Song of Silence - Sangeeta Gupta's paintings

Curator’s Note by Meena Chopra

In an ongoing journey with five elements of life, Sangeeta Gupta reveals the hidden realms of creativity by bringing it to the conscious levels through her art. There is a sustained intricacy of mystique, in the entire range of her work. 

The obscurity of abstract forms start speaking to one in a silent melody and a continuous song is created within the limits of space and time through the subjective experience.  Undoubtedly a spontaneous painter, the vision of her inner world is very clearly and honestly depicted in both her poetry and art. 

In her latest works, there is a kind of explosion of forms in contrasting tones and colours which give a powerful sense of free-spiritedness. This instantly grabs the attention of the viewer's eye and draws it deeply into the subtleties of forms and tones, thereby creating a continuous dialogue between the inner and outer worlds. 

What strikes me most in her art is the sincerity, through which the subconscious flows out naturally, impulsively and effortlessly through her art.

Fellow Artist and Curator Meena Chopra

Continued in the post below

Keshav Malik - a poet and an art critic

Continued from above

Guest post by Sangeeta Gupta

It seems only like yesterday, I recall.

I had recently come on transfer from Calcutta and was new in Delhi. My third solo exhibition was to be held at the All India Fine Arts and Craft Society in December 1997. I was desperately looking for someone to help me to curate the exhibition and to inaugurate it.

I met Manohar Kaul, Chairman, AIFACS regarding this and he promptly suggested that I contact Keshav Malik for this who was in the gallery attending some exhibition. Kaul said it was easy to identify Malik as he would be the tallest in the crowd.

I entered the gallery looking for him. He was there in the midst of a large gathering talking to people, yet he did not seem to belong there. I was simply mesmerised by his persona and walked up to him and said I need to have a word with him. He smiled and came out of the gallery and at that moment we were in a meaningful conversation, which went on for long.

At that point of time I was totally ignorant of his stature in the art world and had no hesitation in discussing with him about art and poetry. We instantly developed a bond which grew over the next 17 years. Keshav went out of his way to curate the exhibition of my ink drawings.

Keshav guided and inspired me to evolve as an artist and a poet. I felt anchored in Delhi – a big ruthless city. It was the beginning of a great learning experience and a beautiful relationship. His house became my comfort zone, we shared a lot.

Keshav witnessed my growth as an artist and a poet and enriched my life.

All these years I had the confidence that I could bank on him for guidance; could call him; meet him when I wished. I had immense faith in his advice and wisdom.

His passion for reading and writing poetry and reviewing art was the intrinsic force which made his life not only beautiful but so much worth living. He loved seeing art so much so that he would visit all shows in Delhi. He often said that he drew inspiration from art for his poems.

He translated my book of poems (The echoing groove - 2005). We did a book together, his poems and my paintings (Visions and Illuminations - 2009). One of my exhibitions had his poems and my paintings together on display (Shridharani Art Gallery, New Delhi - 2004). We read poetry together on several occasions in the midst of ongoing exhibitions.

I had this strong conviction that Keshav had so much wisdom and insight about evolution of Indian art that it should be shared with artists and poets of all ages and it would be appropriate to document it in a film. I discussed this with a filmmaker and he gladly agreed to do it.

Even after making all efforts by collecting data and research material the project did not take off. I was losing my patience and peace of mind over it. One day I decided that I would make the film myself. I am no filmmaker, but I made it as my tribute to my mentor Keshav. I scripted, shot the film and then did editing with the help of the professional.

I was keen to have a special screening of the film on Keshav’s birthday and the documentary was screened on 5 November 2012 at I.C.C.R, New Delhi. The first film on Keshav – Keshav Malik- A Look Back, is a reflection on the life of the noted poet and art critic.

He was a Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi. He was an Art Critic of Hindustan Times and Times of India. The film features, several eminent painters, poets, scholars, and their views on his life. The film has been screened at various venues such as Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Sanskriti Kendra, Anandgram, New Delhi and at Kala Ghoda Art Festival, Mumbai 2013.

The other two documentaries Keshav Malik – Root, Branch, Bloom and Keshav Malik – The Truth of Art were screened by India International Centre and by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Delhi in 2013 and in the Spring Festival, 2014 at Alliance Francaise de Delhi.

This film has been selected and is in the archive of Documentary Edge Campus, a resource centre for documentary films, New Zealand, to be used for educational and research purposes. This film was telecast by the TV channel DD Bharati and Lok Sabha TV several times.

My mind is flooded with hundreds of memories of Keshav. He would often curate my shows in Delhi spending hours together, till late evening and then rush back home to change his Kurta and come back to inaugurate the same exhibition.

Keshav wrote most of my catalogues for my exhibitions. He would come to my studio to help me select the works for an exhibition, then write about it, curate the show and also inaugurate it.

He was a complete man who cared for the feelings of all. 

Out of his concern for women artist that it was more difficult for a woman to sustain herself as an artist he would go out of his way to help and promote them.

Keshav often said that poetry is a way of life and merely writing poetry is not enough. His poems were philosophical and abstract and dealt with deep concern for humanity. He never compromised with his values in life.

During his 89 years on this earth he witnessed so much of change happening in and around him, but he remained unaffected by the material and mundane like a lotus in a dirty pond. He was a detached witness to the affairs of this world and lived life on his own terms.

He was modest and humble, sensitive to the needs of others and yet he firmly stood by his values in life. The artist community who were fortunate enough to meet and interact with him would cherish the memory of a man who came on this earth to spread love and compassion.

I salute the man and his spirit who had faith and hope in humanity despite numerous upheavals in the society. While the documentary was screened at IGNCA somebody asked him “Do you believe in God, have you seen him?”, Keshav said “No, I have not, I have only seen human beings and I only believe in them”.

Time neither is, nor passes.

What is, is the world-making womb

where you are born, to die.

Born asleep, born a dream –

dreaming dreams without recall.

These lines of his poem always remind me that we have limited time on this earth and each moment should be lived with a sense of purpose.

Keshav served and guided the Indian art world for more than six decades through his critical yet constructive writings. He was one of the first persons I had met in the art world when I came to Delhi 17 years ago. Keshav was a mentor, guide, and philosopher to me.

I specially admired his compassion for young and budding artists who came from all over India and flocked around him for advice and help. He was generous to all artists who came to seek his advice. He always had something good to write about each artist. He was a poet’s poet. I feel enriched by the long association I had with him.

His passing away is a great national loss and has created a void which cannot be filled ever. An era of art criticism has come to an end. His contribution as an art critic and poet will be remembered by the Indian Artist Community for times to come.

10-02-2016

Why this, why now?

Meena Chopra, a frequent contributor to this blog, is curating an exhibition of paintings by Sangeeta Gupta, a visiting artist and poet from India. The opening reception was held on 19 November, and the exhibition is on till 29 November at Heritage Mississauga - The Grange 1921 Dundas St. W Mississauga ON L5K 1R2.

(The visit of the artist and poet Sangeeta Gupta to Canada is co-sponsored by INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATIONS along with CROSS CURRENTS - Indo canadian International Arts and Heritage Mississauga (Mississauga Heritage Foundation)

-Exhibition is curated by Meena Chopra - Artist, Author & Poet and Nain Amyn- Lalji

On 29 November 2019, Sangeeta Gupta will make a presentation on Life and works of Keshav Malik - an Indian celebrity poet, art and literary critic, art scholar, and curator

29th at 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm at The Grange

followed by an open mic session in collaboration with Courtney Park Writers' Group

About Keshav Mailk:

Keshav Malik (5 November 1924 – 11 June 2014) was an Indian poet, art and literary critic, arts scholar, and curator. He remained art critic for the Hindustan Times (1960–1972) and The Times of India (1975–2000). He published eighteen volumes of poetry and edited six anthologies of English translations of Indian poetry.

He was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for his contribution to literature. In 2004, the Lalit Kala Akademi, India's National Academy of Art, made him a Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi for lifetime contribution, which is its highest award).

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

'CROSS CURRENTS - Indo Canadian International Arts' believes in going 'BEYOND BOUNDARIES' both in 'thought and action', 'within and without'

The naked me

Guest post by Meena Chopra

(Art in dialogue)

Nudity, Sensuality & Sexuality in Art -
Connecting Skin to the Corium and the Corium to the Centre

     

“We know that the nude form, more so female nude form is inherently sensual, specifically to the male eye, but an experienced artistic eye of any gender, caste or creed would surely perceive much more in it, which would complement the skin and the corium of the art with its inner core”.

The materiality of unclad, bare human body has been close to the imagination and interest of almost every artist down the ages, substantiating the core of multi layered timeless cyclic continuity of life, depicting the energetic static naked reality at the base of the ever flowing life stream.

The dauntless, gutsy and determined effort of un-layering and uncovering has more to do in coming to terms with the hidden reality of the self, claiming, confronting and accepting the starkness beneath and showcasing it to the world while searching the eventual reality as the intrinsic purpose of any art.  

Either consciously or subconsciously, at some stage of any artist’s career, this reality surfaces to the foreground. This is certainly true for any other art practices or forms such as, realistic, abstract, still life, nature study, or any other creative form such as creative writing, music, dance, and theatre, as all these rise intuitively from the same unchallenged and undeniable substratum of the mind. 

The question that recently came up, on the semi abstract nude series of mine, from some authoritative entities in arts was, whether sexuality was on my mind when making this semi-nude series? While for some the first reaction to my series of paintings was that these were ‘hot’, for some others it was ‘sensual’ which was understandable.  Some even suggested categorising this series as ‘Sexual Art’. 

It surprised and puzzled me. We know that the nude form, more so female nude form is sensual specifically to the male eye, but an experienced artistic eye of any gender, caste or creed would surely perceive much more in it, which would complement the skin and the corium of the art with its inner core. 

This led me to analyse how a North American art viewer is viewing, perceiving, discerning and reacting to ‘this nude figurative series of my recent work’ named SHE! The Restless Streak, and, for that matter, any art in general.

Especially so in North American settings where the art and its exposure are developing and it is still in its nascent stage, even now in the first quarter of the 21st century, in comparison to the other European and Eastern civilizations, with a history of mature artistic sensibilities. 

It’d be pertinent to point out at this stage that a semi abstract nude sculpture of mine was also denied entry into an art exhibit in 2005 at Novotel Hotel by Mississauga Arts Council. At a later date, the then Executive Director of Mississauga Arts Council – MAC, specially arranged to put a show of my smaller works of seminude series as part of Culture Days/Doors Open Celebrations at Sampradaya Art Creations in 2014.

This was an individual and personal effort from her, because she felt that this series needed a display and an audience even though they were semi nudes. At present, it is being showcased at MindSpace in Erin Mills Town Centre, again through MAC).  

Even in 2015, a curator refused to display these paintings even in a gallery setting in Heritage Mississauga, but later when I showed these works to the gallery in charge and the historian of Heritage Mississauga, he seemed to have no objections at an individual level.

The entire series of SHE! The Restless Streak, when brought to the Mississauga library’s display gallery for the final showcasing in September 2018, the newly appointed art coordinator seemed shocked and the reaction was that these cannot be displayed because nudity is not accepted.

She was new and unaware that one artwork out of these series received 1st prize from Visual Arts Mississauga in 2017 and was already displayed in the Mississauga Library Gallery previously.  Only when she confirmed it with senior management about this approved show, she permitted the display.  She commented that the government funded organization in Canada, where she previously worked, had strict rules and such art could not be displayed.  

My question is: Is this mindset able to really reach to the art beyond the certain dermal levels?

This provoked my thoughts further about the how a North American viewer is grasping and reacting to the art in general with its quintessence inherent spirit?

To the question of whether the sexuality was on my mind while making this art, leads to a few more questions that have little to do with art and more to do with preconceived notions. Does that mean to the viewer that, if I or anyone else, when painting a fully clad ‘Virgin Mary’ or a ‘religious figure’ should be having devout feelings and thoughts?

The fundamental question then is: Does the artist always have to compromise with the pressures of the market, the forces of social prejudices and state generated institutionalized rules supporting these prejudices, instead of bringing education and true understanding of arts?

I know of many artists who have their nude artworks lying or hidden in their studios and do not display them, merely to avoid the unnecessary controversies that may arise from such displays. But at the same time, some of them do take a chance of displaying such works wherever it is possible. 

I believe it is the responsibility of the ‘state’ and state funded art institutions and organizations to play an active role in giving arts a mature direction for homogeneous development of arts in the present social structure. I’d even lay special emphasize on the state’s role in creating the right atmosphere for young to better understand and accept art and self beyond its surface.

Art rises from the restless and veiled inner creative impulse that desire to be unveiled, to be expressed at the conscious levels of life. It then adorns itself with the rich skin of the artistic language of forms, colours, gestures, sound, or voice using various mediums and outlets, while embodying the expressions rising from the extreme depths of profound experiences.

It is a condition, where the subject (the inspired mind) and the object (the creative outcome), come close to each other and an experience is generated, where the artist gets synchronized with the art created in a totality and unity of the inspiring moments.  Creativity comes out of certain areas of madness where nothing else really matters but that moment needs to be expanded in the time zone.

The impact of the art created, draws the spectator towards the profundity of the artistic vision and takes that spectator beyond the ephemeral. (the spectator can be the experiencer of the ‘beyond' through the artistic object as much as the artist).

During the creative process, the artistic journey of the artist is upwards and outwards from the centre, seeking the light of the day with the heat of internalised creative fire, thereby giving art an authenticity and credibility to the revealed reality from beneath or the centre core while down reaching within.

This occurs through the creation, re-creation and resurfacing of images, motifs and symbols by the artist. Concepts and themes at the dermal level can vary in one’s art and creative work but what gives it the innate quality and validity, is its ability to draw the deepest unconscious hidden value behind the object of the art.

This process can be highly instinctive and can come through deep meditative gravity and at times through cryptomnesic fleeting moments. 

Here I would like to point out and stress upon the known fact, that historically, nudity in art is common in to Eastern and European cultures. This includes, Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Italian and French pre and post renaissance, impressionism.

Nudity in art is prevalent in ancient and modern art of Indian subcontinent and other Eastern countries. Even gods and deities in chapels and temples are artistically sculpted, carved, drawn and painted in nude much earlier in time, even before Christ and centuries back. Do we then call all that art sexual? 

In general, the origin of these questions and statements being genuine and spontaneous from the viewers, perhaps significantly show and corroborate the perceived notion of North American society’s firm belief in its ‘claimed and persistent linear progress in its evolutionary stride’ where the ‘product and its consumption’ is the prime reality of life and becomes a standard to be lived by and is being extended even to the fine arts to most cases.

To discerning minds, fine art remains to be a way of ‘search’ and therefore a way to ‘rich life’ beyond the essentiality of capitalism and consumerism and more so as subjective unity of the artistic vision, union and its experience.  Whereas, the very foundation of North American society, is based on the production and its consumption.  This is highly contradictory and contrary to the artistic instincts and experiences and is paradoxical in general to the art world and to the value and worth of  ‘fine arts’ beyond the notion and scope of the convergence of popular culture and fine art. Fine art gives you a pragmatic rounded experience, which has no parallel to the consumerist materialistic values.  

Process of understanding arts comes through delving within and then rising from the deepness, while creating a union and a bond with the artistic work. I feel this exercise happens spontaneously, both for the viewer and the artist, even though not acknowledged and felt instantly.

There is a little scope of ‘linearity’ in ‘fine arts’ as art is not a ‘product’ but a ‘consequence’ of the inmost and the unfathomable.   It is a complete rounded experience. I must admit that it has made me a little cautious and prudent now of the environment around even after my seventeen years in Canada. The only satisfaction has been that, at least, these artworks were evoking certain feelings and interest even though at a transient and preliminary levels.  

I also felt that it becomes necessary to generate a feeling to develop an attitude which goes beyond treating art as not just a product but more as a way of life, right at the basic levels of education.

I feel it is important for us to observe the life not only as the linearity of the existence but also going beyond and observing it in a cyclic mode of time as well, which is already set by the law of nature.

This is imperative if we in North America are ambitious and have to come in near comparison with European, Asian and Eastern artistic cultures, also in becoming and claiming ourselves as an artistically developed society in the future.  If this could be achieved only then we can claim that we are in a position to truly advocate and to be true proponents of arts in North America. 

As an immigrant artist from developing world of Indian subcontinent with its ancient artistic civilization where ‘nudity’ in art is of little consequence, ideally my expectation is to have a better acceptance and a broader attitude of any such artistic practises in Canada.

The truth remains that the artistic vision, its expression and evolution through the ages has emerged and caused by the play and dynamics of two subtle formative energies of life (male and female). Art is an outcome of cause and effect, the negative and the positive.

These cosmogenic energies, which are the basis of artistic creation, rotating the world around us, are fugacious to the conscious mind. One must be sagacious and daring enough to delve into them and live with them to understand them. No art or creative effort is complete without sexuality in broad terms. Same is true for the religion also. As said earlier, nudity in art is not new and a lot has been said and written about it. 

As for me and for my personal journey as an artist, it is the dynamics of subtle female energy that continuously fascinates and captivates my mind for some unknown reason. There is an internal need and pressure to explore it. The mind at that point in time, when creating an artwork, gets totally engrossed and preoccupied with the mediums, form, strokes and colour etc. It is a meditative mood, rounded with pensive moments.

The same is true when the mind gets immersed while creating the abstraction and any other type and forms in art. The underlying thematic idea continues to be ‘genesis’ in all my styles, with a predominant undercurrent of subtle and evolving female energy. 

This truly gives a definite meaningful condition and determined direction to my art and life as a whole. I find all creation in fine arts to be related to instincts with the unquestionable and undeniable prevalence of sexuality in nature because of its roots in the interplay of positive and negative spiritedness but not necessarily only in its physical, corporeal and fleshy level but in its firm and solid roots in the genesis and in evolution and dissolution of the entire cosmic dance. 

Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful.

And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a harness and a chain.

Would that you could meet the sun and the wind with more of your skin and less of your raiment,

For the breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind.

Some of you say, "It is the north wind who has woven the clothes we wear."

And I say, Ay, it was the north wind,

But shame was his loom, and the softening of the sinews was his thread.

And when his work was done he laughed in the forest.

Forget not that modesty is for a shield against the eye of the unclean.

And when the unclean shall be no more, what were modesty but a fetter and a fouling of the mind?

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair     --Kahlil Gibran

Meena Chopra is a frequent contributor to this blog. She is a Toronto based author, artist.  She writes poetry both in English and Hindi. Born and raised in North India, she now lives in Mississauga, Canada.

Art - A Path to Global Consciousness

Guest Post

By Meena Chopra

Meena Chopra at the Women Economic Forum Portugal 2019

“We see art as a way of knowing, as a way of researching, and as a way of touching the hearts of people and communities. It allows us to encourage things that are fun, but at the same time, critical to promoting deeper thought.”

-       Marco Kusumawijaya, an architect and urbanist. A foremost voice on sustainability

Artists are change agents and by nature have a sense of sustainability as leaders.  Art touches the very core of humanity. Therefore, art as a path to global consciousness could be a great unifying tool because of its collective nature. As an artist and creative writer, I know that my world is in a constant change. It is always facilitating and trying to be the catalyst of innovations, bringing awareness to the issues that matter and hoping to bring about change and even just raising awareness on many issues.

Alex Grey, American Artist says, “Art is an echo of the creative force that gives birth to galaxies.  Creativity is the way with which the cosmos evolves and communicates with itself. The great uplifting of humanity beyond its self destruction is the redemptive mission of art” -  The artist channels the creative force into the artistic work and the work then turns into a kind of charged battery, ready to zap the imagination of the viewer into the new way of perceiving the world. 

This is how global consciousness becomes cosmic consciousness through human consciousness and becomes a unifying factor to humanity. Therefore, throughout history, art has been a major instrument in transforming human consciousness and revolutionizing societies. It is in its nature political, because it represents a voice that will not be compromised and faded easily.

If I speak of sustainability in Canada, concerns about environment have been enormous in general with all creative people and artists and more so amidst our 'first nation artists' whose heritage lies within the land. They are close to earth and to the nature. Urban land has also been a concern of many artists.  Vancouver school of photoconceptualism deals with the subject of how it is to be living in an urban environment. They are also dealing with the subjects like racism, immigration, poverty, hunger, riots etc. Canada is also a homogeneous and exceedingly diverse society in constant progress while meeting global challenges. 

Now, some artists want to explore the eternal question of just ‘what is art’ while delving into the recesses of mind in search of that unifying factor,  while others want to protest with the things that they disagree within the society like the over consumption of the material goods and social inequalities. Many aboriginal artists are using modern and traditional techniques to express their ideas and concerns about sustainability. 

Persistently fighting the stereotypes, trans-cultural, transnational, not fitting into a box, multi-positional, shape-shifting reality that many of us in Canada feel and face. There are series of negotiations that are constantly happening in this multidimensional network that we have.  With all this Art power is emerging as a powerful global consciousness.

Art is giving the consciousness, the ability to understand the global, international, and cross-cultural sources, interconnections, institutions, events, and actions. Most important, it gives value and validity to the diversity of every type while demonstrating open-mindedness and acceptance, also effectively in settings and situations where language and culture are diverse and native. All this comes naturally to the people who are in creative fields. Artists as global citizens are generous.

Technology plays an immense role because it has made the entire world a global village. This technology also plays an important part in artists advancement of the work as global citizens. I perceive technology both as an artistic medium and also as a powerful global communication tool as it can be instrumental in giving art a global voice.

Meena Chopra' is a Toronto artist and poet. This is her address at the Women Economic Forum – WEF Portugal 2019

Sacred Feminine

Guest Post by Lata Pada

"I stand here a woman who has traversed life in many avatars daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, dancer, teacher and mentor. I ask myself what is the common thread that weaves each of these roles in my life – it has been the abiding feminine spirit, restless and ever seeking," says Lata Pada, the renowned danseuse, and the artistic director of Sampradaya Dance Creations, in her introduction to Meena Chopra’s book She – The Restless Streak

Your worship Mayor Bonnie Crombie, distinguished guests, artists and friends. I am very honoured to be invited to speak today and illustrate how the poems of Meena pay homage to a woman, in all her myriad moods and facets.

Lata Pada performing an abhinaya to Meena Chopra's poetry
at the launch of She - the Restless Streak
at Mississauga Central Library
Photo: Sheila Tucker

As I read She- The Restless Streak, I found Meena’s poems replete with imagery, nuance, allegory and subtext. Each poem has touched upon a central motif - that of a woman. The release of her new book of poetry – She– The Restless Streak– is a deeper journey in that feminine mystique, mysterious and unpredictable, into the abstract and the tangible, complementary and contradictory.

I find the poems are an exploration of the feminine energy, that those of us from India know as Shakti, she who has the power to annihilate evil while also protective of her devotees, her restless creative energy juxtaposed against her meditative and still presence. Shakti is the divine mother that creates, nurtures and nourishes, protective and fierce about her creations, unhesitating about destroying evil.

Meena’s poems have resonated for me at a deeper level. Each of her poems epitomizes what I would like to call the ‘sacred feminine’ – a principle that reaffirms our connection to the divine, the Goddess, the earth and each other. The poems take us on several inner journeys, that are deeply personal and yet universal.

Today, I stand here a woman who has traversed life in many avatars daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, dancer, teacher and mentor. I ask myself what is the common thread that weaves each of these roles in my life – it has been the abiding feminine spirit, restless and ever seeking. That spirit has been my constant companion and has been part of artistic voice which has found expression in many of my dance productions.

In the arts of India, the female divine has been an intrinsic part of every artistic expression, represented over centuries in temple carvings, paintings and murals, poems and devotional outpourings of the saint-poets and in dance of every genre.

As prakriti – nature, she imprints every creation with her divine energy, moving unceasingly, restless to complete the natural cycles of the sun, the wind and waters to restore order, so the new day can begin. Meena has captured it so beautifully in her poem Kaleidoscope where she describes the ever restless, changing nature through the dawn of day, surging, shifting towards establishing cosmic order.

The female Divine has always been an intrinsic part of life in India, the Indian tradition, where Shakti and Shiva, the female and the male, are seen as essential to the balance of the universe. Artistic traditions such as painting, literature, dance and music honoured this principle of ardhanarishwara, the union of the male and female, as a necessary part of every aspect of nature.

As a dancer, I have found inspiration in the many facets of the feminine in Indian writing, but always searching and restless as how to reconcile the tensions between western and eastern sensibilities, and to explore universal meaning for themes of the goddess, divinity and woman.

Revealed By Fire was the result of this quest. 16 years after the devastation of the Air India bombing in June 1985 in which my husband and two daughters were victims, I felt compelled to create an autobiographical work that was my personal journey through tragedy and survival. 

While my world as wife and mother had been cruelly wrenched from me, I came to understand that my identity as a woman had survived, an identity that no outside force could destroy. No force, even fire like the archetypal Sita of the Ramayana. 

Instinctively, I turned to Sita, where her agni-pariksha- a test of fire, resonated for me; a motif of my re-birth and renewal. Sita emerged unscathed - strong and luminous.

Fire became a metaphor, both for its destructive and regenerative energy. I surrendered to my strong instinct; I did not question the need for this work, I only needed to imagine how to create it. In Revealed By Fire, I returned to wholeness, a new peace and equanimity.

Meena Chopra's new creation “SHE! The Restless Streak - Poetry & Art”

Meena Chopra

In her new book of poetry & art “SHE! The Restless Streak” Meena Chopra reveals the vibrant female force in the human element. Usually, an abstract painter and a nature poet Meena’s works in this book are semi-figurative female forms which complement her thematic poems on abstract female energy. 

Her poetry has a unique ethereal quality and powerful story-like imagery which engages the reader to unfold the mystique hidden behind each and every work whether a poem or a painting. The book is both a visual and reader's delight.

The full-colour coffee table edition of the book is being released on Saturday, 22 September, 1:45 pm at Central Library Mississauga along with a thematic art show which started on 7September and will continue till the 29 September 2018. You may find details on the event on the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/205179256836573/

New book out 22/09/18

“SHE”, the life force, the moving fearless female energy, subconsciously and unknowingly, has always been a predominant part of my art depicting genesis, whether it is in abstract forms, figurative forms or in the forms of verse”, says Meena when asked that what was the reason of picking up this subject.

Lata Pada, with her lifelong in-depth experience on this subject of cosmic feminine energy which is deep-rooted in the Indian Classical dance forms, will extensively be shedding light on the content & theme of the book SHE: The Restless Streak, Poetry & Art by Meena Chopra on the Book Launch/Art Show "SHE! The Restless Streak" Poetry & Art

Lata Pada (The Order of Canada) is the iconic veteran Bharatnatyam dancer, choreographer, artistic director and founder of Sampradaya Dance Creations in Mississauga, Canada.

Lata will reveal and expand on the idea of the dynamic feminine energy prevailing in the universe in its intrinsic metaphorical gear, the very central theme of the “Poetry & Artbook SHE! The Restless Streak” along with its essential role into arts, dance, music, poetry, literature & life at large. She will be doing this both verbally as well as through the rhythm of the classic language of “Abhinaya” ( portrayal through dance gestures and expressions)"

Foreword of this book has been given by world-renowned Canadian Master Artist, Historian and Order of Canada honoree, Charles Pachter. He says “In “SHE! The Restless Streak” Meena Chopra reveals herself to be a true original who combines words and images with grace and dexterity. Her poetry reveals subtle and astute observations of natural phenomena, from microcosmic details to sweeping macrocosmic overviews of human existence. 

Pachter adds, "In her visual metaphors combining the human body with surreal depictions of the human eye, she beckons us to ponder the meaning of life. Through the vortex of space, she draws the eye upward through expressions of monumentality and tonality, the orchestration of colour, and positive and negative balance. The result is shape-shifting, alluring and metaphysically inspiring. Her words and images together are a gift”.

You can find more about the book on Facebook Page: @SheTheRestlessStreak , Book is available on Amazon.

Author and Artist Meena Chopra is an internationally known award-winning poet & visual artist with an unbridled passion for words, space, colours and forms. Born and brought up in Nainital, India now lives in Toronto, Canada. Meena graduated from Isabella Thoburn College Lucknow. Later qualified as a designer from Delhi and then as an Artist Educator from RCM Ontario. 

After having a career as a designer for seven years in the fashion and garment industry in India, later switched to fine arts & writing poetry. She simultaneously operated a business in advertising, marketing and media. She writes poetry both in English and her native language Hindi and has authored two poetry books. 'SHE! The Restless Streak' is her third collection which showcases both her poetry and art. Her poetry has been translated into German and Urdu as well.

Website: www.meenachopra-artist.com , Email: artist.meenachopra@gmail.com

Twitter handle: @meenachopra Facebook page:  @meena.chopra.artist Instagram: meena_artist_author_media