doodle-shoodle.tumblr.com

I started a tumblr a while back called www.doodle-shoodle.tumblr.com with the intention of putting everyday doodles that I make whenever my mind wanders off to a different world. It doesn't matter whether its a classroom, a metro/bus ride, what matters is how wild and wondrous these seemingly innocent doodles spring out from my imagination.

The doodle above is one of my favorites and happens to be not only the favicon for the tumblr but also my current profile picture on facebook. All copyrights belong to Karan Leo Arts

This is how Ms Mayalakshmi Rao, ace photographer and CTT head describes the doodle

.

"a Kali gone a little crazy, a Kali who is part male, a Shiv unleashing his locks and letting the Ganges go 

upwards, an acrobat, each of us in our daily balancing act - in balance, yet rising

ME having a good hair day "

Marilyn and Absolut Vodka: representatives of popular culture

Marilyn Monroe and Absolut Vodka, two of my recent creations are representative of popular culture. One of the issues with popular culture is that often the knowledge of the very tessellations that together form this tetrahedron of a pop culture is lesser known among the masses. I have learnt much about Marilyn from seeing movies about her and movies in which she acted. "The week with Marilyn" is one of the former while "Some like it hot" and "Gentlemen prefer blondes" of the latter. I urge you, dear followers to find out more about these very tessellations. :)

Absolut Vodka Shoes.

Wearable Art Project
© Karan Vohra - Karan Leo Arts
"From one drunk to another" - We bring you Absolut Vodka Shoes.
The Absolut Vodka bottle is legendary, its shape is lyrical and the bottle itself is symbolic of several things .

Marilyn Monroe Shoes ( Colored )

Wearable Art Project© Karan Vohra - Karan Leo Arts

On popular demand, here is the coloured version of the Marilyn Monroe Shoes :)

Enjoy

The curious case of the elusive Mishti!

Mishti Doi/Dahi or Sweet Curd is a dessert quite common in the states of West Bengal and Orrisa.  It is prepared by boiling milk until it is slightly thickened, sweetening it with sugar, either guda/gura (brown sugar) or khajuri guda/gura (date molasses), and allowing the milk to ferment overnight. Earthenware is always used as the container for making mitha dahi because the gradual evaporation of water through its porous walls not only further thickens the yoghurt, but also produces the right temperature for the growth of the culture. Very often the yoghurt is delicately seasoned with a pinch of elaichi (cardamom) for fragrance. Baked yogurt is a similar preparation in the west.(source Wikipedia)

In October 2012, I went to the city of Joy(Kolkata) to meet a beloved friend of mine, Ms. Mayalakshmi Rao. In this very trip I had authentic mishti dahi from a local shop called Vien (not on of those big chains like haldirams and nathus) and I was in love. It's not like I had never had Mishti before this. In fact I had had full matkas of the curd that my dad got us whenever he went to Kolkata and besides the occasional kolkata mishti, Mother Dairy, which was 10 steps away offered the dessert. What made this particular Mishti special was that it was an artistic creation, it wasn't a desert that was made in bulk to be sold as an object. It had a certain sentimental value owing to the nature and reputation of the shop, a shop and not a big grand chain of shops. The consistency, flavor, lightness and little surprise chunks of ras gula in the dessert were the highs of the desert at Vien Shop. 

This particular dessert has been evading me ever since I came back. Delhi is considered the food capital by many and yet the doi has been escaping my tongue again and again, or at least the authentic doi is. I tried the Mother Dairy packed Mishti but once you have had the real thing you can't go back. It is sad that Bengali Sweets, a sweet house in Bengali Market doesn't even sell Mishti Dahi, can you beat that? Can you? Nathus, however did have a bad version of the doi. It was in a 'traditional' matka. If only the doi inside was as traditional as the matka. The next step was Delhi Haat, but no good news there either. The doi they sell there tastes exactly like Mother Dairy and costs 5 times as much. The last resort seems to be making it at home, but then I am not gonna go through that much trouble right now, unless there is no option. 

If you find a place where I can find authentic bengali mishti doi, do let me know in the comments below. We have reduced the distance between places, bridged the gaps between cultures and the increasing heterogeneity of population is helping this. Despite all of that, there are certain things that call out to you, certain sights, tastes and experiences that you can only get from the places where it all started. Chakratirtha Travels, a venture by Ms. Mayalakshmi Rao, Prof Kim Raikes and myself offers such experiences. It was CTT that made my trip to Kolkata memorable and introduced me to a dessert like Mishti whose taste lingers in my mouth even after months of having it.  

You can see the CTT blog here - http://chakratirthatravels.blogspot.in/

And the CTT facebook page here -  https://www.facebook.com/TravelChakra

Below is a picture of me enjoying mishti. Photo Credits - Ms. Mayalakshmi Rao 

Getting past all that noise

I perceive a saddening perception

it is? but it is!

To get past that noise to the sweet melody

 Melody however is forever present 

Eeesh! the noise is a leech

yet no salt will kill it 

 go back to my humble abode

thinking about thinking, no bounds no escape 

perception kills time

observation enthralls 

if only i could do something about it 

looking past  is just not enough

 I am an observer. I observe things, people, that leafless tree, that sad man and that gay puppy. It is not for the purpose of entertainment, not always, its just a part of me , I am an observer and that's that .

Are you afraid of the dark?

When I was a little child, I found it hard to sleep without at least one light on. My parents employed a baby-steps strategy. They increased the distance between me and the nearest source of light gradually. It so happened that as the external source of light moved away from me, the light inside of me started to shine brighter.  Today, and in several moments of several days I feel proud of this little thing, "look, Mummy I can sleep even in pitch black darkness". The fear of the proverbial darkness of the unknown, unsettles all of us from time to time. Knowledge that brings us shame or guilt is infact more frightening.

I have learnt a few things from my encounters with the dark.
It will come sweeping in, blow your mind and threaten to destroy you - only if you let it.
Like any battle, you would loose this one too if you don't show up at the battle field- Don't forfeit, you owe yourself more than that.
There will be times when you may feel lost, you may not know who to turn to, what to do, that is not to say however that this state  is permanent. Say it out loud- this too shall pass.
Understand the cause of this dominance of black on your canvas, it may wound you. But you see, wounds heal.
No one man can conquer darkness, just as there is no, one master of light . Therefore what I have said is incomplete for even my own battle with darkness is on.
I leave you, readers with some quotes from one of my favorite fictional characters- Albus Dumbledore.

“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.”
 “After all to the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”"
"It’s the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."