April 19, 2019 - Full Moon in Libra
My life journey began in a sleepy town called Pune, India, brought onto the global map by two iconic spiritual figures: BKS Iyengar, the great yoga guru, and Bhagwan Rajneesh (Osho), the controversial mystic and rebel. My early childhood was spent prancing around the neighborhood, exploring local flora and fauna, climbing hills, learning Kathak dance, and creating art. I created art on fabric, wood, glass, pottery, and paper using whatever materials I could find—acrylics, watercolors, beads, sand, threads, shells, and even broken glass bangles. One of my earliest memories, at age six or seven, is painting mandalas on paper in the afternoons while the family took a siesta.
Growing up in India in the '70s offered few opportunities to pursue art as a profession, so I made it my hobby while my main focus turned to studies and a career in software technology. This path took me to California’s Silicon Valley for a decade and then into technology consulting for clients across Europe, Asia, and the USA. My LinkedIn profile outlines this chapter in detail, so I’ll simply say here that my career enriched me with a depth of experience.
Art, however, never fully left me. During a sabbatical in 2006, while living in Freiburg, Germany, I wandered into a local art store and picked up some paints and brushes. Not much happened then, but holding a brush after a gap of over 15 years reawakened something in me. Since then, I carried a basic art kit wherever I went, even if I didn’t always find time to use it.
In 2008, my interest in the esoteric, Tantra, yoga, and meditation led me to explore Yantras and Chakras through painting as a meditation practice. I spent time with Pieter Welteverde, learning the precise geometry of these symbols. After a creative burst, though, consulting contracts took me back into a demanding work rhythm with constant travel.
By 2013, while living in Copenhagen, I felt a strong urge to paint again. I signed up for a life-drawing Croqui class, bought an easel and canvas, and set my tools by the window. Yet, consulting work continued to claim my time. Then, in late 2014, my health took a turn, resulting in a severe health crisis. After six months of inconclusive tests, I finally received an unexpected diagnosis: Hashimoto’s disease. I had a meltdown on the steps outside my doctor’s office in Copenhagen when I was told there was no cure. But along with the diagnosis came an internal message: You can’t continue living life on the fast track. It’s time to stop and change.
In 2016, I took a leap of faith into the abyss of uncertainty, leaving behind a successful career for an indefinite sabbatical from technology and consulting. I enrolled in a summer program at the Heatherley School of Fine Arts in London, re-engaging with art while finishing a work contract in the city. By this time, I had also begun exploring alternative healing modalities to manage my Hashimoto's. I was convinced that there had to be another way forward.
Early in 2016, I consolidated my global life and moved to a small village in Peru’s Sacred Valley to focus solely on healing. I adhered to a strict regime of diets and herbal practices to restore balance to my body and mind. I also enrolled in a summer program at the Bellas Artes School of Fine Arts in Cusco, Peru, exploring various techniques and mediums. During this time, art became more integrated into my life, and the world of writing began to open up through a weekly Writer's Group in Cuzco.
By the end of 2016, my Hashimoto’s had rebalanced, and I had begun to paint with my own voice. While in Peru, I spent time in the Amazon jungle, where I studied Neo-Amazonian art in the style of Pablo Amaringo at the Usko Ayar School of Arts. In 2017, a surge of creativity came from taking Osho Art Therapy Training in Spain and sketching at Pranoto's Art Gallery in Bali in 2018. I absorbed different techniques and styles from artists around the world, continuously evolving my own.
Now, I stand at the crossroads of art and technology, wondering if there’s a harmonious bridge between the two. For now, I continue learning, playing, and creating both independently and with other artists who open their spaces to me. Many artists inspire me—not only through their creations but also through their unique approaches to art and what it represents for them. If I knew exactly where this journey would lead, I’d write it here, but the truth is, I don’t know.
I act on each impulse as it comes, much like when I paint. What I do know is that creative expression feeds my soul. Through art, I wish to share, question, reveal, touch, and be touched, to inspire and be inspired. Ultimately, I hope to offer a glimpse of the great mystery that sustains us all.
Life is inherently unpredictable. And Tracy Chapman’s song echoes in my mind, “If not now, then when?”
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