I do commissioned portraits from time to time. It is something I enjoy and dread. It is a lot of pressure but the outcome is so worth it. To see joy, love, recognition and memories in a person’s eyes when they see the finished piece is priceless. Raisin Raine and Raisin Ritu and Rahul lost […]
ChammC came into my life on a morning walk. Rakesh who is the founder of VoSD was walking his dogs one morning and I happened to meet him. He had a baby carrier of sorts slung around his torso and inside was ChammC. This absolute adorable bundle of joy. A Cocker Spaniel with eyes that […]
Divya Thomas and I have been friends on Face Book for a while now. And I have greatly admired her work – Karmasuthra Jewellery. Her FB page is filled with beautiful jewellery and even more beautiful women. Each image begging to be painted with their luminous eyes. I always thought that I would be painting […]
July. It is time for that mid-year review. At the beginning of the year I said – “I have just one agenda for this new year. To paint every day. Something. Anything. Good. Bad. Even ugly. But consistently. To do something creative everyday. 365 days.” And I am happy to say that I have been able […]
It is strange but life always seems to have it’s own plans for me. No matter how much ‘I’ plan or try and work around – jo hona hai wohi hota hai- what as to happen will happen. Not being defeatist here but you know… So I decided to embrace it all in march when […]
The conversation. ‘Please listen to me. I know what I am talking about. I have your best interests at heart. Trust me. I will go the distance with you. Nothing will happen to you while you are with me…’ I would imagine that of the 4000+ dogs that VoSD has rescued over the past few […]
Continuing in the series of narratives – story telling through pictures – the effort would be incomplete without a questing, trusting nose in connection with Rakesh Shukla. Rakesh is the founder of The Voice of Stray Dogs (VoSD) and the inspiration behind The Poonchh Collection. There is nothing more wonderful than waking up to a wet […]
I asked my husband and kids – what do you think the dog is saying to Rakesh? And their answer was – ‘I looooove you‘. Though it was said with a scrunched up face and a gooey mushy voice. I think the little one is saying that too. But over and above the love I […]
He jokes about a rugged man who can trace his roots to Azamgarh. Quotes often from Anuraag Kashyap films like Dev D and Gangs of Wasseypur. He can and does draw parallels with real life to plots from Vishal Bhardwaj films like Omkara, Haider and Ishqiya. Wears a gamucha around is neck/face when he works […]
When I first conceived of this narrative series on Rakesh, it was based on a photograph that I saw on his Facebook profile. It was slightly fore shortened and distorted. And yet something about it made me think of the years that I have known him and the cards that life has dealt him in […]