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Almost Happy
As the cartons unpacked and contents started tumbling out, one after the other, a sense of hollowness mixed with anticipation engulfed me. The life I had left behind had not left me yet. The remnants of life in the busy city of Delhi lay in heaps on the floor. I took a look at the empty house....
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Color of truth is grey.
Ayesha, a 34 year young mother to Kabir, 13, arrives at NOMAD studio on her Scooty every morning. Masked in mulmul under an old helmet, tough and gentle at the same time. Her hushed yet energetic presence has, in two years, become firmly established inside studio walls.When I decided to pen down an ode to Mothers, she was my obvious choice. Why?...
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I journey: Looking out of the window
Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Croquet it....
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On or Off?
Cleaning a switch board smeared with gunk from a zillion fingers. I scrubbed and scrubbed like a zombie as if I was curing a part of my soul. Time stopped and a certain relief came with creamy surface outshining from below.It was AHA!The music from my scrubbie was interrupted with a familiar monotonous sound. The rhythm taken aback by a phone call from a customer asking for size chart.“ You may click on the icon saying size chart, Hmm.. We are happy to customise the fit for you.. Blah blah and blah”… I answered well and why not?, it now runs in my blood.I regained consciousness only to lose it again into detoxifying the space I now #live in....
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Hands Heal
The post I shared on a dim, cool morning of September 1st urged me to go back and look into my actions.“Hands are a Vital Communication tool, arguably more than Voice, says Tim Booth who has been photographing hands and telling stories through them in his series “The show of Hands”.The gestures our body gives, the signals we retain and interpret from the minutest of our conversations.Are these mere words we synthesise and conclude?Certainly Not!In the fast paced world today where each one of us is short of patience. Untimely drawn conclusions are inevitable. But what is possible is, “pausing and re-living our moments with its full movement.There is a great deal of power in the set of fingers that join together to make a fist.. the only difference is in its formation.Hands are a doorway to the outside world as much or more than the vocal cords....
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Raakhi, from hands to heart
The workshop has suddenly come alive! As soon as the announcement is made, Ayesha rushes off to the chest. The wooden drawers hold all the precious paraphernalia that add magic to NOMAD. The silken threads, the colorful beads, gota patti, ghungroo…....
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Love for Green Life!
The drive back home from work is perfect mayhem! Every inch of space on road is taken up, rendering it invisible, as it gets lost in a sea of vehicles. The restlessness & edginess of the occupants announced through horns as everyone plays their part in the “Symphony of Cacophony”. I survive the madness & make it back to my abode....
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I am a Shred of Fabric Turned into Makutu
Surekha, Parveen, Haleema, Hasan & Aalam’s eyes are intensely focused on their latest tasks. Surekha is twisting the fabric into neat little roses. Haleema is stringing the beads into the silken string; Parveen is rolling & stitching the fabric strings. Hasan & Aalam are stitching the text on the talismans....
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Bhaiya ji, Smile please!!
Life is as beautifully simple as it is terribly complicated. How one looks at it, makes all the difference. And if its flavored with humor and humility then all is well.The usual 20 minute drive from my workshop to home was timed at 1 hour 15 minutes today. As I stopped from one photo frame to another, requesting a picture with my slate and Nomad token as a gift, I was humbled bit by bit.I have been living in Delhi for a decade now and bhaiya’s & bhaiyaji’s invariably are a big part of my daily life....
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