National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi

If you want to spend some quiet time admiring the paintings of some greatest artists of our country, right from pre-independence time, then you must head to the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

If you thought art was all about deciphering those strange lines and splash of colors, then think again.  You'll love the calmness and the greenery of the place.

Since photography was not allowed inside the gallery, I can't get any images for you here.  Although, I equally loved the sculptures strewn all around the premises of the gallery.  I really liked this one.

I have something to share too. My poem "Ma, I wish I was beaten black and blue" is at Asiamag with the title "Black and Blue".  Do have a look.


Take care


RESTLESS

When the Umbilical Cord Is Severed

 I was not able to blog for all these days, due to some technical problems, but all the time, especially around the Mother's Day I was thinking of writing a post. Being a mother of two sons, the elder one being a  teenager, I have something to share.

No mother can forget the day her baby is born, as she lies in pain in the labour room.  The baby arrives and all the pain is gone, and then the umbilical cord, which has served its purpose is severed. Clamping the cord which provided nutrition and the life support to the unborn baby marks the end of his physical dependence on his mother.  As the baby is patted on his back, he learns to take his first breath and for the only time that cry of a baby is so melodious.  That cry means life.

image courtesy - guardian.co.uk

It's not just once when this umbilical cord is severed.  It gets severed twice.  At the onset of teenage, a child has a fair idea of his individuality, rather he has already learnt to exert it.  And dear reader,  feel proud as a parent if he or she does it.  You know as a parent that you've succeed in invoking the right thoughts.  You feel good when your teenager speaks his mind and  knows what he is speaking.  You know then, that you have succeeded as a parent, in this respect.

Although that pride is a subtle feeling.  More prominent is  a feeling that your child doesn't really need you at each step of his life.  (You look back and see how you always covered the sharp edges of the table with your palm, when you little one was learning to walk, fearing he would hurt himself).    And this time, a parent, who was eternally lost in the cute, cuddly ways of apple of his/her eye, learns to stand aside and watch another human being, a separate personality taking charge of his life, while the parent only feels like a side actor.

Suddenly, you know you have to step back.  You have to tell only when asked.  Children don't like sermons! (Did I ever like it? nah!!) In many fields your child knows more than you do. 

Teenage brings about that big change which again feels like the umbilical cord of the mind is getting detached.  Howsoever, the child is attached to his parent, howsoever strong the emotional bond is, this feeling of separate identities stared straight into your eyes.

It's the beginning of a new phase of the relationship between a mother and a child. Somewhere it hurts when your child shouts back at you but later regrets that too. Somewhere you have to accept that you don't belong to his buddies.  Somewhere you know that it's this delicate stage of his life which is making him behave in a way never known to you or himself.

You know that it's time to be even more patient, even more understanding with your child, as you are not just dealing with your off spring, you are dealing with the next generation of the times you are living in. It's you, the parent, who has to understand the changing perspectives of urban life.

Many a relationships between parents and children get disturbed forever at this juncture of life.  As parents take the rude and insensitive behaviour of their children as a personal insult and often their ego gets hurt.  They find it hard to forgive the child or on the other hand, may begin to ignore all the wrongdoings of their child out of weakness.

It's a challenging time for teenagers troubled by hormones and parents by the freshly severed umbilical cord.

take care

RESTLESS

Mahabharata Exhibition At IGNCA New Delhi

A huge idol of Duyodhana was there on the open ground of IGNCA.  Since, I reached there one day late, so all the decorative paints, embellishments were gone from the idol.  I searched the net and found the decorated picture of the same.  See the link and you will how HUGE it was!!

The exhibition began with an introduction on Mahabharata.  

One whole section showed the various military strategies used by the two teams in the war of Mahabharata - Kauravas and Pandavas.  As we know, they would arrange their armies in certain patterns to counter their enemies.  Depending on the shape that arrangement took, they were named like the one above is called "Vajra Vyuha". Understandably, the above Vyuha was designed by Pandavas.

I have missed out on the name of this Vyuha, but it is of Kauravas

The look from inside.

Handicraft work depicting a horse rider or is that a camel?!

Analyze this one!!!!!! This was life size idol..... so tall... I could hardly reach up to his chest level.  And the eyes were so real.... OMG... I looked at him and jumped with fear thinking he was real!!!!! Hats off!! such real art!!

To be contd...

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Jay Utsav - A Treat For Eyes

Delhi is truly a hub of culture.  And being a restless soul, I look for such events like art exhibitions or something to do with history, because all these lift me.  I feel very rejuvenated after visiting such a place.  Recently, an acquaintance asked me as to how to deal with loneliness or depression?  I told her to connect with art, history, science, or nature.  You don't have to be a real arty person to appreciate a painting or an idol, you just have to try to see what the creator might have felt creating this piece.  Any form of art connects us with the artist, the creator.

I got an opportunity to visit Jay Utsav, Celebrating Living Traditions of Mahabharata, at IGNCA New Delhi a few months back.  Actually, I missed the food court (Bheem Ki Rasoi), the Art and Craft bazaar, as I reached there one day late! But still the exhibition was on.

Have you ever seen a tree, decorated this way? I had never seen it! The sacred thread (Mouli) tied so symmetrically around the trunk and branches of a huge tree make it look so pious, isn't?!

And while, I was clicking the tree, I spotted the nest of weaver bird (I think so)

This is the place where the food court and  craft bazaar was there. I loved this sculpture!

It was spring time, so lovely flowers welcomed us!

A little glimpse of the exhibition. An exhibition on the theme of Mahabharata. In the pic, you can see Bheema tearing Jarasandh into two parts, during the war. (Thanks Bookworm for correcting me)

The exhibition was a RIOT of colours!!!!

To be contd....

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Ancient Monuments Of India - Snaps

In the series of posts, covering the various facets of the photography of the legendary photographer of the British times, Raja Deen Dayal, I am posting a few pictures of monuments.  All the credit of the pics is to IGNCA, the organisation which showcased the exhibition of these old pictures.Also see this and this too.

"With in-born love for his country Raja Deen Dayal travelled extensively. He toured the country by rail and bullock-cart, taking along mounds of photographic paraphernalia from stacks of heavy glass-plates to bulky cameras. Academic training in draughtsmanship and his own painterly vision enabled him to bring out amazing depths, details and breath-taking widths with large uniform areas of sharpness and highly accentuated perspectives.

He photographed ancient monuments, archaeological sites, places of worship, forts, palaces and their interiors, townscapes, forests and rivers, leaving behind vital historical and cultural documentation."  IGNCA

I wish, I had captured the write up about these wonder photographs, then I would have been in a position to tell something about the places.... It seems I was so mesmerised that I didn't think about it at that time! Only the last pic shows "Street view of Hyderabad".

Enjoy!

RESTLESS

I Got Disqus!

I was thinking to change the commenting form of my blog. Finally, I have installed Disqus commenting form.  Through this post I want to share how I did it. 

It's very simple if you have a normal blogger template.  You just have to go to Disqus, create an account and install the code, which will automatically be added to your blogger HTML template.  But, since I had used a template which was not of Blogger, I could not install it automatically.  For this purpose, if you have knowledge about HTML code, then you can simply use the "Universal Code" of Discus and place it at appropriate place.  But, in case you don't have much knowledge about HTML ( like me), then you can first take a back-up of your current HTML of blogger template in your PC hard drive and revert to the default template of Blogger. Now, go to Disqus and install the commenting form.  Later on, you can use your favourite template (non Blogger one).

After disqus is installed, it shows the comments as "0" !! This can shock you!! Don't worry, you can import all the comments and then choose to synchronize all the future comments by doing some settings in Disqus.

Now, the funny part was that I was looking for my dear blogger Pal's comments in my blogger dashboard!!! While the comments were getting stored on Disqus Dashboard!!!! psst! I didn't know that!!

I like this commenting form, as I can quickly reply to comments without shuffling through all the posts on my blog.  Also, it helps bring out a logical discussion, as I can reply on the relevant comment at the appropriate place.

Since, I encourage healthy and open discussions on various topics ( I really like it, when you write for me!) using a commenting form like this is very beneficial.

I have heard that Disqus takes a lot of time to load?? Are you also feeling the same??

Do let me know what you think about it? and about the look of the blog.

I would look forward to your suggestions :)

RESTLESS

Portraits Of Women - Of Elegance & Beauty

Raja Deen Dayal, the legendary photographer of the British era, whose work was showcased in an exhibition at IGNCA New Delhi, specialized in portraits. 

Recently, I visited National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.  I was amazed to see the collection there, it truly shows how the ways and mediums of art, especially paintings, changed over a period of time starting from pre-independence era to the current times.  Will try to write and put some pictures  too.

But, the point i wanted to make was that even there I read about the special mention about Raja Deen Dayal.  The info over there read that he was one of the most famous photographers who worked with British Govt and Indian Govt too.  Also, that he specialized in portraits.  So, I thought of posting the various portraits of women, I had captured in the exhibition at IGNCA.  Due credit of the pictures to the curators of IGNCA.



A British woman.  See the matching umbrella and the hat kept on one side. 

 

The portraits of a Nautch girl.  See the saree worn by such a young girl.

Does it not remind you of the himachali dress people used to wear and pose when visiting any place in HImachal Pradesh of India??!

  

There is something about this picture, which you cannot miss.  The serenity... and the beauty 

See the attire of the girl... and her inability to 'pose' in some way or the other.  But she looks very pretty.



I specially liked this picture.  She looks like an Indian princess.  The way the saree is worn, the jewellery etc makes her look very very elegant and in authority!  See the placement of the side stool, with a table cloth and some books kept casually over it!  Was it to show that the lady was well read?

RESTLESS



Nuclear Radiation - How To Minimise The Effect

(This post is in the series of posts about Disaster Management.  I wrote about preparedness for Earthquake earlier in another post. In this post, let's talk about nuclear radiation - what is it and how can we minimise its effect, in case we have the threat to get exposed to it.)

Who does not know about the Fukushima Nuclear Plant of Japan, and the hardships the people are facing there due to fear of radiation in food and water of their city?

It's time we know about Nuclear radiation and what can we do to minimise the effect and safeguard ourselves in case of a nuclear radiation.

image from ibnlive.in.com

What is radiation?

Radiation is any form of energy propagated as rays, waves or energetic particles that travel through the air or a material medium.  Radioactive materials are composed of atoms that are unstable.  An unstable atom gives off its excess energy until it becomes stable.  The energy emitted is radiation.  the process by which an atom changes from an unstable state to a more stable state by emitting radiation is called "radioactive decay" or "radioactivity".

Are we receiving some radiation naturally too?

Yes, we do get exposed to some natural or background radiation exposure each day from the sun, radioactive elements in the soil and rocks, household appliances (like TV sets and microwave ovens), and medical and dental x-rays.  Even the human body itself emits radiation.  These levels of natural radiation is normal.  The average person receives 360 millirems of radiation each year, 300 from natural sources and 60 from man-made activities (A rem is a unit of radiation exposure)

What are the precautionary measures to safeguard from accidental nuclear radiation ?

If you are residing in an area close to a nuclear plant, then you should be regularly informed about the educational information on radiation and evacuation plan etc.  (I could not search about the safe distance of residence from a nuclear plant, as prescribed by authorities.  If you find it, pl add in the comment)

The three factors that minimise radiation exposure to your body are :

Time - Most radio activities lose its strength fairly quickly.  Limiting the time spent near the source of radiation reduces the amount of radiation exposure.

Distance - the longer the distance between you and the source of the radiation, you will receive less radiation.

Shielding - Like distance, the more heavy, dense material between you and the source of the radiation, the better.

A nuclear plant

How can we protect ourselves from nuclear radiation and attacks?

- Common indicators of radioactivity are nausea, dizziness, vomiting and disorientation, with no odour but a wave of heat.  A nuclear explosion is followed by a 'blast' like a mushroom cloud.  Don't panic in the event of a nuclear attack or accident.

- Don't look at the fire blast as it can cause instant blindness.

- Close all doors and windows, and stay indoors till further communication from the Government.  Radioactivity does not penetrate solid structures, though fire may cause damage to building.  It's even better to basement or underground area.

- Cover all food and water.  Don't consume water, milk, food obtained following a nuclear blast.

- If coming from outdoors - take shower and change clothing and shoes.  Put worn items outdoors in a plastic bag and seal it.

Why does the thyroid gland need special protection after a release of radioactive material?

The thyroid gland located in the neck produces thyroid hormones which help the body use energy, stay warm and keep the brain, heart, muscles, and other organs working normally.

The thyroid gland is vulnerable to the uptake or radioactive iodine. The thyroid gland needs iodine to produce the hormones that regulate the body's energy and metabolism. The thyroid absorbs available iodine from the bloodstream. The thyroid gland cannot distinguish between stable (regular) iodine and radioactive iodine and will absorb whatever it can.

In babies and children, the thyroid gland is one of the most radiation- sensitive parts of the body. Most nuclear accidents release radioactive iodine into the atmosphere which then can be absorbed into the body. When thyroid cells absorb too much radioactive iodine, it can cause thyroid cancer to develop several years after the exposure. Babies and young children are at highest risk. The risk is much lower for people over age 40.

Stay Aware - Stay Safe

RESTLESS

The Lady Bird - A Snap

I spotted a lady bird in a garden once.  It's such a rare sight these days. Couldn't help clicking her !


RESTLESS

The muFFin Generation!

There is a definite visible change in the body structure of urban Indians, especially youngsters, that makes me write this.  I don't want to offend anyone. But, surely want to draw attention to that increasing width of waist, which manages to protrude out of T-shirts, tops and Kurtas alike.

 



The muffin and the muffin top

I'm talking about the accumulation of fat around the waist, specially visible on both sides of the  waist, seen from the front.  The body ie torso then looks like an inverted muffin. 



Our body stores fats, which is a normal thing, as it has to prepare itself for exigency conditions when we can be deprived of food and hence works as a store house for emergency.  Now, where do we store the fat in our body depends on many factors, and I've read that it's mostly our genes which decide whether we'll have that thick neck and well padded shoulders, or heavy thighs or bottom or well rounded arms (seen in women) or it would be the waist area.

Life style also plays an important role in deciding where we put on that fat.  Needless to say, we are a lazy generation, button generation, couch potatoes - earlier glued to TVs and now stuck to PCs and gadgets.  We love our fast food like God.  I feel very surprised when I see young people grabbing a pack of potato chips and a soft drink when hungry, my children being no exception.  It's so fashionable to be hanging out at a popular fast food joint and ordering junk food.  (I too like it very much, but I know when to treat myself and when to stick to home cooked simple food).

So, the final line is that due to such factors, a whole generation ( the urban, i mean) has a strange body type, which is not at all flattering.  Add to it the beer guzzling habits, most young boys have a beer belly.  Now, if you observe the bodies of men and women now, you'll find that since all the fat is going to the waist line and tummy area, the bum is shrinking... and that can be a party pooper!! Girls wearing a Saree without a well balanced figure (read bulged tummy, thick waist, and no bottom) can be devastating.  The same happens with both guys and girls when they are in western dresses.



The muffin top must have got its name due to this body shape!



The changed life style has affected the hormones too.  Now the age of puberty for girls has gone down.  Girls are attaining puberty at the age of 8-9, due to various environmental factors and obesity.  And this shift has come in last 15 years or so.

Don't want to give you a "hamare zamane me moment" (!!!) but, since girls were expected to work at home assisting the mother and junk food was not at all prevalent, girls were very lean and slim till the time they were married.  But thanks to the myths related to pregnancy, they would collect fats all over their bodies during child bearing and rearing age.

So guys, think about it. Have junk food but remember that should only be meant to reward yourself, pleasure yourself or for celebration time.  For rest of the times having light and nutritious food is the best bet. 

If you love yourself, feed yourself well.  Eat food for your tummy and not your tongue!

RESTLESS