My blog has been inactive for more than a fortnight. That’s the longest time I have not written and when I say, ‘not written,’ I mean literally that, with the exception of the jotting I did in my diary. I have been occupied, both mentally and physically – a ‘happy’ occupied.

A neighbor of mine was moving homes and wanted me to paint a picture for her living room. She asked me if I could do it. She was moving in a fortnight’s time and though she did not say she wanted it quickly, I thought it would be nice if the painting could move in with her.

She wanted a painting of Benaras on a 36″ by 48″ canvas. She’d seen my watercolor painting which was done on A4 size paper and wanted a similar one on canvas for her living room. It was to be the ‘highlight’ of the room (in her words). Needless to say I was as thrilled as I was nervous. I had never painted on a canvas of this size. But when she asked me I just knew I had to say ‘Yes.’ Something told me that maybe this was a way forward for me in 2021. Like they say, ‘Opportunity knocks once’; you either grab it or lose it and regret it later.

The original painting Places I WISH to VISIT : BENARAS had to be magnified several times over. Instead of simply magnifying it, I decided to add a few things like additional buildings and temples, to prevent it from looking boring.

I bought the canvas on 11th January and began painting on 12th January. I needed a day to digest the size of the canvas. I finished the painting on the 23rd (the greys on the edges of the photograph is the wall on which I hung it to take a picture). An hour before it was time to display the painting I had butterflies in my stomach. My husband and children pulled my leg about it. I hadn’t felt that way ever when I was working in the office- maybe because we were a team working together. But here was just me and my work to be judged. Before her arrival I told her that if she didn’t like it, it was perfectly fine. I told myself that too.

(This is a close up of the people. I enjoyed doing the sanyasi or sadhu and decking up the women with flowers on their hair, bindi* on their forehead and bangles on their hands).

And then she came, she viewed it with her husband and they loved it (Thank God!) For all those who do not like it, remember beauty and art are subjective. Like beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, so does art.

This is the painting as it hangs framed on her living room wall.

It was especially nice of her to give me an opportunity to create a painting for her, considering I’ve only just begun painting.

The painting kept me distracted for 11 days. Painting in silence also made me feel closer to dad. I truly believe that he’s working his magic up there. Why else would someone want a painting from a novice like me?

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