tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51917047539504763162012-02-10T20:43:25.920+05:30A space of deliberation on life as I live it.Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.comBlogger2771100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-25842206866435999152012-02-09T19:59:00.000+05:302012-02-09T19:59:54.507+05:30

How can any self-respecting individual imagine that watching a gang rape is entertainment! It completely defies logic and brings to the foreground the huge issue of propriety in relation to sexual conduct in India. The emphasis that is placed upon women to conform to conservative modules of life-style as assurances that may guarantee them their safety from predators, is the moral farce of a

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-58089459554639960572012-02-05T13:04:00.001+05:302012-02-05T13:22:32.582+05:30

Art audiences in many cities in India need to wake up. The student population in fine arts colleges are all rather asleep these days and imagine that art can  be created in their cocoons  of isolation. This is why too often I become rather irritated when talking to art students and young artists, who express views that originate so transparently from lack of exposure and information; making them

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-41821856167146373782012-02-02T16:55:00.002+05:302012-02-05T13:27:43.948+05:30

I am currently in Chennai where the exhibition I have curated titled  "Quiet Conversations from the Courtyard" is being hosted by Asvita Gallery. The four artists in the show, Karishma D'souza - Kim Kyoungae - Malavika Rajnarayan - Sonatina Mendes- are all artists who belong to the collective studio in Baroda. The exhibition is once again my insistence to draw attention to the more quiet

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-13440400827623041402012-01-30T16:09:00.000+05:302012-01-30T16:09:19.533+05:30

My work Dream Text at the Art Fair 2012 was conceived in October 2011 in my studio in Baroda. Presentation of the work at the Art Fairby Sakshi Gallery Mumbai  Dream Text Make no mistake that the night will fall as dark as yesterdays, and that the moths that die may lead you to your light.  Carry with you on your journey that garment that camouflages the vulnerability of your identity, so

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-50454619648803433842012-01-24T18:45:00.000+05:302012-01-24T18:45:11.454+05:30

A big burly man, my very first encounter with Peter de Francia was when he introduced himself to me on the narrow corridor of the painting department at the Royal College of Art, in the twilight of the afternoon, on a rather grey day of October in 1982 in London. In the preambles that followed I called him "Professor de Francia" only to be lifted into the air and commanded in a booming voice to

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-1307468020925739912012-01-21T21:13:00.000+05:302012-01-21T21:13:21.035+05:30

I was at a friends home for dinner the other night and met up with an Indian artist (who has recently shifted base to Baroda from Bombay), who had just returned from a residency abroad. Interested to know what work the artist had done on this residency  (which is at a very beautiful location in Europe and which is very conducive space to do work at), and curious to know his experiences as an

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-15744528811349265762012-01-16T21:37:00.000+05:302012-01-16T21:37:45.046+05:30

I don't think I mentioned that I purchased an I Mac 27 inch computer recently. If you are not impressed then it is because you do not know what a duh I am with the gizmo's of technology! Holding a paint brush, and that too not without dropping it on far too many occasions,  is my only claim to some sort of competence  matters of skill and cerebral functions!!! So without further ado, I expect

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-64597716496873777882011-12-15T13:49:00.000+05:302011-12-15T13:49:41.940+05:30

I have been buried under a mountain of work which has seen me blogging only in my head. However in the elapsed time  I had my solo show titled Intangible Interlocution: An Anthology of Belonging. An exhibition is a place of repose for me....where all ideas come together and define the landscape of your life and politics; to commune in spirit with an audience who come to discourse with it. There

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-6506621095970325882011-10-24T01:22:00.002+05:302011-10-24T01:38:37.363+05:30

Morning potty-reading constitutes the newspapers as the start of my day. On days when I am rushing like a mad cat with a burning tail , with the clock ticking ominously and Begum my cat tripping me for fun, I merely glance at articles and headliners before plunging into my studio. But this Saturday was different. Though I had only slept at 6.30 am and was up again the same morning at 8.30  to get

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-37811362384666543332011-10-17T02:17:00.002+05:302011-10-23T23:55:43.786+05:30

Almost everyone who desires to buy art in India wants to by-pass the gallery system to skip paying the commission! Surendran and I are among a rare handful of artists who choose to only accept projects and invitations that will be handled by the gallery that represents us. We do not have any contractual agreements signed with our gallery that binds us legally in any way; yet our own discipline

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-87904433148614925112011-10-16T01:20:00.000+05:302011-10-16T01:20:02.450+05:30

"I am such a mama's boy, and I love it!" An email message from my son recently, that brought a huge smile to my face as it brought home the wonderful realisation that a generation of feminist intent has percolated; allowing for the confidence of our male progenies to exhibit with  unabashed pride, their affiliation to the influence of  their mother's on them; and remove forever the slur of "

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-11915587564551822882011-10-09T03:43:00.000+05:302011-10-09T03:43:03.105+05:30

There was something I did not realise when I lived in a small apartment. That it was so much easier to manage things, and that in a matter of seconds I could get from one end of it to another completing a thousand and one things in a blink of an eye! Ok, I exaggerated about the thousand and one things; but the truth is that I could pack in a lot of juggling and manage it all by virtually

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-63079208280318411732011-10-05T17:21:00.001+05:302011-10-05T17:21:42.874+05:30

I was in Bangalore yesterday to open an exhibition "the Bigger Picture II", organised by the Indian Foundation for the Arts at the Grand Ballroom of the Leela Palace. Curated by Abhishek Poddar this exhibition showcases the works of 89 Indian contemporary artists who have come together to support this fund raising endeavour, that aims to nurture residency projects, public art practices,

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-26015905541609463552011-10-01T12:23:00.001+05:302011-10-01T12:28:03.562+05:30

That a rape verdict takes nineteen years to be pronounced when an entire village was brutalized, and all it's women raped,  speaks volumes of the need for reforms within our judicial system. That it took the villagers three years of insistence before their  FIR was filed holds true that corrupted power continues to be the cancer of this nation. I have had the harrowing experience of filing an

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-3419374332055750962011-09-25T00:06:00.000+05:302011-09-25T00:06:14.469+05:30

Days float into nights with the moon and the sun exchanging places, whilst I catch  fleeting cat-naps before daylight drenches the Baroda skies; and I am back once again in the studio. For many years I have often relied on this personal clock that dictate my timetable into boot-camp regimes; and my body and mind adjusts without too much protest, with only a few aches and pains of fatigue

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-46458583812124742822011-09-08T11:32:00.001+05:302011-09-08T11:33:34.053+05:30

The visuals on the television screen since yesterday are chilling. Human flesh lies splattered on the grounds of the high court in Delhi, and dismembered body parts are scattered in the violent radius of hatred, unleashed on unsuspecting victims that have no connection to these agendas of terror and political conflict. I cannot shake off the face of the grieving father of Amanpreet Singh Jolly,

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-22099602403258465512011-09-07T10:55:00.001+05:302011-09-07T10:55:31.928+05:30

I am sitting in the hospital with my friend as her aunt is undergoing the procedure of having a pace maker installed today. Hospitals are never my favourite place; perhaps only those who work in these institutions can really enjoy or look forward to being within these spaces each day. But these visits do act as a necessary humbling reminder that none of us can ever be without the occasion of

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-21709561107330843482011-09-06T12:21:00.000+05:302011-09-06T12:21:28.677+05:30

Jehangir Sabavala passed away taking with him memories of yesteryear that held stories of  the Paris Salon days and  travel in Europe, which packaged learning and training in easel painting and champagne parties, all rolled in one. The elegance and charm of Jehangir was so refreshing in comparison to the loud pink-shirt culture of the new Bombay Boy brigade. His quiet self-dignity never desired

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-23294553634170530062011-09-03T13:33:00.001+05:302011-09-03T14:59:27.141+05:30

"In the 15th Lok Sabha, 153 MPs have criminal records. So when this crowd gets prissy because somebody called them boors or liars, it does sound rather precious."Dipanker  Gupta - Bad Manner, Good Democracy- 2.82011 Times of India Thank god for the guts and conviction of Kiran Bedi! Whether appropriate or not, modules of self expression by citizens  that are neither violent nor communal, should

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-86076908618935369782011-08-24T15:40:00.001+05:302011-08-27T10:38:57.872+05:30

I was doubled up with laughter as I watched one of our spiritual children stand in contemplation last night, with her fingers crossed! Let me also inform you that she is twenty-seven years old and of perfectly sound mind!! When I asked her what in heavens this mime act was all about, she rather sheepishly told me that she had a story she wanted to tell us, then thought better of it, and to get

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-7936571574359430322011-08-22T11:34:00.001+05:302011-08-25T15:47:33.993+05:30

The problem is that when people shoot their mouths off on something as public as television, there is little they can do to repair the damage done. There is no erase button! On a recent episode of Vikram Chandra's The Big Fight I was both horrified and amused in equal measure by Renuka Chowdary, who appeared as though she was auditioning for a role on one of Ekta Kapoor's soap operas for day time

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-48064713057652194552011-08-17T18:34:00.000+05:302011-08-17T18:34:23.173+05:30

That the central government has made a complete hash of managing the call for protest against the Lokpal bill by Anna Hazare comes as no surprise to me. Though I hold Manmohan Singh in high regard and deeply respect him, I believe he just isn't prime ministerial  material. He lacks the crucial ability to hold conviction over any issue that he talks about. What comes across is a tutored version of

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-45996354302977900772011-08-11T13:57:00.000+05:302011-08-11T13:57:19.544+05:30

A Pakistani pilot writes a letter of apology for shooting down a civilian plane in the 1965 Indo-Pak war. As I watched the program on television I was once again swallowed up by the memories of my childhood, where from a very young I was never comfortable with the idea of "hired killing" in the name of nationalism. My father was an Indian Air Force fighter pilot who has fought in that battle.

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-65675548391066724202011-08-10T16:55:00.001+05:302011-08-10T17:00:54.202+05:30

I studied in London for two years and have always said that this city will forever hold a special place in my heart. So it is a personal sorrow for me to watch the news and see arson and looting occur in the name of "frustration" and the supposed "venting of anger" in this historic city;  and see very little control being established by the law enforcing agencies to put an end to these  riots.

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-40391646630535613972011-08-07T17:13:00.000+05:302011-08-07T17:13:33.676+05:30

Apologies for my long absence from this space. Ill heath, house guests, the Collective Studio management, and travel, along with long hours in my studio put my blog on the back burner for a while. But hopefully I shall be back to my writing with less ruptures from this week onwards. Happy Friendship day!I feel really blessed with the friends that fill my life. Each of them add so much to who I am

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-15042064510087763482011-07-15T12:19:00.000+05:302011-07-15T12:19:44.310+05:30

I have been walking around with my head in a dark cloud and tears that come too quickly to my eyes since the last two days. The idea of never knowing when the destructive tendencies of others can destroy the life of another, weighs heavy on my soul. Who will be the victim, targeted or accidental, in a world that today holds no explanations that make any logical sense about the "whys" of  these

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-10139405777441661452011-07-12T11:43:00.000+05:302011-07-12T11:43:24.466+05:30

I have four  paintings lined up against my studio wall, each one sort of clamouring for my attention like pesky kids sometimes do; and I catch myself sneakily peaking at them (like an over anxious mother does!) on occasions when my concentration and focus is meant to be else where! Pinks and greys and oranges and blues....all seated in confidence with the belief that they alone command the most

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-91519483968542746292011-07-06T13:48:00.002+05:302011-07-06T20:49:37.070+05:30

With a viral that has left me with sea legs and a lurching tummy for the last week, I have occupied myself with the finishing details of two of my current paintings. I always find that in the concentration and focus of working in my studio, even the most damning of headaches quietly creep into the back spaces of my consciousness, leaving me able to exist in a suspended state of  a "perfect"

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-5847694718564043122011-07-03T19:04:00.001+05:302011-07-03T19:04:04.329+05:30

A lot of my "thinking" occurs when taking my shower in the morning. Stray thoughts from almost the entire universe of my being invade my head, like juggernauts from outer space; and I close my eyes and allow them to settle into my consciousness before attempting the process of sorting and analysing the whys and what's of all that is in my head. I really value this special time that welcomes into

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-47580066259057142102011-07-01T11:13:00.000+05:302011-07-01T11:13:12.102+05:30

Yesterday I had a talk with the students and the artists in residence of the Collective Studio about the ideas of remembrance, and the role that this should play within our personal lives. Why it is essential to hold memories, and to acknowledge to oneself what has offered us opportunities without which our journeys may well have been very different. Why it is the smallest gestures that often

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-45483687959519471882011-06-27T17:04:00.000+05:302011-06-27T17:04:46.452+05:30

Ethics is an important issue to address in life, and one where ones conscience perhaps plays a greater role than we chose to imagine. Within the instructions at the Collective Studio I lay great emphasis on this factor because I think it determines the quality of the character of a person. The lines of ethical behaviour blur, especially in a society as corrupt as ours, and an avoidance of

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-76701415301801311092011-06-25T12:32:00.003+05:302011-06-25T12:35:33.629+05:30

As I sit on the verandah with my mother listening to Hello Dolly sung by Bobby Darrin with Mithun and Samera visiting for the weekend, life holds a sense of simple peace that I personally choose to frame our lives with. Between the magical world of imaginative wanderings in my studio to the orchestration of other energies, tiny interludes such as these become precious.The Collective Studio that

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-33855241662158374792011-06-23T15:29:00.001+05:302011-06-23T15:29:27.882+05:30

I read a father's day interview with President Barack Obama in which there were two points he made about good parenting that correlated to the philosophy I personally am guided by. He said that the time we spend away from our children because of our jobs, becomes of value, by what we do with that time; and within the relationship that we share with them, they must know that we are there for

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-11248149299024318212011-06-18T12:25:00.001+05:302011-06-18T12:25:16.668+05:30

I read an interesting article written in the newspaper by Chetan Bhagat about missed opportunities, and how leadership requires a moderated rationality to maximise the purposefulness of intention. Otherwise one merely stands the possibility of squandering the chances that one has strived to realise for oneself, that can produce desired results. I cannot agree with him more.In the everyday

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-9724961966622484652011-06-16T23:27:00.001+05:302011-06-16T23:27:08.108+05:30

As Indians we are always desiring to hold a world ranking for something,........anything! Well let's take out the band-baja, and burst the firecrackers as well; because we have finally made it into that haloed status of being ranked right up on the top for something! We are ranked as being the fourth most dangerous country for women! Wow! what a proud day this must be for our nation!With one

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-54319438765899999382011-06-14T18:12:00.001+05:302011-06-14T20:47:02.112+05:30

For years I have listened to the music of Joan Baez. I can't even remember when the first occasion was where this lady with Spanish boots came into my life; but what I do know is that for me it feels like she was singing to me even when she was in her mother's womb. She has accompanied me on all my travels; not always just by the physicality of her music but in the DNA we both share through the

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-80796541724359644632011-06-13T12:21:00.000+05:302011-06-13T16:28:41.615+05:30

Rape is the most beastial act of oppression on women, and one which I cannot imagine any civilised society ever allowing nor supporting. Therefore in the recent news coverage over the last few days I was horrified to learn of two stories that shamed me to the core. The fourteen year old girl who was abducted by policeman whilst she was grazing her cattle, brutally raped and the killed makes you

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-63675140607172345432011-06-09T13:09:00.000+05:302011-06-09T13:09:47.981+05:30

                                       There can never really be another M.F Husain, ever. A man who charted his journey from the humble by-lanes of an Indian city to the center stage of world art; he gave Indian art an international face long before any other Indian artist did. A maverick, he could  reinvent himself  as a painter and creator continuously, and till the very end has remained an

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-1341097884863743002011-06-07T11:19:00.001+05:302011-06-17T18:08:37.932+05:30

When I began to blog I never believed I would sustain it this long. I began it because it appeared such a democratic way of communicating with an audience, and it has proved to be that very space it promised to be where people can mingle with ones ideas and views, disagree or empathise; and not necessarily have to meet up to create this synergy of engagement. I have over time acquired some

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-12525538982342386162011-06-02T12:42:00.000+05:302011-06-02T12:42:49.444+05:30

Sari's are the most beautiful garment in the world. As a child I always looked more grown-up than my peers, so when I turned thirteen and had a wardrobe that consisted of halter necks, bell bottoms, shorts, mini skirts and T.Shirts; I added this delightfully graceful garment to my shelves. My parents were very liberal and so my quirks of dressing were accommodated with no raised eye-brows and

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-10382681777011536092011-05-28T17:41:00.001+05:302011-06-02T11:50:48.880+05:30

Today is my first blog post from my iPad 2 and I am attempting to put aside my frustrations of the numerous "don't know" things that still remain irritating without a manual reference to guide one, and plunge into this new world of mobility connectivity with a determined desire to plug in! Samera and Malavika are my two guardian angles of the cyber world and both eves with a tree full of apples

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-25078786441951568652011-05-26T11:10:00.005+05:302011-05-26T12:04:15.162+05:30

I should have realised that the big hype of the IPad was something to be slightly cautious about before acquiring it. The great apple product comes with very little information and at every twist and turn one is obliged to go on line to apple forums to search for other bakra's who are in a similar tight spot! No user manual comes with it and if you are an owner of a Windows PC you are

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-79449023681274201582011-05-15T11:13:00.005+05:302011-05-15T12:40:20.767+05:30

What a difference a day makes! The words of this old song certainly ring true. Didi is in, Amma is in and Auntyji is beginning to host tea parties hopefully not ala Sarah Palin istyle please!!! As for Kanimozhi, poor soul, it may well be the sparse jail diet for a while. Anyway with the memories that politician's have, she may yet be tomorrows calendar girl for the Congress, rosy lips and all!I

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-37791128399692103022011-04-30T11:37:00.004+05:302011-04-30T13:06:32.853+05:30

Loyalty does not come easily to people in India. Is this too sweeping a statement? Perhaps not if you look at how we operate as a nation. Secrecy and playing to the orders of power is how we train ourselves to relate with people. The desire to "keep options open" is not necessarily a bad strategy, but when it becomes an excuse so we can avoid being truthful, then surely we compromise the

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-79629945506880368642011-04-27T11:00:00.006+05:302011-04-27T14:42:09.636+05:30

I went to an exhibition yesterday that placed me in a time warp of sorts, where I felt as though I was back in the '80's and that old ideas of figuration in painting were playing ghost games with me. The problem within today's practice of art in Baroda is that with the college loosing its intellectual vibrancy, we have begun to sprout small town ideas of grandeur that is only directed towards

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-24147673635709228762011-04-26T15:45:00.004+05:302011-04-26T17:47:45.270+05:30

Shoma Chaudhury commands my attention whenever I hear her on panel discussions or read her writings. She is a voice of reason that I find is without dramatic rhetoric or inflammatory emotive dialogues. Her convictions are shaped from information that she substantiates via investigative methods; and what she offers are never dead ends but spaces of contemplation to examine issues with more

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-72961156323628269712011-04-23T11:18:00.004+05:302011-04-23T12:50:35.477+05:30

Perhaps the Gods of travel took my words too seriously when I said that I enjoy my interludes at airports in between flights because yesterday my patience was sorely tested! To start off with I need to reexamine why I am under this mistaken impression that Jet Airways is worth my praise at all! The mismanagement and rudeness of their ground staff, their inability to recognise when they are at

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-18091805324500548612011-04-18T11:20:00.005+05:302011-04-18T12:43:45.376+05:30

India as a nation has lost its ability to believe in an idealism that can propel positive change into becoming a reality. What we do before we get to the drawing board of any "probabilities" of change is to stamp our cynicism all over the process and leave it trampled to die, only because we are convinced that nothing good can ever come from diverse factors converging for common agendas of

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-75270895805649809342011-04-11T12:33:00.006+05:302011-04-11T14:07:53.423+05:30

The Baroda Citizens Initiative as an organisation held a public meeting to invite solidarity to the support of Anna Hazare's movement for getting the Jan Lokpal bill passed in Parliament. What was so disappointing to see was that it was just a superficial token gesture that became a "photo-opp" for the organisers and their friends, who had squeezed in time to come by because otherwise it would

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-63449874900368017422011-04-07T12:04:00.004+05:302011-04-07T15:07:14.765+05:30

As Anna Hazare fasts, life around continues with all its usual corruption that India allows as its unofficial national anthem. From the top to the bottom in the public service sector, and most predominantly in government agencies; we have a pandemic attitude of getting a free buck where ever we can. There are of course many "rationals" given that support the "reasons" for this; and our

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-8089800163530194152011-04-05T09:48:00.003+05:302011-04-05T10:34:20.452+05:30

As a teacher and a parent the rules that I operate by is determined by what I recognise to be necessary for the other to enable themselves to deliver the best of themselves to themselves. One perseveres to keep ones radar always alert; and then the reward is those moments when you see such an illumination of understanding guide the spirit of the other. Last Sunday was such a moment.One of our

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-11900831270391952872011-03-30T13:54:00.004+05:302011-03-30T14:49:34.752+05:30

I read somewhere that to learn one adds something each day to one's life, but to become enlightened one must remove something everyday. I really do see this as such a simple illustration to the path of wisdom; where the endeavour is to finally find that exquisite essence that holds the entire flavour of the universe. I was recently within a situation where I was attempting to harness the

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-23926435308630655562011-03-28T10:08:00.004+05:302011-03-28T11:05:44.641+05:30

Life must have the space within which to dream, yet the most advantageous use of dreams in a lifespan is when it holds the vital factors of planning, cast from that rather boring mould called practicality. I have had an unusual life where my choices were not always prescriptive in relation to expected norms. But perhaps the significance of being different from ones peers, is that the alternative

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-56766679531118619092011-03-24T11:58:00.007+05:302011-03-28T10:06:43.802+05:30

My life has been slightly in dervish mode these last few weeks, but full of excitement and new happenings. Last weekend the Collective Studio hosted a wonderful illustrated talk The Light Within : Paintings by Rabindranath by Indrapramit Ray on Saturday the 19th, which we organised at Surendran's studio. This was followed the next day by a Carnatic classical music recital by flutist Shri G.

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-79034759476880789632011-03-12T13:35:00.006+05:302011-03-12T15:23:58.828+05:30

I was invited for a three month residency program to the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Fukuoka in Japan in 2004. It was a country that taught me many things and where I encountered a work ethics that was humbling in its productivity and selflessness. Despite the language constraints, I bobbed and bowed about the museum making friends and over the period of my stay, imprinting cultural influences

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-3479993926495438652011-03-09T10:30:00.003+05:302011-03-11T11:15:49.792+05:30

Each day I write a blog post in my head! No I have not turned senile yet nor have I completely turned batty either. I am simply unable to get the time to sit and put it out there in the cyber world of our shared communication because right now I am working each day with my spiritual children on the building site, for a home that we are constructing for one of them who is a young and brilliant

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-50793533812101116372011-03-02T13:40:00.022+05:302011-03-02T14:26:25.087+05:30

Feminine Syntax:Personal BiographiesAn exhibition of six artists curated by meopened at Lemongrasshopper in Ahmedabadon the 27th of February 2011.The show will remain open tillthe 27th of March 2011.For those who were unable to be with us for the opening;a pictorial walk-through of the gallery.

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-76458392842697602412011-02-13T19:42:00.004+05:302011-02-13T21:43:37.337+05:30

Writing two articles back to back and working on two intimate projects I am curating, as well as overseeing the building of two homes simultaneously for friends; and having the debacle of the tiling on the walls of my studio come loose again (!) AND tightening the screws on my students in the collective, has kept me hopping about like a kangaroo with a blistered toe in a marathon! But that's the

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-53532326354529510692011-01-25T11:59:00.006+05:302011-01-25T13:34:43.872+05:30

Surendran and I flew over to Delhi for the Art Summit, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the entire event. Time being the major constraint, we did not attend any of the seminars even through I really wanted to go for those sessions in which Homi Bhabha was speaking. He's cute to look at and intelligent to boot; so hey, you get double on the price of your money, honey!! The buzz of the art fair

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-43964528422295288342011-01-18T12:27:00.012+05:302011-01-25T11:59:01.563+05:30

Travelling to Delhi recently, I visited a number of exhibitions that provoked responses, thoughts and ideas that I have been mulling over. For quite a while I have been discussing with curators and artist colleagues, the need for us to assess the methods and rationale of our curatorial practices; as well as the directions we are pointing/placing ourselves towards/in, vis a vis attitudes and

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-47525384231038718872011-01-03T11:07:00.004+05:302011-01-03T12:51:03.187+05:30

I love irreverence when it is packaged well! Over the last year I have watched many talk shows on television, and I have always enjoyed Suhel Seth when I have caught him at his blustering best; putting forth arguments and views I generally agree with, with informed insight; but doing so with a passion of belief that is wrapped in wicked humour and delightful irreverence for the establishment.

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-74290466935047751072011-01-01T11:15:00.007+05:302011-01-01T12:08:20.490+05:30

We begin the new year of 2011 with the hope that our energies will be positive, purposeful and productive! Our home is made special by the contributions that each member of our collective brings into it through the values and beliefs that are shared; and we gain many valuable insights of life by the openness with which we embrace one another. Happy New Year to every one and may peace and honesty

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-58949493553832328172010-12-30T18:01:00.004+05:302010-12-30T19:09:24.395+05:30

My trip back from the US to India was in a wheel chair. Now the down side of this is that you get wheeled at break neck speed from one place to another, bumping along like a sack of coal, with no hope of browsing in duty free shops at leisure! The upside is that you can legally jump queues without being politically incorrect and you are finished with formalities that otherwise take hours, in less

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-42814353935511518782010-12-15T23:56:00.005+05:302010-12-16T00:34:40.673+05:30

Designers of architectural spaces and landscapers often leave common sense and practicality completely out of their work, desiring only aesthetics to become of paramount significance instead. Well at this beautiful location of Montalvo where the 10 studio homes are built on the slope of a hill, it is unfortunate to see that the same folly and lack of wisdom has come into play where common sense

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-26919493004473902452010-12-15T00:29:00.004+05:302010-12-15T01:31:05.362+05:30

It is such a tragedy to witness the hounding of Arundhati Roy and the attempt to paint her as anti national because she expresses views from a contextualized position that Indian politicians today choose to wish away. The pretense that her arguments on the issue of Kashmir are not in keeping with the policies that were laid down as the parameters for settling this dispute way back to the initial

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-64505823585314985112010-12-10T02:29:00.004+05:302010-12-10T03:22:58.745+05:30

At the directors dinner last night, we had an interesting gentleman at our table; and as is the required protocol of such events, conversations ensued that centered around asking about one another's areas of interest, in order to break the ice. This led to a rather wonderful evening of conversation, perhaps because this gentleman comes from Europe initially and as a result carries with him an

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-90884170163668240562010-12-06T08:03:00.003+05:302010-12-06T09:41:58.472+05:30

We had an absolutely humdinger of a great day in San Francisco yesterday! Our friends bundled us into their seven-seater car at 11.30 am, and took us for a real magical mystery tour! However, before I start I have to first salute the absolute selfless love and affection that our new Cupertino family embraces us with! It has been such a special feeling for Surendran and me; and we are delighting

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-63468681802379381022010-12-04T02:25:00.004+05:302010-12-04T03:54:17.938+05:30

I have been travelling now for many years, to many countries across the globe. In 1982 when it all started with my first hop over to London as a student, I was gob smacked (excuse me borrowing some British slang!) with the ill-informed perceptions regarding Asia and India. That people from these regions are scattered (quite liberally I may add), into the worlds population, making for languages of

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-62988448045106894042010-12-01T05:08:00.005+05:302010-12-04T02:19:48.519+05:30

Today I woke up and I thought what fun it would be if I could call all my favourite painters (yet I'm unapologetic about wanting to be surrounded by just painters at my soiree!), for a dinner party. Now as I'm a great one for detail, I immediately decided it must be a cozy sit down meal at a wonderful round table; that would of course have a lazy Susan that we could all spin about like the wheel

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-12463747128570239182010-11-28T05:49:00.006+05:302010-11-28T06:51:11.776+05:30

Yesterday some newly made Indian friends took us on a jaunt in their car to a quaint town called Half Moon Bay. The drive from Montalvo to this town was via winding roads, through a landscape that makes you understand the history of settlers coming to this land with the hope of a better future. Picturesque, with the promise of plenty, we drove through farming lands where fields of late pumpkins

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-60604360434534291852010-11-26T05:58:00.004+05:302010-11-26T06:44:20.487+05:30

Being a person who thrives within the chaos of an urban existence, I am enjoying the absolute isolation of Montalvo, where really it is nature alone and yourself that you spend most of your time with over here. In my studio in Baroda I have by choice very few windows, and so my cave-like world shuts out the outside sights and sounds, keeping me in a protected womb of peacefulness; and here, I

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-62324926766799908552010-11-23T13:01:00.007+05:302010-11-23T14:08:32.674+05:30

Tonight at dinner a musician resident talked with passion about how often injustices have a way of repeating themselves within society in ways that don't make any sense; and yet history has these deep roots that lead you to those spaces of hurt that have fermented the potential of any rationality, producing instead perceptions that can wound those very places where comfort had once been sought.

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-31431342753662211412010-11-20T03:42:00.012+05:302010-11-20T04:05:10.031+05:30

Welcome to Studio 41!Working at my table, suspended; with my window over looking the woodsSurendran working on his writing.

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-12387281383106728112010-11-19T01:03:00.009+05:302010-11-19T01:20:38.024+05:30

Some treasures from the Asian art museum

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-21985595820965815532010-11-18T02:06:00.005+05:302010-11-18T03:31:12.901+05:30

We arrived at Montalvo last afternoon, after a one hour drive and a small mix-up in communication regarding the pick-up time. The Montalvo Art Residency is situated in a truly idyllic landscape with individual homes built in a collaborative team-up of artists and architects designing them. Our space is studio 41. Surrounded by trees on all sides with steep winding walkways that wind up the hill,

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-33994476095193858032010-11-16T22:52:00.010+05:302010-11-16T23:15:54.219+05:30

From the 14th floor of Hotel Adagio. At the Fisherman's Warf Pier 39 : the hoopla of American tourismSecond from the left: Where Alice Walker once lived. Sandwiched between two favourite artists: Rothko and Motherwell.

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-89076604474463399412010-11-16T21:20:00.008+05:302010-11-16T22:51:47.163+05:30

Yesterday was a day out with the Fey Norris Gallery director and his wife and tiny infant daughter. They picked us up from our hotel at 9 in the morning and we started with a breakfast in the mission district, at a bakery that is famed for it's amazing food. People spill out of it's doors and there is hardly any room to sit at the tiny tables that are squashed against the wall. The bustle of

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-69316588943732941442010-11-15T10:04:00.005+05:302010-11-15T11:09:08.197+05:30

Today we started out with a bus ride around San Francisco. With the sun shining the city was picture postcard in it's beauty, and the highlight was passing by the home that once used to be Alice Walker's residence. The architecture of this city blends both the traditional Victorian stick houses with modern day architecture, in ways that keep the skyline with open spaces and a harmony of styles.

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-69344143333667351382010-11-12T22:17:00.006+05:302010-11-12T22:51:27.236+05:30

When art is relocated into the formal space of a gallery it has to stand tall without any other props whatsoever. Surendran Nair's show Neti Neti opened yesterday in San Francisco to a response that was truly heartening. What becomes important within such endeavours is that the artist must hold true to themselves a genuineness of intention, and keep all doors of communication always open. Our

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-41003459952526336692010-11-11T14:21:00.005+05:302010-11-11T15:12:58.283+05:30

San Francisco is sleepy in comparison to New York city. I know that comparisons are odious, but it really is a small city that is only seven mile long and seven miles wide; and the pace of life appears to be quite laid back, with no real urgency that can be noted. The number of homeless people are really quite sad to see, because unlike the poverty in India, many of these people are those who

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-27314530041551927462010-11-10T23:03:00.005+05:302010-11-10T23:56:07.412+05:30

The sun was waiting in the skies to greet us in the Golden Gate city! After a rather zig-zag route over the seas that took us from Baroda to Mumbai to Singapore to Seoul and finally to San Francisco, my tolerance for bad Hollywood films was at a low! Sincere advise to any traveller: take a route that does not seduce you with short stop overs. Looks good on paper but is a nightmare in reality We

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-21087152563380988832010-11-07T19:10:00.004+05:302010-11-07T19:16:11.477+05:30

Am flying off tomorrow...... Wish all of you could be with us for the opening on the 11th.... What fun that would be!

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-38090282562450032022010-11-06T09:45:00.005+05:302010-11-06T11:12:51.045+05:30

The last fortnight has been hectic! With our trip to San Francisco looming closer and a zillion things to attend to (!!!!), I felt as though each step up the mountain of chores only found me slipping back to the starting position each day, as more chores got written on the bright blue pages of my rubberband book that has pages of "to-do" lists. However with all this I had a precious interlude of

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-37460468341033986472010-10-29T18:24:00.005+05:302010-10-29T19:03:49.054+05:30

My tigress is finally finished! Shiny from her coating of melamine she sits rather regally on the floor of my studio, pleased to have me off her back and able to rest without being prodded and poked about! From a white albino fibre-baby, she has transformed into a bollywood shake-a-tail girl; bling pink and sequined to the hilt, she truly is a beautiful girl! Covered in chamak gulabi roses and

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-15304152069387513962010-10-23T10:38:00.008+05:302010-10-23T10:55:50.341+05:30

Wired at the Heart52 Ceramic piecesexhibited in Mumbai -2010

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-12599455250886967412010-10-22T09:47:00.009+05:302010-10-22T10:57:43.284+05:30

Some of the best teaching sessions are after dinner at midnight! Unplanned, these occur as our students and artist's in residence bring their work over from the collective studio into the drawing room for what is meant to be a "quick-gun-mruggan-glance"! This of course is never the case, and what unfolds are these wonderful sessions in the muted zone of divided time, between a day past and a day

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-48942033628866711752010-10-19T10:25:00.005+05:302010-10-19T11:19:13.620+05:30

I took off for a fun filled three days with friends to a place down south. I am no Julia Roberts but my new mantra in life is to find that small window of time in which to just hang loose and become a total idiot! In my daily life that is crammed with an assortment of roles, and work that should get me an Oscar if I was living it out on the silver screen; time takes on another meaning than what

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-23096894861618293122010-10-06T10:52:00.005+05:302010-10-06T11:35:18.801+05:30

I am taming a tiger in my space! Well when the Artiger project team sent me this rather clumsily executed seated fibre glass tiger I was rather nonplussed as I had assumed that it would be a standing tigress! Well my tiger was all male (!) and so the first thing I did was to snip off the manhood of this poor beast!!! Suffice to say a beautiful pink second tail grew in its place over night!Pukkaar

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-14632357603782098742010-10-05T15:43:00.006+05:302010-10-05T16:01:01.043+05:30

Yesterday the Ceramic Centre Vadodara held a preview at the Red Earth Gallery in Baroda of it's 10th anniversary celebration show. This exhibition is scheduled to open in Mumbai on the 11th of October 2010, at Art& Soul Gallery, in Mumbai. These images are the presentation of my work titled Wired at the Heart at the preview yesterday.

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-32030374329323962882010-09-27T09:33:00.007+05:302010-09-27T11:28:05.664+05:30

My teaching in Bangalore at the CKP painting department was a lovely interlude of four days, with thirteen young people who are all at exciting thresholds of their lives and learning that the key to their freedom is really in their own hands. The optimism with which I approach teaching is a strategy that obliges me to contribute my energies and apply myself to insisting that every student I ever

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-21806613999419364982010-09-07T10:41:00.007+05:302010-09-07T11:50:58.350+05:30

I have horrified my son over the last few years by having It's the time to Disco as my ring tone! To make matters worse, I have my ring tones at a decibel level that is ear shattering and it has often been the trigger of cringing sessions in public for my family, as this Bollywood masala tune would pop up when least expected; and my phone would invariably choose in such moments to bury itself in

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-55688718688734792662010-08-30T20:04:00.003+05:302010-08-30T20:51:25.688+05:30

I am off to Kerala for a wedding in the family and was obliged to rush off to shop at the last minute (!) when I realised that my wardrobe is hugely inadequate for the normal requirements of such social occasions. To begin with I am not much of a dresser. I never find the clothing that I truly desire, and so end up with uniforms of black outfits that have nothing much to differentiate one from

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-13786728836800587542010-08-28T11:31:00.010+05:302010-08-28T12:24:46.315+05:30

I am belovedand she is mineI see her take flowers away from leavesshe puts them in a round basketthe leaves are not for hershe fills the basketshe opens the grassI would help her but the clouds are in the wayhow can I say things that are picturesI am not separate from herthere is no place where I stopher face is my own and I want to be there in the place where her face is and to be looking at it

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-10405607257441052702010-08-25T19:06:00.006+05:302010-08-26T10:53:38.115+05:30

I have a bronchial infection for over six weeks now, and blocked sinus cavities that makes me sound like a motorcycle with no silencer as I splutter and trumpet about the house! Feeling a bit rung out of energy my body became tired and uncooperative to my will; yet my mind however insisted on doing double time with me even in this state of near collapse. It is a strange feeling to be exhausted

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-19203925690034272352010-08-13T11:14:00.006+05:302010-08-13T12:16:15.070+05:30

I am currently working on a series of watercolours titled Letters of the Universe: When the sun and the moon fall asleep, only then can I dance so naked, in which I am using popular kitch stickers. To accompany these works (some of which are being shown by my gallery in a group show in the Taipei Museum shortly), I wrote this accompanying text. I thought I would share it with you.India never will

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-26042392148634745242010-08-11T10:36:00.006+05:302010-08-11T12:29:14.966+05:30

Compassion and reconciliation: Look around us and there is so much violence that is triggered by the forces of negative energies that we choose to stay imprisoned by, with no consideration to the fact that we need to re-evaluate how a past and a present does not remain in conflict forever. In the personal spaces of my own world, I negotiate with my self at all times to find ways where I can

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-59508115404256228782010-08-09T18:01:00.004+05:302010-08-09T19:12:32.895+05:30

I am bemused. Over these last few weeks the hot topic has been the mismanagement of the Commonwealth Games. But quiet frankly even a die hard optimist like myself was pretty darn certain that the only outcome that we could possibly expect from the organisers, is the chaos and disaster that it has proved to be! What we just don't ever stop to consider is that all our towns and cities and villages

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-4789609874346522882010-08-04T18:09:00.009+05:302010-08-04T19:52:25.516+05:30

I grew up in an art environment in the 70's and 80's where the idea of exhibiting one's works was thought of as the natural progression of sharing an idea to someone other than yourself! Perhaps this rather simple understanding of presenting oneself to public scrutiny allowed many of us not to view the act with any great intimidation : and as a result the soft boards of the class room where K.G

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-64605334336501185912010-07-29T16:48:00.003+05:302010-07-29T17:25:37.555+05:30

What's in a name you may ask? To me it really is nothing. But then when other's determine your identity via this the true nature of the game begins. Like all romantic fluff heads, I changed my name with great flourish when I married at the age of eighteen in 1977. When I divorced in 1983 I retained my married surname ( I rather like the role of the double R!) and thought nothing more about this

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5191704753950476316.post-10360989162413273522010-07-28T16:36:00.012+05:302010-07-29T16:45:02.564+05:30

When I read a book that holds my imaginative will to become part of it's narrative landscape, then I have great sorrow as the book draws to an end; and this sadness then lingers on and stays with me for days. I laugh at myself over this, but my own self deprecation does little to lessen the pain of separation I go through, when I am parted by the finality of the ending of the book. I am not a

Rekha Rodwittiyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067780288718685169noreply@blogger.com0