When the invisible becomes visible...

As you enter  the India Habitat Centre grounds, you are greeted with a gentle breeze, vast spaces and the soft tingling music of Naresh Kapuria's musical totem pole. The chimes are fairy-like and joyous. They invite you to travel with them on their journey, to a world of nostalgia and reminiscences. You remain rooted to the ground, lost in the music of the ages. The sculpture itself is rusted and rustic, nearly deplete of any vibrant colours. But one push to the pole, the magical sounds emerge and you are left wanting for more. A curious transformation takes place within you. You become the child once more, playing with your old Bobo doll or the eternal rocking house. The music stops and you awake as though from a dream.

       
        More gems, often unobtrusive and shying away from the glances, emerge from fountains and the corners of the institution. Their locations and the designed spaces work hand in hand, much to the delight of any urban planner or architect. The sculptures range from bronze to marble and ceramics. They tell stories about issues that are about aesthetics, life or social constructs. "Hegemony" by Ravi V(the name plate was worn so deeply that the last name could not be identified) and "Adam and Eve" by Robin David are some of the pieces worth looking at over again and again.On a day when you need to take a stroll and an urge to see good public art , go to the India Habitat Centre.

Venue:  India Habitat Centre
              Lodhi Road
              New Delhi-110003
              India

Open : Throughout the year

#Publicart #IndiaHabitatCentre #Sculpture

Experimenting with found objects...

Its an exhilarating feeling- when you feel free of all the conventions and restraints that come with doing a certain piece. No longer are you concerned about whether it looks pretty or neat but more about how you work with the material and whether it liberates you in the process. Generally I have often stayed away from cardboard or other "found" material as I often wonder about the aesthetics of the artwork and the possible diluting of the artwork's potential in the meantime. But I remember a valuable piece of advice my own teachers told me in college- try every material and try everything-big or small. Never be afraid of making mistakes or even risking the destruction of the work. These words have remained etched in my mind and I have searched for ways as how to use the materials and today I am doing just that. Enjoying the experiments...

"My friends. my friends ..whither do you go?"

What do you do when your characters get restless? Well, draw them, put them on a smooth surface and they will be dancing , scurrying and playing forever. Who says that there is no forever? I love to imagine like the little boy, Paul Irving in " Anne of Avonlea" who often talks about the "Tomorrow" and "riding into the golden sunset".  So here they come, my friends. They have their little jobs to do. Excuse them while they display their antics. Cheers!

German, French, Spanish...well never mind!

What do you do when you see beautiful illustrations in a comic book but the speech bubbles contain a unfamiliar script? Simple. Just ignore the wretched bubbles and enjoy the artwork at great length  

It sorely tries your patience and enthusiasm when you see these books. I know one feels disadvantaged when the language is essentially Martian. But the artwork itself is enough for me to forget all sorrows. Surely language has no barriers and so does comics. I firmly abide by it!