Originally posted: March 10th, 2014
Sorry for the hiatus, I realized when Apoorva told me it’d been four days since I wrote a post and I logged on to facebook to find this message from my mom “Why no blog in the last few days…is everything ok?” that I realized I should probably add another one. It’s so hard to keep blogging away because entertaining the masses takes so much time, and I would so much rather be out getting harassed by auto drivers or buying a pair of knockoff Ray Bans for 120 rupees or $2 (they’re super sweet by the way) than sit inside and blogging about the cool stuff I did earlier before I sat down to write. There’s a lot to cover, so excuse me while I refer to my iphoto time stamps to Encyclopedia Brown my way to the truth as to what the hell I’ve been doing since my last post.
Metrosnaps! This photo is like 24hoursofhappy.com
March 6th was a rest day. I stayed home and hung out and Auntie Mathur took me to Kingdom of Dreams, a huge awesome emporium that had shops representing many of the different states of India. IT WAS VISUAL STIMULI OVERLOAD. Sculptures, paintings, people, shops. Auntie Mathur took me on a shopping spree and refused to let me pay for anything, which was kind of frustrating but she’s so generous, you can’t not love the hospitality here.
Auntie and I at the Kingdom of Dreams! Thanks for everything!
March 7th I went to the Akshardham Temple, which is maybe the most finely decorated/ornately carved structure in the world. Thousands of sculptures, millions of man-hours to create, excessive decorations adorning the walls of everything. Unbelievable. Getting in was a trip in itself. No backpacks, no phones, no cameras, no tomagotchis, I couldn’t even bring in my notebook and a pencil to DRAW the place. The only thing I could take in was my wallet, my clothes, and my rugged good looks. I have never in my life gone through more strict security, and I’ve been inside the Pentagon. The second guy to pat me down was a little liberal with his use of the hands near my marbles, and I almost dropped him. “Not as handsy as the Turkish bath,” I told myself, thought better of it, continued inside. I can’t describe how cool this place was, and I couldn’t take photos, but google image search Akshardham Temple and you will get 1% of an idea of how awe-inspiring it was. I learned about the child-yogi Neelkanth Varni who journeyed thousands of miles barefoot spreading his ideas. He is the central figure in Swaminarayan Hinduism. Also, he was a feminist #FACTDROP After the temple I went back to Lodhi Gardens to sketch again and wait for Apoorva to get off work. I also mixed some art gallery viewing in there somewhere too!! Check out this work of art that is my favorite by far.
This is the whole 48″ x 48″ piece. The deep amber color is powerful and the detail of the white henna patterns covering the subject’s whole figure is beautifully intricate. I’ve seen other paintings in the galleries here incorporating similar patterns, but none in the context of henna on a figure and none that create the the same aesthetic. I could stare at this for hours. Simple and pleasing, there isn’t too much going on but the design in the upper left gives it just enough energy to offset the subdued activity. It is calming without being boring, and the figure, while not overworked, is a convincing feminine form.
I’ve never wanted to buy a painting so bad in my life.
At night, we went to Apoorva’s Aunt and Uncle’s house and got some family time in and watched a movie about Natalie Portman after she accidentally killed her baby and had a view like thisssssss