NEW DELHI: My studio is in my residence and I have full stock of art material. Till March 4, I was working on my longest painting on handmade khaddar sustainable fabric with Indigo natural colour and dye in Ratelia village, Sanganer. After my return from Rajasthan I was planning to work on paper with Indigo natural colour.
I have just finished making 108 small paintings on A5-size paper in monochrome indigo. For a creative person, solitude is bliss. The corona outbreak has merely added social distancing to our daily life. My outings for art exhibitions and literary events have come to a halt. My poetry readings on different venues are cancelled. But I love to be at home and paint or write or sleep. It has not impacted my work at all, I always worked from home.
A poet and artist needs alone time to create and I have it. A friend visiting from Toronto is my house guest. She is an artist and came before the Corona pandemic. Her flight got cancelled and she can’t go back home for the time being. My son who works with an MNC is working from home these days. So I look after their needs, keep the house sanitised and take all precautions to avoid the infection. We are following all directions issued by the government such as, washing our hands very often with Dettol. At present, we are three people at home and all are busy with their own things in their rooms. We meet at the dining table and eat together and chit chat.
At times I teach my son how to cook. He is expecting a transfer in near future. We enjoy eating at home, simple nutritious food. Eating outside food is strictly prohibited. My son ate outside food frequently earlier. When I am not painting, I am working on my new coffee table book on indigo. I have been writing the text, doing photography of my sketches on Shiva and new paintings made on paper. I also wrote a poem. I’ve also been watching documentaries on YouTube. Love and light. Stay safe.
Tasks at hand
When I am not painting, I am working on my new coffee table book on indigo. I have been writing the text, doing photography of my sketches on Shiva and new paintings made on paper. I also wrote a poem.