pleasure and the results are mostly surprises life throws back at you. There are some more experiments to be shared though. Soon enough.

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Scent of the Monsoon

by ramya on July 30, 2011

in journeys, monsoon colors, travel diary

“A cool breeze, grown pleasant through contact with the scent of the earth refreshed by your showers,

which is inhaled by elephants with a pleasing sound at their nostrils, and which is the ripener of wild

figs in the forest, gently fans you who desire to proceed to Devagiri.

There, you, taking the form of a cloud of flowers, should bathe Skanda, who always resides there, with

a shower of flowers, wet with the water of the heavenly Ganges.”

~ Excerpt from Kālidāsa’s Meghadūta , Verse 45. Translated by McComas Taylor.

I find the rain washed colours of nature so enthralling that photographing them is something that I crave for. It’s the whole sensory experience – the monsoon air, the smells of the earth, the textures of glistening rocks, the brightest of greens that surface, forgotten things that come to life and the clean washed feeling that prevails both inside and out.

A quick note about the excerpt above : I was recently skimming through a translation of Meghaduta by Kālidāsa (who is considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets) and absolutely loved how it represents the Indian Monsoon – in it’s hauntingly mythic manifestation. It narrates how Yaksa, one of King Kubera’s (god of wealth) subjects in exile, pleads a passing cloud to carry a message to his wife residing in the Himalayas.

I enjoyed the parts I read and couldn’t resist sharing a piece of it here. Image was photographed in the Bisle Ghats in Hassan, while exploring the luscious rainforests there, and chasing that passing cloud above us :)

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Finding the Flow

by ramya on July 20, 2011

in creativity, fine art, mountains, travel diary

The Nilgiris, November 2010

While I'm on a constant search to fill up on inspiration, I see a positive shift in how I feel about photographing and making images in general. Less inhibited. Less afraid of perceptions and criticism. The need to conform to set moulds is also on a receding path. It has something to do withgrowing up for sure but beyond that, I think it has also to do with making peace (gradually, of course) with both the devils and angels of one's creative life. Not the most fun thing to do particularly for the sorts like me, but I'm learning to like all states right from melancholy to joy. Just let them all be. Come and go. Let the negativity and fear hit-and-whizz past without too many questions or confrontations, so there's less chance of setting off new chains of unwelcome reactions. Become also a spectator and not just the experiencer is basically what I'm trying to say. It is liberating and lets ideas stem from one another and from places you'd never expect – simply because we are letting our playground become more expansive and less aggressive, besides bringing an element of objectivity into the volatile lives of those of us who thrive on creativity. I'm trying. So far so good. I'm in the process of developing some new work and the newly alert spectator cap puts me in a better state of flow while I think and work. I like this state of flow and the uninhibitedness that comes with it. Who knows how long it will last , so I'm going to make the most of it for now and report back if this little theory of mine backfires.

Hope all you people are living your most creative lives! I will be back next week with a little post on my favourite season, the monsoon, which is in full bloom right now this side of the world. Meanwhile, I thought this quote by JK reflects the spirit of Flow so beautifully.

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