I had opportunities during my earlier print journalistic days to meet all the Chief Ministers of Delhi so far. With Madan Lal Khurana, Sushma Swaraj ( whom I met few times and drew her live caricature, which she signed too), Shiela Dikshit ( met her several times and interacted with her at length during her visit to one art exhibition where mainly my art was showcased) and Arvind Kejriwal, before he became Delhi CM.
The freshness of two legends ! They became and are still becoming part of million lives.
There is no age as such from where the mind doesn’t return to memories,
knowingly/ unknowingly. And there’s no eraser which can delete any
memory as per your convenience. She was scanning her past. This time
deliberately. There her attention got stuck. Blocked by the special
memory, which if written on paper, would consume whole life. And if
painted can never be finished till the last breath. It was the memory that
was like a ever fresh flower kept on the oval table of experience in a big
empty room. It was matchless. It had healing power but was incurable.
Its dominance was so strong that sometimes it would cover her whole
soul. It at times resembled with her heart. This time she was making a
hurtful attempt. Plucking such memory from the lawn of life would end
the misery. She thought. She succeeded. She felt so. Suddenly lawn
turned into a desert. Everything became too hot. Unbearable ! She felt
burning sensation. She shouted. Cried too. Her scars appeared. She
started stitching them. Blood was all over her body. Bloody desert.
Terrified and agonised, she ran back towards the memories. She ran fast,
very fast. State of breathlessness was giving heart ache. There came a
turn, she couldn’t lower speed. She lost the balance and fell down. Lying
motionless for few seconds with eyes closed. A special kind of fragrance
engulfed her. She opened her eyes and to her surprise, she found the
same memory, intact and fresh like those fresh roses, which had no
chance to lose freshness in any case. She had failed to eliminate the
memory. She had slipped into post elimination idea. That was just a
thought – what it mean to survive without this particular memory. She
was feeling now relaxed and a strange kind of peaceful silence. Mother !
Her kid lying near by started weeping. She woke up. It was past
midnight. She feeded the hungry kid. Kid slept after a while. She
murmured something. To whom she was addressing. She closed her eyes
and before going into deep sleep she uttered – your memory is fresh rose
!
Few memories gets etched permanently and keeps refreshing you with its fragrance whenever you relive it and go through it. It has been always a great feeling to spend time with the distinguished people from the different fields. Once in Mumbai I had a chance to have a good conversation with Shyam Babu – Shyam Benegal.
He was going to make his new movie, starring Shreyas Talpade ( perhaps). We talked about films, his and his favorite ones while enjoying the cup of coffee. I was keenly observing him and he too was observing me as if director viewing the character through the lens. His eyes were looking thoughtful and as if in continuous search. Pauses and smiles.
I showed him his caricatures which I had drawn and during our further conversation I drew one more. He signed all of them and said your strokes are as powerful as that of R K Laxman. What made you to meet me? When in Mumbai then why not to meet Shyam Babu – I replied.
Like spiderman who can appear anywhere any time in fictional world to entertain and engage people, we in our country in real got our own spider man who created road webs, weaved connectivity and appears anywhere any time with the plans. Minister Nitin Gadkari.
“My God you look like honest chap !” , Mirror laughed.
Somehow you feel a kind of creative elation and expansion when you ideate, imagine, conceptualize and go for filming and be the incharge of each involved departments whether music art, storyboard art, screenplay, shot division and editing. Integration of so many art forms gives you tremendous opportunity to evolve further and simultaneously live these arts.
shyen khaanan manz zuv kaeri braenthi
wuzmal buthi labbi aswin chaenthi
Urge to capture the existing, the visible/ invisible character, the content, the conflict, the one who is searching, the search and the probable conclusions.
We are subjects- we have subjects- we become subjects. Feel of words, smell of paint / free bold personally of strokes and viewing the slices of human world( outer/ inner) through the camera – compose, shoot, edit and the final master.
Urge, an inner compulsion to play with forms, assemble the creative elements to align it with motivational requisite – content, craft and technology. All I love to begin with – lights, camera and action !
