My friend Ramesh Vedanbatla is visiting with us; and yesterday as I was rolling with laughter after dinner, sitting with him and our extended family of the collective, I knew that the spirit of such friendships are what gives me so much energy in my life. He brought me this beautiful silk sari of bougainvillea pink-purple with a kesar yellow pallav and border : both colour from the memories of my days as a student, where the two of us are rooted from common experiences and the connection of our creative explorations.
The gift of the sari is indeed special, but he brought with him another gift that made me know in that instance just how precious these shared interludes really are. Carried all the way from his studio in Vishakapatnam is a treasure of a book in two volumes, bound in the most startling of red covers, titled Tibetan Medical Paintings. He brought this specially to share with us because the paintings that come alive from those pages are some of his favourite works of art. The exquisiteness of these watercolours are breath taking, but more exciting is the idea of taking what is your secret love and allowing another person to bear witness to it's uniqueness too.
His eyes were bright with the excitement of opening up this treasure trove of visuals, and to invite our sensibilities into the seduction of its sheer magic. I was so stunned by this gesture of sharing. It brought to me the essence of all that communication should really always be about, and as each of us take turns in drowning in this book of strange yet extraordinarily amazing paintings, the true delight for me will remain my friend's gesture of desiring to share it with me.
I caught myself being so terribly bored recently when I had invited some people over for lunch. I found that the connections of discourse could only remain at the trivial superficiality that added up to nothing more than a waste of time for me. I reflected upon this (because it was a strange feeling to encounter), and I think that Ramesh's visit perhaps puts things into perspective. Communication of relevance occurs only when you find the ability to have something to share, and more importantly if there is a desire to receive.
Today a group of us old artists friends are meeting for dinner at a mutual friends place. Besides the good food and the laughter that I know there will be plenty of; I know more precious than anything else will be the sharing of ideas that will somehow tuck itself into the overall tamasha of us being together. And this will be what each of us carry away as the significant memory of the time we spend together.
So cheers to great friends and the dreams that they bring with them, in the gestures and affection that spells these unions of tenderness.
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