B on V ivant
4–10 May 2012
JIT KUMAR
{ Ekta Saxena }
T
his house is an art lover’s delight and rightly so, as Anju Kumar is a renowned artist who dabbles in pottery, paintings, murals, stained glass, sculptures, et al. Anju moved into this 3-floor house three years back, and is loving every moment of staying here. Having moved from Delhi, Anju simply admires the open spaces in Gurgaon, and has built her house to let in a lot of natural light and air. The house displays understated elegance.
19
tive energy.” From the living room, the marble stairs take you to the second floor of the house, where son Anmol’s bedroom and a guestroom are located. Anmol, a pilot with a private airline, is often away. But, whenever he is in town, he loves to spend time in his room, which has a ‘reading corner’ near the window. Nature is flown into this house, with a terrace garden on this floor. A patch of green, with loads of plants, adds beauty as well as unparalleled charm to this soothing place. Anju, along with her family, likes to unwind here. She is quite fond of yoga and meditation, and this green patch provides her with her own moments.
Art Home Located in South City-I, artist Anju Kumar’s house is truly an artist’s haven. There is a soothing yet a grandeur ambience, which sets this house truly apart. Anju decided to dedicate the entire ground floor to her studio. Done aesthetically in white and black, Anju’s artwork consisting of terracota art pieces, her abstract works of art, and some great ‘jaaliwork’ that truly stands out. Anju says, with a sense of pride, “This is my very own space, and I just feel so contended working here.” A very unique feature here is the wooden logs stacked on the ceiling, giving quite a dramatic effect.
Adds Anju, “These are actually sleepers used for railway tracks. I just innovatively used them here, only treating them with linseed oil.” Innovation at its best! A lifesize abstract painting in hues of gold and red greets you at the entrance. This is pious Ganesha. The pattern flows through out the house, with abstracts mostly in the hues of red adorning the walls. Anju says, “ I love to paint abstracts, as it is completely at the viewer’s discretion, to interpret in his or her own way.” Anju’s creativity is evident everywhere – with her pots, jaalis, and of course the beautiful paintings. She started ‘doing up’ this place with an architect, but then midway through, the architect had to leave for Australia. Then
Laughing St
Anju, with inputs from her other architect friends, decided to do it on her own. The lady with a high creative streak has put her heart in this place. The living room is quite spacious, done in beige, with Anju’s paintings’ red hues giving a beautiful contrast. This floor has the master bedroom and the kitchen. There are large windows and balconies attached on all sides. Says Anju, “It’s a treat sitting in the balcony, with my hot cup of tea, and enjoy the open spaces. I always wanted my house to be flooded with natural light. It is so important that the house gets ample light and air; it infuses a posi-
Live In The Present
ck
A little girl was wearing a Medical Alert bracelet. Someone asked her what the bracelet was for. She replied, “I’m allergic to nuts and eggs. The person asked, “Are you allergic to cats?” The girl said, “I don’t know. I don’t eat cats.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A group of tourists were being guided through an ancient castle in Europe. “This place,” the guide said,” is 600 years old. Not a stone in it has been touched, nothing altered, nothing replaced in all those years.” “Wow,” said one woman, “they must have the same landlord I do.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An amateur photographer was invited to dinner with friends and took along a few pictures to show the hostess. She looked at the photos and commented, “These are very good! You must have a very good camera.” He didn’t comment, but, as he was leaving to go home, he said, “That was a really delicious meal! You must have some very good pots.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A little boy opened the old family Bible, looking at the pages as he turned them. An old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages, fell out of the Bible.”Mommy, look what I found”, the boy called out. “What have you got there, dear?” his mother asked. With astonishment, he answered: “It’s Adam’s suit!”
Anju says philosophically, “My work is like a therapy for me. Thankfully, my husband and son truly understand it. The studio is where I spend a lot of my time, but this also allows me to simultaneously monitor the house jobs as well.” Vivacious and full of life she is, and the house truly reflects that. Her zeal for life, and her work, is evident – and the house buzzes with a calming effect! This house embodies art, but there is nothing overthe-top about it. The Zen-like effect flows throughout this space. When you come out, you carry a feeling of warmth and calm. An art home should leave you with just that! u
{ Dr. Rajesh Bhola }
A
nuj came to see me because he feels that his life has become meaningless, since he missed out on a promotion. Many people feel this inner emptiness at some point of time in their lives. It is not unusual. Anuj should be happy. He has a good wife, and successful children settled in Canada. He owns a comfortable house, and a sedan car. At work he holds a senior position in a public sector bank. He has income that is more than adequate for his needs. Somehow, it does not make him happy. In his career, he has grown up thinking and believing that he will attain happiness only if he is promoted regularly. He feels that he has been tricked. In his mind, he has done all the right things; but the desired reward has not arrived. He feels that he has kept his half of the bargain – while the other party has not kept his/her/their word. Who the other party is, he is not sure. And in order to mitigate the feelings of ‘failure’, he quite often drinks more alcohol than he should. He has been taken in by the promise that worldly success will make him happy. Anuj does not really participate in his job – or his car, or his nice house. The ‘happiness’ he thinks
is his due lies beyond these things. In his mind these are means to an end, not the end in itself. He is in flight from the ‘failures’ and ‘suffering’ in his life – rather than enjoying the actual pleasures that are already available to him. He is not focused in the present moment. These ‘failures’ and ‘suffering’ are not unbearable – in the sense of being acutely painful, like a severe physical injury might be. However, the psychological pain of being ‘in flight’ from the present reality of one’s life can be more disabling than the effect of a physical injury. I advised Anuj to visit some of his old colleagues and friends; specially those who have never ‘achieved’ regular promotions, and are yet leading happy and contended lives. After meeting a few of them, he reached a greater acceptance of the position he had already attained, and became happier again – like a flower opening in the sunshine, after the storm clouds have passed. He started living in the present. u Dr. Rajesh Bhola is President of Spastic Society of Gurgaon and is working for the cause of children with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities for more than 20 years.