The Desert and Mirrorwork Skirts

Book no 5. 2008.
"To Surrender"
Rajasthan
Back from teh desert :)
LOTS of stories to tell. the universe conspires. orange half moons. Sand and Silence. Stillness. Winds. Perfumed oils. 21st century mystics. Moondrunk encounters by the edge of a sacred lake. Lost at a local full moon festival. Shared Cigarettes with a beggar at the edge of the train door. A tiny little village on the indo-pak border where sufi musicians sing by night. bagpipes and strange contortions that create music only imagined in dreams. Embroidery Villages and Fab-India Conspiracies.
De-mystifying the mystic. Breaking down the exotic.
Got so used to looking at things as 'symbolic' that real life becomes a representation rather than realism.
So so many questions. and answers that are lost in translation.
I've been assaulted by sounds. Like occupying armies. Been surrounded. astounded. confounded.
I'm understanding what it means to really Listen.
To Love. and to Surrender.

these are just the drawings on the way there whilst on train. :)

things following the train:
and there's so much love to give.
I also held a rat in me hand in the rat temple. aaaaaaaarkh

19 comments:

March Hare said...

Aww. The moustache is just breathtaking!

Anonymous said...

suuperrrr.... kickassss shilendar!!!
i want to buy the book. :(

rumour said...

i luv the visual sound of music- astounding!

ghosT said...

i like your blog quite a bit, travel texture text..

Shilo Shiv Suleman said...

:)

Bondhu said...

thanks for dropping by and quoting that jingle...it actually made me smile if not the croc :)cheers

Anonymous said...

Fish need desert fins
They get it from trains
Air between doors
Mouths can't open
But they borrow it from crows

Hari Adivarekar said...

Deadly drawings da dai

inside the tunnels said...

are all of these a part of ur journal? like visual diary of ur travel?

Its amazing. Its like i almost traveled:)

inside the tunnels said...

are all of these a part of ur journal? like visual diary of ur travel?

Its amazing. Its like i almost traveled:)

Gunjan said...

OMG!!!just saw it by chance and i am soooooooo glad i did!
this is awesome...every bit of ur blog!great appeal!!!

Hari Adivarekar said...

Yes, there is so much love to give.... :)
Yay!

Prmod Bafna said...

I love the whole tickling, surrealistic imagery you put out and the words which dance with them.

To visualise them is one thing and to reproduce back in some form another. You are very gifted, Shutterfly. Keep at it!

Unknown said...

Hi Shilo,
I really liked your poetic thoughts on desert and the mirror work skirts.For a moment it actually took me there :)
Nice visual travelogue...
Meera

Anaka said...

Wait, did you really hold a rat?? I was just talking about that temple with my mom the other day, wondering if the rats there are more benign because they are fed well everyday. I'm yet to see your lovely art work at your studio... it will happen soon.

duende said...

someday, i want to spend a long afternoon digging through your oeuvre. under a tree.

Anonymous said...

wow!
its colourfull!
well I completed my B.Arch from Jaipur, so I know Rajasthan is colorfull.
Yet a little more pink could have been added in the post.

I enjoyed the post thoroughly!

Munna on the run said...

This is so amazing.

Arif Sarkar said...

It was extremely interesting for me to read the post. Thank you for it. I like such topics and everything that is connected to them.

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