September was a different kind of month for me. I've been recovering from fibroid surgery, which means six weeks at home, and I'm still in the middle of it. No exercise, no lifting, no bending. My body had to rest, so the only thing left to do was feed my mind.
It turned out to be a gift. I took a break from social media. I thought a lot about what I want for myself and what I want to shift in my life, and I took a really long, hard look at things. I started reading voraciously, about all kinds of things. And at the same time, I finally finished some of the art projects I had been carrying around.
So this is the first of what I hope becomes a monthly note: what I painted, what I read, what I watched, and where I went.
Art projects
I finished three projects this month.
A textured embroidery
The first was an embroidery project from Wild Floss Embroidery. I loved her textured style. I didn't know you could embroider with all kinds of threads, wool, and yarn. I thought embroidery thread was the only option. So it was good to try this out. It was a beautiful abstract pattern, and I felt a real sense of satisfaction when I finished it.
Shiva in Lippan art
The second was a Lippan art painting of Shiva (Lippan is the mud and mirror work from Kutch in Gujarat). I started it in November 2024 and worked on it on and off since then. This month I finally completed it by adding the mirrors and the paint.
I really love how it turned out, and I'm very satisfied with it. It looks divine, like there's a mountain behind Shiva and the sun is shining on him. It's a gift for my mother-in-law, and I hope she likes it.
Teaching my dad Gond art
The third was teaching my dad Gond art (the tribal art of central India, built from fine lines and patterns). It took a lot of patience and practice. You dip a stick or a pen in waterproof ink and draw with it, like in the old days. It reminded me of the quills they use in Harry Potter.
In the process of teaching him, I really had to focus on how to break concepts down. It made me think about my own learning. So much of it was about breaking the concepts down in my own head and actually giving them words.
Reading
Rediscovering reading has been a joy. I've always known I liked it, and I read on and off over the past few years, but I always got distracted. After I stopped social media, I noticed how short my attention span had become. Reading brought back a whole other world of imagination that I had missed since I was a child.
So this was a beautiful time to just read. I learned a lot, and it was a period of using my imagination again.
From Sapta Sindhu to Sapta Konkan: The Incredible Journey of the Gauda Saraswat Brahmans
A book about Konkanis. I picked it up so I could trace where I come from and my lineage. It was informative and I did learn a few things, but most of it pulls together history from other books and then draws some conclusions. I wish it had gone into much more detail.
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
My therapist recommended this one, and it was a great read for me. Usually in winter I seclude myself. I don't want to go out, I don't want to do anything. I always thought of winter and the cold as just hard and annoying.
Now I see it differently. Winter is a time to recharge, to rest, to collect your ideas, to save your breath and go inward. She writes a lot about how nature goes to sleep in winter and how we can take inspiration from that. This book made me fall a little in love with the cold, because now I have new ideas for what to do with it.
I'm really looking forward to winter, and to more memories like the ones I made with Anupam in the snow last year. I really hope it snows this year, even though I hate the cold. I really recommend this book.
A God in Every Stone
I wouldn't recommend this one. It was very challenging, with lots of characters and lots of history across different generations, but it lacked a coherent thread. The ending felt haphazard, and it wasn't what I thought it would be.
The Covenant of Water
This one is a hundred percent worth reading. I learned a lot about medicine, a lot about India's history, and I loved the story itself.
A small spoiler: one of the main characters is a surgeon who loses the use of their hands. Without them, they can't do their work, and in a way they lose their identity. I really empathized with this, because I think about it so often. As an artist, my hands are the most important thing I have for making art, and if, goddess forbid, something were to happen to them, I would lose my mind. I connected with this book in so many ways.
My husband is a doctor, so I loved telling him about all the medical cases Verghese writes about, and about the story. The ending is a dramatic turn of events, and I really loved reading it.
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
I'm not going to say much about this one. It left me deeply sad about the state of the world, about war anywhere, and about what we are doing to the earth.
Interpreter of Maladies
Definitely worth reading. Short stories that really make you think, and I can see why it won the Pulitzer Prize. I read it in a day and a half. The words are beautiful, and each story is distinct from the others.
I keep track of everything I read on Goodreads, if you'd like to follow along.
Watching
I'm really into old movies right now, which is great, because a lot of newer movies don't have much substance.
-
Shatranj Ke Khiladi (The Chess Players)My Kathak teacher, Rachna Nivas, recommended this one. It's a satirical commentary on the nobles of the time, who shied away from their responsibilities while the British took over. It made me think about how much of India's art and culture was lost under British control.
-
Luck by ChanceA very well directed movie about how big a role luck plays, but also your choices. It's a big reminder to stand by the people who were with you in your dark times. As we grow into fame, or into who we are, we should always remember where we came from and who brought us there.
-
AbhimaanInspired by Pandit Ravi Shankar and his first wife, Annapurna Devi, a brilliant surbahar player who stopped performing in public after he grew jealous of her fame. In the movie the couple are singers. It has a happy ending, which real life didn't, but it was still worth a watch.
-
ThaniyavarthanamAbout how a town makes a man mad, even though he isn't, because of a curse on his family, and how his own family turns against him too. Another very thought provoking one.
Travel
My husband planned an amazing day trip to Longwood Gardens and Akshardham, both in one day.
Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania
Longwood Gardens is one of my and my husband's favorite places to go, and it was beautiful again. The water lily garden is only open in the summer, and we got to catch it. It happened to be the last day before it closed for the season, and we caught the last talk of the summer. It was so informative. They talked about how water lilies grow, and we even got to smell the flowers. Who gets a chance to do that? The lilies were absolutely breathtaking. I definitely recommend a visit.
We stayed for the fountain show at the end, which was beautiful. I had never seen the summer fountain show before.
Akshardham, Robbinsville, New Jersey
The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham was gorgeous. The architecture is next level. They don't allow photos, so I don't have any of the temple itself, but it is definitely worth a visit.
All this to say, September turned out to be a great month. It was a time of rejuvenation and relaxing, mostly lying down. A time of reading, and of using my mind and my hands.