Inspiring India… 16 January – 20 March 2023
The Spring Equinox just brought me back home to Ireland, after a two months amazing trip to India… Some of you might know already, I have a very special place in my heart for that country . For many years I have been spending 2 to 3 months a year there, each time discovering new places, new people, new wonders, but also visiting friends in familiar places.
India is like my second home, my healing well, my inspirational land. India wakes up my deepest emotions, digs out my true self, gently blows away the unwanted dust on the true values of life. India makes me feel alive.
My Indian friends say “You were Indian in one of your previous lives!”
My European friends say “You should check your DNA, may be you have Indian ancestors!”
All I can say is India is in my blood, somehow, in a mysterious way…
After 3 years of no travels due to Covid, my trip this year was probably even more intense… And the Hindi I learned during lock downs made the connection with people much easier and enjoyable.
Traveling as a women in India has never been a problem, there are always people ready to help before you even ask!… More and more I tend to go to places with no foreigner tourists, and no or very little English speaking. I dress like an Indian woman, and use my Indian name, Leela (this name was given to me years ago by my Yoga teacher). I travel mostly by local busses or trains, never rush, never plan too much in advance, I live in the moment, follow my intuition, blend in. I am always open to what India may offer me… And She always does…
But the purpose of this blog is not about my unconditional love for India, so I will leave that in my secret garden for now, and take you instead to the artistic parts of my travels…
The only plan I had for this trip was to start with Fort Cochi, in the South, in Kerala, for the Art Biennale. I also knew at some point I would go back to the tribal Gond village that I discovered 4 years ago, and visit my artists friends… Along the way I also met with other artists and I might go and learn their technique the next time… But that’s another story…
Kochi-Muziris Biennale -”In our veins flow Ink and Fire”-
Fort Cochi is on the coast of Kerala, southwest India. An old charming port full of history, with Dutch, Portuguese and British colonial architecture, in a deliciously warm tropical climate… ( Especially when you just landed from the Irish winter!…)
The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is the largest art exhibition in India, with contempory art from all over the world. Apparently it is also the biggest contempory art festival in Asia. The shows are held for 4 months, in many different venues, mostly in beautiful historical buildings and old spice trade warehouses from colonial times . I took me 6 days to visit most of them but I’m sure I missed a few!… Paintings, sculptures, installations, experimental art, students work, film projections, workshops,…. WOW !… Totally blown away by that endless feast for art lovers, I left with a head swarming with new exciting ideas !…
Here are some pics, if you have Instagram you can see more on my posts from late January…
Gond Art, my third visit to the tribal village of Patangarh…
Patangarh is a paisible tribal village in the state of Madhya Pradesh, right in the center of India. The Gond people live a very simple life, in total harmony with the nature, and their ancestral way to talk about their culture has always been through art. Painting, carving, danse, music… I first came to this village 4 years ago, purely by chance (…or by the magic of India ) and fell in love with them and with their art. Since then my husband and I have created a website to support the artists of Patangarh by selling the art in Europe. ( gondartindia.com )
If you haven’t read the story , here is the link :
From Allihies to Patangarh, 2 villages of farmers and painters…
Our arrival in the village was wonderful, full of love and laughs, a pure moment of shared happiness. The villagers had prepared a traditional ceremony with flowers, gifts, and the welcoming tilak (red powder on the third eye, between the eyebrows)… Our stay in Patangarh , sharing music, dancing, cooking, chatting and laughing was surely a highlight of the travel…
Of course I couldn’t leave without buying more art, and take a step further in our projects supporting the Gond culture… An exhibition of their new works is planned in the 8 Cows Gallery (Allihies, Ireland), and we will be working at the possibilities for them to run the website directly from Patangarh, which will give them more opportunities and more autonomy…
Richie made a film to illustrate our visit and the next projects with the artists of Patangarh:
Rajasthan traditional miniature painting
Later on my travels, as I was wandering in the Pink city, Jaipur, Rajasthan, I came across a little workshop where a man, sitting on the floor, was concentrating on an old painting that needed restoration.
Radheshyam has a real passion for art, and we ended up chatting for a while about each other’s work. His favourite field is the miniature painting, a traditional art in Rajasthan since the 16th century. He works with watercolours and oils, on old paper and cards. He showed me some of his pieces, offered me a coffee. The quality of his work and the humbleness of the man made this moment very special, and when he said , half joking,“ come back and I’ll teach you !”, I grabbed the idea with great enthousiasm !…
Back home now, with full energy!…
The 8 Cows Gallery is ready to wake up after hibernation, with an exciting program for the Spring and Summer 2023:
– April, Easter : Cathy Bacon, new paintings …
– May : Gond Art, tribal art from India …
– June : Kip Lot, photographs and the launch of his book “Beara”… Michael Dwyer Festival…
– July and August : Nadette Charlet, paintings, jewellery, and travel treasures…
More details will follow in time, through the 8 Cows Gallery newsletters… If you haven’t subscribed yet, I would be delighted to welcome you amongst my friends and Art lovers !
Subscribe to the website, at the bottom of the screen on your mobile or top right on a computer, nacharlet
Thank you for reading, and hopefully meet you in the Gallery sometime for a chat face to face !
Namaste !
Leela, Nadette
PS. You can follow me and see more photos of my travels in India on
