Thursday, July 29, 2010

I bought a cow....

Moooooooo. I absolutely and totally love my cow. I have housed it in the guest room, along with Charlie Chaplin. Before you start wondering whether I've totally lost it, let me clarify. Here's my cow story.... and it is really sweet. I was in Delhi on sunday to attend the finale of Couture Week. The show was being staged by two amazingly gifted men - Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. Or, 'The Boys' , as they are popularly called. Dimple was their other invitee from Mumbai. I adore 'The Boys'. And I adore Dimple. She is astonishingly beautiful and great fun, apart from being a terrific actress . I have always adored Dimple ( have known her for more than 30 years), and rate 'Bobby' in my list of Top Ten Bollywood films. It is a heartbreakingly innocent and adorably romantic movie with unforgettable music ( " Main shayar toh nahin..."). Well... let's get back to the cow. Just as I was leaving for the airport the next day, I received a message saying the flight was delayed. This was in the lobby of the hotel, and Dimple was checking out, too. "Let's go and meet Sidharth - he's my painter friend in Delhi. I love him and he loves me," she suggested spontaneously. And so we went... miles and miles away... looking for his studio. I hadn't heard of him, but I trust Dimple's taste. I knew I wouldn't be wasting my time. As soon as we walked into his neat and tidy studio in Pocket B ( I swear I'm not making up his address), I spotted the golden cow.... and fell in love with it. He had forty other cows - but this golden one had to be mine! And now, it is! Divine intervention? Sidharth has led a fascinating life .... he was a Buddhist monk living in a monastery in Dharamsala as a lama for six years mastering the art of Thangka paintings. Today, he lives in Delhi, exhibits in London, holidays in Norway( where he has a considerable fan following) and is modesty personified. He makes his own pigments , is inspired by Mughal miniatures, but insists there is nothing profoundly philosophical about his work, since he believes in simplicity. 'The Decorated Cow' is a tribute to the late Manjit Bawa, but it is also a mythical and mystical exploration of the bovine world. I feel fortunate to possess the one cow I instantly fell for....I saw so much love in her kind eyes. I think I saw my mother.
I have a beautiful image of this cow in my inbox and wanted to share it with you. But my efforts failed miserably! I know you'll love my cow. Perhaps I'll be luckier tomorrow. Meanwhile, I must thank Dimple for introducing me to Sidharth. He remains admirably detached and monklike, smiling playfully, surrounded by his Cosmic Cows.
I feel blessed....

19 comments:

Se2 said...

Nice read....i could really feel the same excitement as yours...
Can't wait to see the image of the "divine" painting...:P

Unknown said...

u seem to be teasing us by postponing the posting of the pic.

vijju said...

Yes agreed with the OP ;) why not put a picture of the cow rather than blabbing over the cow?

anamika said...

aare yaar De..pic to lagana tha na cow ka...i can imagine you only and not the cow:D

http://www.wiseshe.com

Divya (Virmani) Chadda said...

LOL @ at the above comment!!! :)

Anonymous said...

With/out baby?
Jersey cow And the baby - The Best.

Unknown said...

Look forward to Ms Ghai! Btw, what is the painter's full name..does he have a website, I'd love to check his portfolio if he has one online..

hamaarethoughts.com said...

its a nice story of cow..but where is the picture? we wud love to see that!

PS said...

Finally you wrote something good !

avidblogger said...

Cant wait to see the pic of the cow..how about one of the two of you together?

Harish said...

you should have clicked a picture no.. of siddharth .. i mean.. how cruel you are.. you mentioned all the niceness of siddharth that bobby and you experienced... but dint show us one photo also of the nice soul.

huh!

waiting waiting to see the image of the cow. vaapas try maaro.. im sure.. you will succeed.

what an irony.. while you were admiring natures bliss in the golden cow... the revered senas of maharashtra attacked and spilled thousands of liters of milk in satara.. this is riot, goondaism and theft... def not patriotism.

height of apathy and shamelessness. and that tooo when prices are spiraling.

they bravely confessed to their heroic act.. posed on NDTV...

pehli chori.. fir Sena jhori

Another Kiran In NYC said...

Manjit Bawa was such an interesting artist. A true rennaisance man. Any tribute to him must be lovely.

Your waali "The Decorated Cow" ka picture dikhaogi?

Sameer said...

yes, show us the pic. of the sacred cow :) Loved your write ups of all the travels and all....sorry, was, am and will be busy planning for my own wedding till sept...speaking of which, do write your take on Indian gay weddings...i mean traditions, rituals (that are more meaningful and make sense), any other fun things that we can do etc....we are planning to have a pakka maharashtrian style gay wedding, but would appreciate any thoughts that you might have on same....u r always so innovative :)

Another Kiran In NYC said...

Sameer, can I be a virtual guest at your wedding? I have been to so many weddings... gay and otherwise, but no one invites me to a true blue marathi wedding anymore. Sadly I did not have one either. :( Are you having one complete with mundavlya and masale bhaat and puran poli? How exciting it must be to be able to take your time planning the event.

a hindu seeker said...

i still couldn't get if the cow you are talking about is a real live cow or a dummy golden piece of it.

Latha said...

@krunal...hahaha...yes, it is confusing.
But she has housed it in the guest room, along with Charlie Chaplin, right ?
I think the artist has painted it true to life so that it's eyes have come alive with a lot of kindness & love that she saw her ma in it.
'Ab tere paas kya hai ?'
'Mere paas mooooo (ma) hai.'

Unknown said...

I think the song "Main shayar toh nahin" belongs to the film - "Karz" and not Bobby...Can anyone confirm please ?

Suruchi Puri (Author) said...

I can actually imagine how you were imagining about the divine painting...

visit:- http://rhymesandverses.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Sidharth is a great artist...
A monk in his studio 4, with a sweet smile always, and magic wand like brushes hanging all over...
once you will enter there you will find great paintings done with natural pigments and gold leafs(which are his trade mark).
His Decorated cows series, Barah Maah series and other works all are soul soothing ! and the list of his talents is endless...
He is a painter, sculptor, photographer, writer, singer, composer, architect, making documentary films, knows more then 26 languages !!!!
aur yaad nahin...
His studio is always a place for many artists and art lovers to visit and even stay !
I had a recent visit last week !
Thanks !