Pablo Picasso was born in Spain. And lived in France for most of his adult life. He is a prolific artist with varied interests, his early naturalistic painting gave way to his famous modern art in his adult years. He is known for his ‘Artistic Versatility’ and also for painting from imagination. He is renowned for his unconventional & radical life & art and is influential for his development of Cubist style.
A few musings…
On Art & Acceptance
If Picasso was born in the east Perhaps he would have had it tougher to touch the height of success. For he was best born in the west And live in the heart of liberalism Where his technique was acknowledged and given wings. He passionately painted his spirits strokes in freedom.
The eastern world has always been more traditional Conservative & restrained in art and life Somewhere it took a long time Catching up with the possibilities of creativity Where chaos becomes art.
In chaos there is disorder But in disorder is the arising of new creative possibilities Envisioning in the unconventional a restructuring in the flow Every stroke of the brush or ink on paper Is indicative of thoughts and emotions in the brain behind the brush. Of the development of hand eye brain integration That creates art out of simply anything and everything. And then, there is the viewer critic and the art dealer who see hope & possibilities in both the artist & his art.
Art is born in the mind of the artist
Art channels itself in the flow
Art is honed in the perspectives of critique
But art is realised and enjoyed in the acceptance of a patron
Where there are no rules that bound Where the music leads and you follow Where there is end and no beginning All is in the flow as you sense you are the flow.. Ecstatic dancing indeed!
I remember participating in an Ecstatic Dance session in Zurich last year.
It was my first live session although I have been attending many such events online.
As a Ballroom and social dance teacher I have always got into the dance floor with a partner. So I first went in with an intention to experience first hand what it felt like to dance independently with others.
There were people of all ages walking in to register. I soon was surrounded by strangers who were finding a space for themselves to settle. Some started warming up some meditating, and I decided to follow suit.
I found people around me from all ages & walks of life, some seemed lithe and athletic like professional dancers, a few pregnant women, a few elderly people.
Each were on their own as if by practice, no one was really about conversation. For late comers it was about finding a space for many were already in their own warming up practices.
I could see all kinds of poses, some moving around a bit, flaying their arms and legs, some very restless some breathing consciously, some meditating, some sitting doing nothing but aware. A lady next to me managed to smile a bit when we look at each other, but mostly all were in their own world.
Soon the facilitator arrived and the she began a few warm up practices as the music flowed. The movements that she initiated were somewhat picked up by the crowd but interpreted in their own way. The tempo changed and the movements changed. The energy was palpable. What was interesting was there was no structure to the seeming madness and all were expressing from their own state of being. The mind body and spirit has a way of expressing in the flow if we only choose to allow it.
Our body is intelligent and capable. If we only understand that our body can heal itself much through instinctual expression as it helps regenerate itself. The somatic expressions are deeply authentic as no two people will move alike even though they hear the same music. For their emotions have different interpretations.
I was first a little cautious about my own movements especially conscious about the space I was occupying as the room was truly was full of people. Initially my experience in dancing spot dances like Jive or Salsa came to use so that I am aware of the dancers around me. And then after a while I realised I was unknowingly began using my skills of Waltz and Tango etc to move through the floor. I was dancing all the way from one end of the room to the other. I was in my own zen state of flow… like the others around me into their own unique moves…
I witnessed a few people in a trance like state, some truly rhythmic moving together without effort, and a few others doing weird gyrations as if the body is desperately releasing emotions. Suffice to say the experience was a soulful and intriguing one.
What is beautiful is that it is a safe space to move your own way…
No one leading no one following as a practice.
A non judgemental inclusive space…bringing people together to express themselves without fear, inhibitions and complete acceptance.
In mutual respect for one another as and how are.
The way a body moves to music is pure fascination. We are so uniquely ordained. Respect to the creator and creativity. 🙏
Nowadays, I am finding there are lot of films produced on women empowerment in different languages. Perhaps this is what the public wants to watch. What is interesting to note is how well it resonates with our times.
I enjoy watching films that make you think and feel as much as I enjoy happy fun films
I just finished watching a new Hindi movie called Sukhee. It’s about a daring woman (Shilpa Shetty) who elopes and gets married to a man of her choice in her college days. In time she becomes a homemaker. But her husband over the years stops valuing her. She toils everyday at home but her daughter stops needing her. Her only desire is to go meet her friends and attend her school reunion after 20 years. But her husband does not want her to go.
Nevertheless she leaves them and goes to meet her school friends. She realises how much she has missed her old life and wants to stay back some more… But her husband gives her an ultimatum to come back now or never come back…
What decision she takes forms the rest of the story…
On Strength of Empowerment
We talk of strength and there are many strengths in the challenges Of Courage Of Resilience Of Tolerance Of Patience
Speaking of women, I want you to answer this following question.
Who is a strong empowered woman? The one who has the courage to get up and leave when she knows she is simply being used but not wanted? Or the one who stays and dares to change the equation?
These words above are deeply interlinked in the flow of thoughts that arose after I read a translation by my mother from a Tamil quote forwarded on Social media.
Interesting to note it is from a divorced husband after 10 years of realization.
‘Don’t show your pride before your wife. She came to you just believing in you Not your relatives.
My property My earnings My will Then who is she? What is the meaning of her life with you?
Can’t she have her dreams, her desires, to be fulfilled with you?
In the depth of silence Is the dance of stillness Unfolding untold stories Echoing in pathways as destiny Are dreams of the masterplanner
Embracing the solitude Gracing the silence There is a hush Without a whisper A painting evolves Sparking the soul
As the brush gently glides Texturing a tapestry of weaves Of infinite intentions Forging the known and unknown
Finding the souls sanctuary Setting the cadence Through the choice of the soul Aligning the narrative In the quietude of the inner balance Destinies entwine.
Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury. Edwin Hubbel Chapin
The strength of the soul Is in allowing the fluidity of the flow Of acceptance of possibilities. In the flexibility of feelings To adapt to the changes. In foregoing retribution And forgiving the past. Evolving in the flow.
Savvy Raj 
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