A writers best friend is a writers group

Now put down your defences and hear me out :)

I used to be one of those writers who pretty much shied away from people and opinions in general. Most friends and family that came across my poetry always just said nice things and gave me zero criticism/feedback. I was content with this self reliance and sole responsibility status.

Until a little over a year ago when I got enrolled in a poetry workshop with Andy Jackson (this is a link to his blog which you should check out fo shizzle). The workshop consisted of women from varying age groups and ran over 6 beautiful Sundays. There is nothing better than starting your Sunday with poetry/coffee and beautiful people.

Over the weeks we grew closer as we explored form and moods and work-shopped each other's more personal pieces of poetry. I consider them to be my poetry family :)

We enjoyed each others company so much and felt so safe in each others presence that we went on to meet every fortnight to talk, drink, write and explore. We have even encouraged each other to perform and are friends even across the distance.

I craved something similar when I moved to Mumbai/Bombay and was beyond thrilled to be told about Alphabet Sambar - they're a closed group of writers which is why I haven't linked to them here.

AS is made up of writers be it fiction/non-fiction/poetry/blog writers and so on and consists of people from all ages across the spectrum.

Everyone brings in an original piece of writing which the group then critiques. The feedback is succinct without being offensive and is honest.

I enjoyed the fact that we dabbled in so many different genres.

The group on Facebook has about 50 members though about 7-8 members show up at the meets. They are generally held in local coffee shops and I rather wish there was a better more quiet and less 'public' option. That being said they're lovely people who are kind and warm and welcoming and it is such a relief to find creative people who make an effort to 'create' and also share what they write.

There is a lot of exchange of knowledge and ideas and I am glad to be a part of it!

SO moral of the story? Writer's groups win!

Embrace the idea of getting constructive feedback and getting the opportunity to test the waters with your work before it is published or performed. 

Gallery hopping in South Bombay

It has BEGUN!! I left home by my lonesome (Dad dropped me to the station no biggie) to go to my first gallery hop with my new friend Jai. 

Getting on the Virar local even on a week day at non-peak hour can be pretty daunting, at one point I found myself straddling an unsuspecting uncomfortable 4th passenger on a seat that can comfortably only seat 3 while I made way for others to get off the blasted train. 

Soon upgraded to 4th passanger status, I rested my one butt cheek on that shiny seat, put on my headphones and let Whitley allow my mind to drift. 

What a nice way to begin my initiation into the art scene in Bombay - we start the hopping at the Chemould Contemporary Art Gallery, an exhibition titled Aesthetic Bind | Floating World. This is a beautiful airy space and the curator Geeta Kapur was very amiable when explaining the reasoning behind the artists/works chosen to be displayed. Since this was part of a tour I got to take a few pictures though I'd recommend heading to the website and taking a looksey for yourself, it would be better than anything my camera phone may have achieved. 

Second on the list was the infamous Jehangir Art Gallery - the featured artwork was more on the traditional side of things with a number of paintings and sculptures depicting deities and freedom fighters. The upside to this art gallery (for me) is it's closeness to Cafe Samovar which is a food loving art lovers haven. 

Third was Project 88, a beautiful neat space that housed the delectable work of Sandeep Mukherjee. The exhibition is called Traces and Tears and I would highly recommend giving it a twice over. 

Next place (Fourth) was the simple and unpretentious Mumbai Art Room, a small intimate space that made me feel very much at home. The exhibition featured the work of Scott Myles - titled 'The Meaning of Return'. 

Fifth was Sakshi Gallery featuring the fearless and brutally honest work of Krishen Khanna, a very prominent Indian artist. On one of the walls adorning his art was a poem titled - The Voyage of Migration. Had I known that I would not be able to find this poem anywhere on the interwebs, I would have stood there and written the whole thing out it was SO beautiful and so close to home. 

Sixth and last on the list but not least by any account was Chatterjee & Lal - the exhibition is titled Voices from the Chamber and features a slew of artists who work very cohesively together. My favourite from this collection is Nityan Unnikrishnan whose drawings/paintings are very evocative and captivating.

The Gallery Hop is something that Jai does every Thursday and I'm told it can sometimes be combined with a bit of a food hop as well - because strolling through all those galleries can certainly work up quite the appetite. 

If this is something that may interest you, shoot me a message and I'll give you more information. 

Here are pictures of the doors of the galleries we visited today - :)

                                 

 

                                 

House arrest

It's Holi and I'm staying home peering out the window which is exactly how close I want to be to the action.

Mum is feeding me jaggery and coconut treats and I am sipping on my rose tea trying to map out my adventure with this city.

Google has been very very helpful already, I've stumbled upon The Poetry Club and on reviewing their notes, this particular poem has jumped out and made me smile :)

WHAT IS MUMBAI TO YOU? by FAIRY DHARAWAT

The city that never sleeps

Is a place we call home

It has a bleeding heart

And may have lost its soul

Simple and succinct and pretty much how I feel at the moment but I do believe there is order in chaos and just because I don't know the system doesn't mean I get to thrash it :)

For information of events and going ons in this vibrant city the two following sites were really helpful and comprehensive: 

1. Burrp Mumbai

2. Times City

I've got something nice to look forward to and start my artistic journey with but I don't want to give too much away just yet so let me leave you with this piece of art. Just a little teaser of what is to come: 

Something is happening

It has been less than a month since I landed in the Motherland and already my feet are itching for discovery. I am a self proclaimed poet/writer/artist and having not been to anything remotely artistic for 3 weeks now the withdrawals are horrific. I have uncurled from foetal position while drowning my afflictions on a beach somewhere in Goa and having once again re-returned to Bombay I am ready to try everything twice. So here I am humbly offering up my curiosity and espial for you to share/create and dialogue.

Wherever there may be art in Bombay, I want to find it. 

First things first - I have heard of The Big Mic, Caferati @ Prithvi and Tall Tales Storytelling, very eager to check them all out and...

Secondly I would also love to feature local artists on here this humble blog. 

So lots of hopes but mostly a deep deep desire to be enveloped in Art's creative embrace. 

Much love, 

Rochelle.