Together

April 26, 2023

This project started off in December last year with a simple request. Balla Balla Community Centre in Cranbourne East was moving into new premises at Clyde North and was planning an open day in March to celebrate this move. The centre’s management had reached out to me to plan and organize an interactive art activity for the event to mark this occasion.

Balla Balla Community Centre together with the Cultural Historical Association of Rodriguans and Mauritians (CHARM) has been a great support in my art career and I have had the privilege to work with them in several Australia Day events. The centre had not only facilitated these works but has been displaying them on its walls since their inception.

Although, time-poor with my work commitments and frequent interstate travel, this was a request I could not turn down.

The Brief

Since opening its doors in 2007, Balla Balla community centre had been providing various services to the local communities of Cranbourne and Clyde such as venue hire, information, photocopying, faxing, health and wellbeing programs, and arts & crafts workshops to name a few. The shifting of premises was triggered by the need to provide space for the construction of a new hospital being built in its original location.

The new location of Balla Balla community centre was the Selendra community hub building in North Clyde which was constructed in 2017 and was providing similar services to their local community.

Balla Balla centre’s management wanted to use the open day to acknowledge their past and announce their presence and services to their new neighbourhood and build upon the existing clientele. They wanted the artwork to reflect this evolution and connect with the multicultural and diverse community in the region and in turn improve community access and participation.

The Work Begins

While discussing the project, I came to know that the white wall that the proposed artwork was going to be hung used to be a feature wall that was initially painted black. Though the change of colour was driven by the need to give the space a clean and spacious feel. I envisage using this fact to establish a connection between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ centre.

Australia is home to one of the world’s oldest continuing cultures. The Aboriginal people are traditional custodians of the land and have inhabited this land for more than 60,000 years. The colonization of the land by British Settlers in the 18th century changed the social demographics of the population and established a dominant culture based on Western European values.

Today’s Australian society reflects the British penal history and subsequent waves of migrants from all over the world who have adopted their cultural roots to suit the new environment, climate, and resources of the country. The uniqueness of the land, its flora and fauna, and the generally egalitarian approach of the society have led to the development of a unique Australian vernacular with distinctive pronunciation and lexicon. I wanted to capture these salient features of our society to establish the overall context of the artwork.

Clyde North is one of the rapidly growing areas in the City of Casey and is a microcosm of the city’s general population trends. The mostly middle-class dwellers consist of people belonging to diverse ethnic backgrounds. Exploring and researching this theme further, I found out that nearly 280,000 people call the City of Casey home, and this population cohort represents people belonging to more than 150 cultures, speaking 140 languages with nearly 42% of them born overseas. The artwork needed to connect with this rich cultural heritage and showcase the uniqueness of various cultures and how they contribute to the overall richness of our society.

People tend to have biases depending on their upbringing, religious beliefs, cultural backgrounds, ethical viewpoints, and linguistic interpretations. As humans, we are wired to fare the unknown and as a result, we tend to look at differences rather than the similarities that exist between us. I wanted the iconography of this artwork to focus on these commonalities and bring the viewer’s attention to the global nature of our community.

First-generation migrants are typically nostalgic about their home countries as they evolve and adapt to their new environment. Therefore, one of the goals of the artwork I set for myself was to find a way to tap into and represent the uniqueness of various cultures and find a way to showcase how this richness fosters creativity, and innovation and contributes to society.

The Artwork

Whether it’s the number of likes on our ‘socials’, or a photograph somewhere, we all love being acknowledged!

This zest for acknowledgment and display needs to be balanced with the concerns about identity fraud. To me, photographs taken with polaroid cameras provide a happy balance between these two requirements. These are clear enough to form a record and convey the artistic intent, but not sharp enough to raise privacy issues. I, therefore, decided to use Polaroids snaps as a tool to improve participation and community engagement.

The black background of the piece is intended to provide a historical perspective between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ and bring out and enhance other visual components.

A single continuous line outlining the globe and the word ‘Together’ is intended to simplify the key message of the piece and focus the attention of the viewer toward the global nature of the community we live in and the need for global connectivity.

The outer edges of the land boundaries have a band of multi-shade blue dots to signify the importance of water for our land and people and to create an illusion of sunlight glitter reflecting off the water’s surface.

The inner areas of the world map have patches of colorful cloth glued to the panel. This is not only intended to bring colour and texture to the artwork but also signifies the vibrant canvas of people from various backgrounds and walks of life that inhabit our globe. The use of similar cloth patterns along both sides of the ‘line’ is intended to bring focus on commonalities between the people.

Both the sides and the top of the panel are covered with images of typical Australian icons specific to Australia. The minimalistic representation of emblems associated with Australia and infills of words in indigenous languages and popular ‘Australian English’ slang are intended to provide a context for this artwork and signify the connection of the people with our land.

Most countries have a collection of symbols that identify them as a nation and floral emblems, or State flowers have been used for this purpose for centuries. I have used this symbology to represent the different communities living in the City. The bottom band of the artwork showcases the national flowers of various countries from around the world, whose people now call the City of Casey home. The intent of this’ bouquet’ of flowers is to establish a connection between our diverse communities with their homeland and highlight how the uniqueness of each culture contributes to the overall richness of the society.

Celebrations

While this artwork took more than a hundred hours of research and execution, the success of any interactive artwork is bound to the engagement and participation of the people on the day the event takes place.

Based on my past experiences with similar activities, I was apprehensive that I may struggle to get 100 people to participate and be photographed, and in my mind had thought up a few strategies to fill in the blank spaces with other materials if this was to eventuate.

I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome on the day. People were very responsive to the concept and were appreciative of the meaning behind the artwork and keen to participate. I collected 110 photographs, many of them of families who participated as a group. People signed their photographs and wrote lovely messages, a few in their native languages which is a delight.

I hope as time passes the message behind the artwork finds a place in people’s memories and that each time they come and visit the centre and look at their photograph in the artwork, they remember the messages of inclusion and integration.

In Search of Mona Lisa

November 19, 2022

Imagine. The year is 1911, you are a handyman (or perhaps just a petty criminal) who has been asked to put some glass cases around some famous artwork at the art gallery. You had planned to steal a portrait of a Lady painted by Leonardo da Vinci that hangs on the museum’s wall. Sometimes during your work, you undo a heavy wooden frame and slid the painting under your clothes and try to exit through the side door. Your plan of a clean escape with the loot is almost foiled by a locked door, but you somehow manage to con an innocent passing plumber to help you open the locked door, and successfully make your lucky escape. It had taken nearly 26 hours before the theft is detected and by that time you are on your way to your homeland, Italy.

The painting is Leonardo’s Mono Lisa, and the museum is ‘The Louvre’ in Paris which is considered the largest and most visited art museum in the world.

While the painting is recovered within two years as the perpetrator tries to offload his loot to a gallery for half a million lire. The theft and subsequent recovery of the painting causes a media frenzy which has made this painting one of the most recognized piece of art in the world. According to a conservative estimate (…remember beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder!), this single work of art is worth about US $800-$900 million today.

The Louvre

When we were planning our overseas trip, I was adamant that we needed to visit the Louvre. Although the idea met with some resistance initially, ‘the powers-that-be’ eventually give-in to my wishes and we bought our online tickets for the exhibition. Note to would-be visitors, it is difficult, if not almost impossible to get the tickets on the day, you may have to wait in the queue for hours to get the tickets and then another few to get into the gallery.

The queue through the glass pyramid gate is long, as the visitors are ‘released’ every half hour. Nearly 15,000 visitors from all corners of the world, visit each day and sending people in batches is the only way to manage the crowd. My initial estimate was that we would need about 3 hours for the visit and was contemptuous of some American tourists whom I overheard saying ‘we should be able to cover this in an hour, tops an hour and a half at best’, and guess what, we were both wrong!

The Louvre was originally built as a fortress in 1190 and was later converted into a palace. Like many buildings of its time, it grew over the years as new buildings were added to the complex. When the royal palace moved to Versailles, the Louvre became the home to various art academies and offered regular exhibitions of its members' works.

After the French revolution, the building was converted into a gallery in 1793. Napoleon expanded the collection and renamed it Musée Napoléon. He added war spoils from the conquered lands of Belgium, Italy, Prussia and Austria to the museums’ art collections. After the abdication of Napoleon, some 5000 art pieces were returned to the originating country however a few hundred artworks and especially rare artefacts from Egypt still remained.

The current Louvre collection includes Egyptian antiques, ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, paintings by the Old Masters, crown jewels and other artefacts from French nobles. The works cover the period from the sixth century B.C. to the 19th century A.D.

While about 35,000 artworks are on display at any given time, most of its half-a-million-plus collection is locked up in storage. If one was to spend an average of 30 seconds to see each piece, one would need 291 hours to have a glimpse of it all! Maybe that’s the reason most of the nameplates are in French only; instead of being dual language (…museum authorities, take note this is a complaint, not a compliment!).

Covering an area of 66,600 square meters, 4 main levels and more than 400 rooms, the Louvre is staffed by more than 2000 employees. In addition to the main exhibition in Paris, the museum also collaborates with other overseas art galleries and some of its treasures travel around the world to such varied destinations as Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Iran’s National Museum, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Searching for Mona Lisa

We had been in the museum for nearly 4 hours, and we were getting tired, as we started to ‘glide’ through the never-ending rooms. Our sore legs and back started to take over and frankly, trying to decipher the French write-ups for the painting was not helping the cause. Our focus soon reverted to finding Mona Lisa. After all, visiting Louvre and not seeing the Mona Lisa would perhaps be classed as ‘criminal negligence’ in the tourist guidebooks.

We asked the security personnel and were directed towards ‘Salle des États’ the palace’s largest room. ‘Go to the first floor and then follow the crowds’ was the advice. In route to our destination, we passed through ‘Galerie d’Appollon’ which is the home of French royal jewels and hard stone vessels.

Apparently, King Louis XIV famously identified himself with Apollo (the Greek god of the sun and the arts) and this splendid gallery was the first tangible representation of that image. One of the best gilders, painters and sculptors contributed to the decorations in the room. Truly, the decor of the hall and the treasures inside are breathtaking.

And finally, we reached the most crowded room in the museum, the great hall where Mona Lisa hangs from the centre of the wall. Her enigmatic smile enchanting her audience who crowded around her in droves, with mobiles held high trying to capture the image from all possible angles. It seems that the crowd’s emphasis was more focused towards registering their presence rather than appreciating the artwork. Another tick on their bucket list.

Very few, if anyone appreciates that the painting was the turning point in portraiture painting. Not only the Italian Renaissance but a large number of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries artists were inspired by this work.

According to Louvre Curator Jean-Pierre Cuzin “In a break with the Florentine tradition of outlining the painted image, Leonardo perfected the technique known as sfumato, which translated literally from Italian means "vanished or evaporated." Creating imperceptible transitions between light and shade, and sometimes between colours, he blended everything "without borders, in the manner of smoke, his brush strokes so subtle as to be invisible to the naked eye”.

It is said that Leonardo was fascinated by the way light falls on curved surfaces he painted the image with layers of transparent colour, each only a few molecules thick, making the Mona Lisa’s face appear to glow.

We spent nearly 4.5 hrs in the museum and barely managed to skim through the displays. Without a doubt, a comprehensive review requires more than one visit.

One other point to note, visitors can also hire headsets at an additional fee which can provide English translation. In hindsight, we should have hired one. But note you will need to have a photo ID and will need to deposit your licence or passport to get the device. Your documents will be returned when you return the device.

The Other Art Gallery- The Petit Palais

While in Paris, another must-visit art museum for art lovers is the Petit Palais. This building was built for the 1900 World Fair, and now houses the Paris Museum Of Fine Arts.

We were lucky that during our visit, a ‘free entrance’ promotion was on. Though much smaller than the Louvre, it still takes an hour to view the exhibits.

All in all, Paris galleries are a delight for art lovers and rightfully deserve a place in your itinerary.

Homer Simpson

November 12, 2022

Before we move on to the subject, let me first establish my credentials as an avid viewer of all things cartoony. I won’t officially class myself as a ‘cartoonaphiliac’, but from a point of view, I would be close 😊.

Looking back, when I was growing up, comic strips like Disney, D.C, and Archies comics had been the main source of entertainment. With the advent of colour television in the country (…yes, I am that old!), shows like ‘The wonderful world of Disney’ took my fancy, which was then followed by numerous other shows like ‘What’s up Doc?’, ‘The Bug Bunny Show’,’ Cartoon Network and the like. I can even remember that at one point in time in my life ‘Animation’ was on the table as a potential career choice.

The Simpsons

In 1987 cartoonist Matt Groening created the character Simpson for Tracy Ulman’s show which in 1989 turned into a prime-time TV series in its own right. The series was named ‘The Simpsons’ and connected to its audience like no other animation series prior with the exception of Looney Tunes which was televised some 40 years before. Initially aired as a series on ‘Fox’ television, the show was later acquired by Disney in 2019. More than three decades on, Simpsons is still going strong, and one wonders what is there in the characters that attract us so.

Homer J Simpson

Homer is the leading character of the show. Interestingly, Homer is not our typical hero, he has no supernatural powers like DC Comics characters such as Superman or Batman with bulging muscles and a cape. He is overweight, bald, lazy, generally incompetent, and often ignorant of the world around him. He is a blue-collar worker, with limited intelligence or training who has been given the seemingly ‘non-important’ job of a safety inspector in a nuclear power plant; and to top this off, he is negligent towards his duties. He loves his beer and doughnuts, and at home prefers being a couch potato senselessly watching television, eating snacks, and drinking Duff; his favorite beer. In a nutshell, if at all, Homer represents society’s idea of a Loser.

One wonders why then; we have fallen in love with this ‘anti-hero’ character and have been welcoming him in our lounges for nearly three decades and counting.

My quick inquiry with Dr. Google on ‘why do people love homer Simpsons character’; resulted in 2.2 million hits in less than half a second. If nothing else it proved that while this question may not be the most important question the world is thinking about, it is out there.

Homer represents the ‘average’ person in us. Although far from an ideal husband (according to Marge, ‘loud, crude, and piggish’), he truly loves and respects his wife. He has demonstrated the virtues of a long-lasting relationship and while their relationship is challenged at times, he compromises and tries to stand by his wife and manages to pull through and retain his marriage even during hard times. He is always willing to work on his relationship and continued to find ways to rekindle his love for his wife.

He works ‘hard’ (although, this in most cases means taking a nap on his work desk at the nuclear plant) to put bread on the table for his family. Though occasionally he tries to strangle Bart, he is shown as a loving and caring father, who works hard toward fulfilling his children’s needs and whenever Bart, Lisa, or Maggie needs him he is there.

He is overweight but comfortable with his obesity and as a matter of fact, at times uses his fat to his advantage by absorbing a punch or two on his flabby body. Like some of us from generation X, he dislikes exercising, so much so that changing TV channels or answering the phone or the door is a choir for him. He is lazy and proud of it and embraces the idea that it’s a waste of time to exert effort, on one occasion advises his children “, “Kids, you tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.”

Homer loves food. The more unhealthy the food is, the more he likes it, his over-indulgence is followed by catchphrases such as “Mmm…..” , and extempore drooling. And who can forget his love for doughnuts, or he puts it “Donuts. Is there anything they can’t do”. He borders into a full-blown alcoholic and loves his beer and in one instance proudly acclaims “To alcohol, the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.”

Homer lives in a floating timeline and his character never ages (we wish!!). He rarely shaves and his tan stubble has remained consistent over the years. I am sure, a number of us who are blessed with facial hair would love to have this trait. He is happy with his limited wardrobe of a white shirt with an open collar and short sleeves, blue pants, and grey shoes (Suits, eat your heart out!).

Homer adheres to no religion and only goes to church because his wife Marge forces him to attend. He does not exhibit any religious morality and frequently sleeps in church and refers to religion as “….the one with all the well-meaning rules that don't work out in real life….”.

Homer exhibits an eager mind that can retain a lot of knowledge in a short time frame. Like most of us, these short bursts of insight, creativity, and memory, are followed by much longer and more consistent periods of ignorance and stupidity. Homer is extremely confident about his knowledge and learning and similar to us; often, suffers from ‘I am right’ syndrome.

Homer’s contribution to English.

D’oh!. In 2001, the Oxford English dictionary which is widely considered as the leading authority on the English language added ‘D’oh’ to its list of more than 700,000 words. "Doh" is now defined as "Expressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish,"

‘Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.’

Homer Simpson

HOMER AND MEDICAL SCIENCE

Homer has two real-world medical findings named after him. The first of these is ‘The first Homer Simpson Effect’ was published by the American Academy of Neurology in 2006 when researchers found that people with a higher BMI (Body Mass Index) tend to score lower on cognitive tests (D’oh!).

‘The second Homer Simpson Effect’ was published by Nature Neuroscience in 2015 when researchers used fMRI scans and behavioural tests to show that recalling visual memories and experiences can cause us to forget similar memories and experiences. This effect is perhaps better explained by Homer to Marge as ‘Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.’

My tribute

I had joint pottery classes recently and after failing to develop any notable skills on the potter’s wheel decided to try my prowess in sculpture. Homer’s statuette is my first go at this art form. Although I had gone through a steep learning curve during this exercise and at times was almost certain that I will end up exploding this figurine in the kiln, I think the results have been satisfactory and I have been able to capture the spirit of Homer and what this character represents.

Homer and other characters of the show have found their way into our collective vocabulary. As Matt Groening himself puts it "People can relate to Homer because we're all secretly propelled by desires we can't admit to," and the fact that, “Homer is launching himself head-first into every single impulsive thought that occurs to him. His love of whatever...is a joy to witness."

The Simpsons present a satirical compendium on society’s attitude towards religion, the environment, politics, celebrity worship, education system to name a few. Although the series is American-centric, the problems and society’s approach to solving or; in most cases ignoring them are similar and perhaps this is why the show has developed a strong following in more than 90 countries in the world. According to one critique, “The brutal honesty of Homer’s personality as a whole is what makes him such a hilarious and loved character”.

Acknowledgment: Special thanks to die-hard fans on the web whose writings made the research for this article a breeze!

Topkapi Palace

October 29, 2022

I feel that the best part of Istanbul’s historical sites is that they seemed to be concentrated in pockets. You catch a tram to one location and chances are that you will be able to see a handful of places in a single visit. The pre-Covid hustle and bustle of tourist is back, which makes for a lively environment but unfortunately, also increases the chance of getting photobombed.

When we visited, a number of sites were partially closed to the public because of restoration works, luckily Topkapi Palace was open.

Topkapı Palace (literally translated as ‘Cannon gate palace’) was built by Sultan Mehmed II during the 14th century and is located in the historic peninsula bounded by the Marmara Sea, the Bosphorus Strait, and the Golden Horn inlet.

The palace remained the sultan’s main residence and center of government until the mid-19th century, after which the official residence was shifted to Dolmabahçe Palace. It was converted into a museum in 1924 when Turkey became a republic.

Spread over an area of 350,000m2, this palace, with its historic buildings, collections, and nearly 300,000 archive documents, is considered one of the largest museum palaces in the world.

THE MUSEUM

The museum houses one of the best collections of royal and extravagant European, Chinese, and Japanese porcelain and glassware. They are also displays of the Sultan’s kitchen and the utensils used to prepare food and feed the army of people working at the palace.

Coffee culture existed at the Ottoman palace and continued in the traditional manner during the 19th century. The museum has a whole section dedicated to this facet of palace life. Coffee was presented to the Sultan and his guest in special ceremonies featuring specially trained staff and utensils.

In the harem, coffee was served by female attendants known as’ kahveci kalfa’ trained in the rituals of its presentation. One of the attendants carried the velvet or satin cloth adorned with gold thread, pearls, or diamonds, and others the jeweled cups and holders on a gold or silver tray. A third brought the coffee jug on its chafing dish, where it was kept hot by embers, and a fourth filled the cups, placed each in a holder, and offered them to the guests.

Wouldn’t it be nice, to have coffee served with similar pomp and glory at the local Starbucks instead of the usual frowned-faced attendants?

The weapons collection at the Topkapi Palace Museum is one of the richest and most diverse collections in the world. It comprises of thousands of weapons of various origins such as Indian, Arab, Turkish, Persian, Mamluk, Abbasid, European, Japanese, Crimean Tartar, and Umayyad. Spanning over 1,300 years, the collection consists of weapons that were transferred from the armies and those that were used by the palace guards.

THE HOLY RELICS

Outside the Library building in the centre of the third courtyard, we found a long queue of people that seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace. People from all over the world, Muslims, and non-Muslims flocked outside this ‘Has Oda’ or the chamber of the holy relics to view the most precious relics of the Islamic world. Note, only limited visitors are allowed to enter the chamber at a time, and women are required to cover their heads with a scarf before entering the chambers.

The Ottomans collected the Holy Relics attributed to the prophets from all over the empire and brought them to Istanbul for safekeeping. It is said that the Ottoman sultans wanted to keep the Holy Relics close to themselves because they thought that the location of the relics would qualify Istanbul as the centre of the Islamic world.

Each of the relics is highly prized and has its own history/mythology and was collected over generations and kept inside mosques and ancient monasteries. Among this collection are the Holy Mantle, the bow, and the sword of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). There are also holy relics attributed to other prophets such as the staff of Moses; the sword of David; the robe of Joseph; and the swords of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions.

The collection is housed in the Privy Chamber, where the sultan lived and kept his throne. It is said that, prior to their accession to the throne, the sultans would come to this room to pray and receive homage from the Privy Room officials before leaving for the ceremony. Even now, an imam inside a glassed-off chamber recites the Koran around the clock.

LIBRARY

What wouldn’t I give for a library like this! The interior of this building is breathtaking, and the location is serene. Imagine sipping a coffee on a diwan googling away to one heart’s content, without a worry in the world.

The library was built by Sultan Ahmed III in the 18th century and stored archival records and books. The learned men of the times dedicated their works to the sultans, and this was supplemented by, literary works acquired during various conquest.

In the present day, this collection presents an indispensable source of information for historians and perhaps provides the only extant official records of the Ottoman dynasty.

THE PALACE AND THE HAREM

Although in modern times the word ‘harem’ conjures up images of thinly clad women and romance. ‘Harem’ is an Arabic word that literally means “a sacred, inviolable space” The harem were the private dwellings of the sultans and their families. It consisted of hundreds of magnificently tiled rooms connected with courtyards and fountain gardens. It was home to over a thousand harem women, children, and black eunuchs. The eunuch were usually castrated slaves which were trained to serve the residents of the harem.

These rooms are simply spectacular and exhibit a mix of Turkish Iznik tiles and Western European paintwork and have intricate domed ceiling decor.

COURTYARDS AND GARDENS

The palace design consists of four consecutive courtyards surrounded by high walls. Each courtyard served different purposes and was separated by a gate.

The outer courtyard is the largest and only public courtyard. This courtyard’s open space made it ideal for ceremonies and processions. The second courtyard was called the ‘Divan Square’, and was the administrative center of the palace. Only official visitors and members of the court could enter this space

The innermost third courtyard housed the private residence of the sultan and the inner palace school. Only the sultan, members of his family, his servants, and the occasional approved visitor were allowed to enter. The third courtyard extends to the fourth courtyard, which consists primarily of terraced gardens and pavilions.

The Sultans were keen lovers of gardens and flowers and lined the courtyards with long tall trees, fountains, and lawns. They collected best flower species from all over the empire and planted them in the palace.

The Austrian ambassador who came to Istanbul at the time of Sultan Suleyman, stated the following about the flower passion of the Turks, “The flowers smelled so good that our heads were spinning, which was unusual for us. Turks, are very fond of flowers. They do not hesitate to give a lot of money for a beautiful flower.”

Topkapi palace is a must-see destination while visiting Istanbul, allow at least 4 hours for a proper look. It is a touristy spot that attracts thousands of visitors each day, therefore it’s better to visit early and see the harem (additional tickets) and the chamber of holy relics first up before it gets busy.

Cappadocia

October 16, 2022

Located at the centre of present-day Turkey; the ancient district of Cappadocia is in east-central Anatolia, about 700 km from Istanbul. The plateau is dominated by an eerie landscape comprising long, tall, and thin rock structures, the ‘fairy chimneys’ (or more technically; ‘hoodoos’) that rise out of the ground.

Contrary to the myth, which attributes these landscapes to the fairies that once lived in the area and after leaving returned as pigeons, these rock formations are the result of a geological process that spans millions of years. The magnificent landscape was formed by volcanic eruptions that rained ash over this region. The ash hardened into a porous rock (tuff), which was then covered by a layer of basalt. As millennia passed, the softer tuff wore down by wind and water, giving way to pillars that now stand as high as 40 meters. The mushroom-shaped cap is the remnant of harder basalt rock that eroded more slowly.

While forces of nature shaped the incredible rock formations, people living in the area for hundreds of years have dug into the soft but firm tuff to create dwellings, monasteries, churches, and underground cities. From The Hittites (late bronze age) to the Ottomans, nearly all European empires have claimed this region and for centuries, people fleeing prosecution have fled into these underground dwellings to shield themselves from outsiders.

Designated as a World Heritage Site, the rock sites of Cappadocia’s Göreme National Park are described by UNESCO as "one of the world's most striking and largest cave-dwelling complexes."

The Ride of a Lifetime

I will be honest, our quest to explore Cappadocia was driven by the desire to get a safe and (..more importantly) affordable ride on the hot-air balloon. Appreciation of the landscape and the realization of the region’s historical importance came in later.

We had booked flights in advance with the hotel and however while checking in were reminded that the flights are not guaranteed and can be canceled if the weather conditions are not right. Luckily, the weather gods were on our side and the flight went through. We were picked up at 5.30 in the morning and were hurtled across to the ballooning site in minivans.

Typically, a group of up to 200 balloons would take to the sky, each balloon carrying about 20-30 people. The pilots take full advantage of the terrain to show off their skills as they manoeuvre the balloon high and low, sometimes skimming tree tops and at others bumping and squeezing between the neighbouring balloons. The sunrise, the coloured balloons drifting silently in the sky, with the occasional roar of the burners, and the interplay of the eery landscape are surreal. The ride lasts for about an hour, and finally, the balloon is softly landed on the awaiting trailer. The successful ride is celebrated by serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic champagne, candy, and biscuits.

Quad biking

Most of the activities offered in Cappadocia are timed around sunset and sunrise and rightly so, as these times are the best to enjoy the sights and take some happy snaps. But the days can be long in a small town.

Around the corner from our hotel was a quad bike place, I had never driven a quad bike before and the temptation to hire one was overwhelming. The bikes with a guide can be hired outside tour times and we went for it. The guides are proficient and familiar with the terrain and lead through a tour that is not only scenic but also provides occasional opportunities to safely unleash the ‘devil’ driver in us.

The tour last for about an hour and a half and is worth exploring even at the cost of covering your clothes with fine dust. A compressed air washup after the ride is included in the price.

Pottery Kebabs.

Turkey is famous for its kebabs and tea, but a variation to the theme that caught our attention was the ‘pottery kebabs’. The stew and the kebabs are prepared in a special earthen vessel that is sealed with dough, resembling a pressure cooker. The vessel is placed in the oven and then brought to the table in a sealed state. The display involves tapping and breaking out the contents of the vessel into the bowl on the table.

While the food is nice the artistry involved in serving the piece is even better.

The Kebab Presentation

Handcrafted

I am always intrigued by craftsmen and artists, but unfortunately, one rarely gets an opportunity to meet the creator of the work in person. Being a small town, Cappadocia’s visit provided us with this rear opportunity as one of the random shops I visited had a maker present working on his piece. Turan, was an elderly gentleman in his late sixties who has been practicing his skills for decades, he specialized in a certain type of pattern and showed us around his shop. I asked him, where he got his training and he replied that he had learned the skills by watching others.

Similarly, in another shop we met this old lady who was selling crochet crafts that she prepared herself. ‘Takes me about 7 days to prepare one’, she said ‘as my hands are getting frail and weak due to old age’.

While I can’t be certain, it seems most of the shops were operating as a commune with craftspeople sharing the outlet.

Cappadocia Göreme valley where most of the action happens is about an hour’s travel from the airport, and this travel time needs to be accounted for while planning the trips, as with 3 hours before reporting requirements for international travel, this could lead to sleepless nights.

All in all, Cappodocia is an interesting place and worth having on one’s bucket list!

Welcome

May 5, 2019

Tweet with Sticks

In many respects, the ‘Dhol’ (Indian drum) with its hollow wooden barrel and animal hide stretched over its open ends, and the humble ‘Dholwalah’ (drum beaters who sounded the drums) who carried the instrument slung around the neck are relatable to ‘Twitter’ of our times. A long-lost cousin of sorts; this ‘tweet with sticks’ had the same function for the Mughal establishment of yesteryears as any sane or deranged president or politician of our times.

While today the ‘Dhol’ is mostly associated with folk music, Bhangra dance, wedding parties and religious processions, the ‘Dhol’ and ‘Dholwalahs’ played an important part in shaping the history of the sub-continent.

In his book ‘Delhi-The unknown tales of a city’; R.V. Smith dedicates a whole chapter to the drummers of Delhi and writes “In the medieval day they (Dholwalahs) were employed in large numbers to act as messengers. They had a code, of course, and this was communicated in a sort of relay until the message reached all the cities and towns in a radius of several hundred miles. Sometimes, the message warned of an impending attack and sometimes it gave news of a court proclamation that the emperor was journeying and would need fresh horses at such and such a place. And so every time the drums beat across the miles, people knew something important was afoot. During the 1857 uprising it was either the lotus or the chappatis carried by runners secretly at night that warned most villages and towns that the revolt against the British was to break out soon. Wherever the symbols could not be carried the message was passed on by the beat of drum”

Now fast forward a few centuries into the present. In this artwork, I have used the drumbeaters as symbols for proclamation -albeit not for or by a person of prominence, but an announcement or a ‘tweet’, if you will, aimed at welcoming the travelers who visit the Little Indian prescient.

The narrative around the historical background is reinforced by different motifs on the art work. The top band depicts a typical marble floral inlay design and similarly the mosaic pattern at the back is inspired by geometric tiled pattern common of the period.

The bottom bands depict the elements of journey and travel. The silhouette images of the lower purple band depict a royal caravan with rows of elephants, horse and camels (journey) and the winding pattern on top is aimed at representing waves, travel and motion. The choice of colors for the bands was not only driven by the overall aesthetics of the piece but by using different colored zigzag lines my intention was also to universalize the welcome message to include all who have come to the country (ochre), by water/boats (aqua) and air/planes (light blue).

Welcome, khush aamdeed, savaagat he

Though over the years a lot of customs and traditions in the subcontinent have evolved or eroded away; fortunately, the customs around hospitality and honoring of guest is very much alive to this day. Travelers passing through the sub-continent cannot help but notice this fact. According to one traveler, “The countryside seems populated with people willing to drop everything to help an unknown foreigner find his destination or to serve him tea.”

Hospitality is valued by Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs alike. In Pakistani Islamic culture, the guest is considered a blessing from God, and in neighboring India the slogan “Atithi Devo Bhava” (guest is god) defines the importance of the guest for the host.

Folks take great efforts to make sure that the guest are happy and provided for. Often the host will offer best dishes, sweets and fruits to their guest then they would consume themselves. In some countryside areas, a guest of one family is considered a guest of the whole street or village. Many restaurants owners and shopkeepers even refuse to take money from foreigners.

These cultural traits are evident in people even when they move away from their homeland and settled in other countries. Case in hand, while I was busy painting the pole, a Sikh gentleman who owns a shop in the area became a silent admirer of my work and offered to provide me chai and soft drink and refuse to take money when offered.

I have tried to highlight this cultural trait in the pole artwork by writing ‘welcome’ in several regional and international languages. The initial plan was to cover all 23 regional languages spoken in the region but unfortunately my patience with Dr Google and the time run out and I settled with covering a dozen languages only.

Epilogue

This commissioned public art is part of Stage 2 of the Indian Cultural Precinct revitalization works that have been sponsored by the City of Greater Dandenong and is aimed at enlivening the streetscape and showcase the color and vibrancy of the culture of sub-continent. I hope the people will appreciate and enjoy this piece as long as it last not only for its aesthetics but also the message it aims to convey.