Amma in Fermynwoods

01062010

Morning at 5 am
First cigarette in Coventry
Very cold
Fish hiding
Chives
Thyme
Peppermint leaves
Broken step
Very cold
Loo
apple
Crunchy
Very fresh, juice running down my hands
Mithya
Diary notation
Very hungry
Photographs
Wondering whether to warm food
Return to room
Very silent
Sleep
Get up at 11:30 am
Spicy tea
Kitchen
Fish
Mackerel
Tea
Plantain
Night food
2 pieces
Lying the table
Water
Washing glasses and plates
Eating
aUbergine pickle
Tea
Water
Early morning report
Discussion for the day
Fetching wellington
Wellingtons
Fashion
Wellingtons of my size
Waterproofs
Orange
Packing
Loo
Brushing
Washing
Fash
Cream
No change
Soiled
Shoes
Removing yellow slippers
aNna
aNna
aNna
Gerard
Chilly morning
Pink warm stole, around my head
What m I doing here?
White car
Heater
Wide roads
Cold morning
Narrow rods
Wide rods
Maps
Motorway
Cold morning
Long drive
A43
Kettering
Fermynwoods
Thrapston
Dentist

Coffee
Water
spices
Discussions
Lush green
Lorries
Busy road
Reading directions
Going past
Returning
Parking
Looking
Opening the door
Yasmin
aGe
Size
Look
Black hair
Linen clothes
Paul
James
Big smile
Small smile
Meeting
Room
Coffee
Grants
Residency
Green
More green
Tulsi
Worship
My practice
People
No people
Plants
Trees
Stories
Mythology
Characters
Stencils
Invisible spaces
Cheese
Butter milk eggs bread oats muesli
Yoghurt
Cold afternoon
Road barrier
Cycle
Lock
Code
Danish shelter
Stingy nettle
The dog leaf
Leaves that stick to clothes
Cure for arthritis
Trial
Withdrawal
Ride
Unfinished house
Gun-powder
Breath of fresh cold air
Pebbles
Namaste
Ki haal chaal hain?
Fire place
Warm
Big bathroom
Big kitchen
Somebody to sty back
Walk in the woods
Determined to not just walk paths
Call from home
Yellow flowers on the field
Taking the first right turn
Talking of wolves
Cheese on toast
Tea
Tea
Two cups
Electric kettle
Learnt to light the fire by Gerard
Sample by Gerard
Gerard leaving
Me walking into the house
Knock
Kenny
First visit to co-op
First sight of thatched roofs
Raspberries
Roast potatoes
Mortar and pestle
Sea salt
Pepper crusher
Oven
Electric stove
Onions with a very strong fragrance
Chick peas in tomato curry
No bread with dinner
Food discussion
Dinner
Cleaning up
Sleeping
The Elephant Vanishes
Switching off the lights












Decide to sleep

Workshop: Story telling > character exchange > new narrative

Pleased by the piety of an Asura*, Shiva* offered him a boon. The Asura asked that any creature he touched would be reduced to ashes. No sooner did Shiva give this power than the Asura decided to try his power on Shiva himself.
Fearing for his life Shiva ran. The Asura pursued him. Desperate and frightened Shiva begged Vishnu* to help him.
Vishnu took the form of Mohini, ‘the enchantress’ and presented a female form of himself to the Asura. Enchanted by Mohini’s ravishing form, the Asura stopped chasing Shiva.

“Marry me”, he told Mohini.
“Only if you can dance the way I do”.
The Asura agreed.

He observed Mohini’s dance carefully and began imitating her movements. He moved his hands, feet, waist and face just the way Mohini did.
At one point Mohini touched her head. The Asura did the same and was reduced to ashes.

Asura: subterranean being who hoards wealth
Shiva: one of the three primary gods from the Hindu pantheon; God of destruction; very easy to please
Vishnu: One of the three primary gods from the Hindu pantheon; God of preservation; can take various forms

Story from Mithya, Dr. Devdutt Patnaik

Asura
Asuras are commonly defined as demons. They live under the earth in cities made of gold. They are generators and keepers of wealth

· Shiva
Since Shiva is not worldly, he lacks the dexterity to even protect himself.
Shiva smears himself with ash, wraps himself in animal skins, matts his hair and lets a serpent slither round his neck. He is associated with a virile yet untamed bull. He is associated with snow capped mountains, caves and cremation grounds. Shiva is surrounded by all things inauspicious and undesirable, such as ghosts and dogs. Shiva is the eternal outsider refusing to discriminate between gods and demons. Shiva is content with water, raw unboiled milk of flowers from poisonous plants.

· Vishnu
Vishnu bedecks himself with ornaments and silks and sandal paste and flowers. Vishnu is associated with domestic fertile cows. Vishnu is associated with the ocean of milk and is surrounded by symbols of power and prosperity. Vishnu is a member of the society distinguishing between appropriate and the inappropriate. For Vishnu devotees bring bright fragrant flowers, processed milk products like butter and sweet.

· Mohini
Mohini means the one who can enchant. Vishnu often takes the form of Mohini.


Text from Mithya, Dr. Devdutt Patnaik


-Select a story, fable that you are most familiar with (maybe a story from childhood)
Narrate the story or write it down.

-We will the pick out the characters from these stories accompanied by their characteristics.

-We will then draw out these characters and place them collectively like a pantheon of characters.

-Lets observe if we find similar characters or common characters

-Exchange the characters and try to create a new narrative by asking questions, being more curious, following the story after it finishes, creating new situations, bringing in contemporary behaviour patterns, events and spaces. It would also be a good idea to change the look (facial expression, body language, clothes, shoes, props) of these characters.
The behaviour, qualities, look can undergo changes or can remain the same. You may add props, places, situations, news update to build a new narrative.


Folklore is a study of traditional beliefs, stories, events and customs of common people. It is a never ending process, as this store of traditions from the past is still being added to today. For as time goes on what is normal part of life for us now will gradually change and be forgotten or become a distant memory.
Bringing it out here and sharing these stories from mythology and folklore will enable us to refresh the stories in our minds long with an addition of stories unheard.
The form of drawings adds interest value, ways of exploring the characters and makes them well registered in our memory.
The exercise of exchanging these characters and trying to build a new narrative on its basis could give rise to connections that are colourful, fanciful and create a new tradition. It is also an involvement where we acknowledge, accept and include the other into our weaving of stories that we will carry on from here.

(reference from Folklore of Northamptonshire, Peter Hill)

The Leaf Song

Two explorers Rebecca Lee and Vidha Saumya bring together a coincidence of place, situation, artistic inputs, childhood activities and a new identity to the the leaves.

An assimilation of childhood activities working towards a mini guide to leaf songs.

songs recorded

information organised

design in progress

drawings to be done

tunes to be made

We will present the guide between July 7 - July 10, 2010

Gliding over Rockingham Forest

Arrival at Fermynwoods

The day I had come it was raining. I could not see the sun, the source of light and life. When the sun came out the next morning, so did the opportunity to think its presence.
Here began a ritual. Rituals play a key role in our lives. They give structure. They shape our days, our months, and our years. They serve as milestones and help us go through life in an orderly way. Rituals make us believe that we are part of a plan, that life is not random, that all things have a meaning.
Unlike stories that need to be heard, and symbols that need to be seen, rituals are communications that need to be performed.

Haldi/turmeric, Kumkum and rice
Yellow, red and white
The first ritual done in all religious ceremonies
This would also be an idyllic way of welcoming a guest or long returned relative. It is primarily a greeting, a way of welcoming.
The process, Haldi is applied to the forehead of the guest on the spot of the third eye. It is followed by the application of Kumkum and finally rice grains. Haldi and Kumkum would be made into a paste ideally using water from the Ganges, water considered holy and pure.
…
Haldi/turmeric, Kumkum and rice are chosen for their symbolic meanings.
· Yellow (turmeric) is virile a colour, colour of the sun, spreading across the sky and reaching out to the earth. The sprinkling is to invoke the grace and power of what is being worshipped. Turmeric is an antiseptic, destroying the germs as gods destroy the demons.
· Red is the colour of potential energy. Virgin goddesses are draped in a red saree. Red invokes a sense of the fertile land before the rains holding the promise of crops.
· Rice being the food sustains life; the final output that rises out of the earth and is warmed by the sun.

· Turmeric first to remove any negative energy between us
· Kumkum, red to instigate potential energy
· Rice as an ode to the beginning of a dialogue
…
Sun, Earth and Food
Here the food for me the residency that had started a, space where there were going to be two cultures interacting, coming together and maybe co-existing.

This would be how a devotee connects with the deity and divine grace.
The selection of a leaf for me was representative of the space that I was going to inhabit and the dialogue that was going to take place.
…
Dialogue
Me<> trees, space, cottages, woods, the complete woods, the county
Stories from India <> stories from England/Northamptonshire
Rituals there<> rituals here
Words and their meaning<> words and their meaning

Since I was the one coming to an already existing space I should have the one getting smeared with Haldi/turmeric, Kumkum and rice. However the woods, the trees, the space were as new to me as I was to them and therefore I decided to initiate a dialogue. At this point of time I wasn’t aware of what tree this was. However it reminded me of many trees that have similar leaf structure and hence it felt most familiar. The smearing of the Indian red was my way of welcoming myself into the space of the woods. It was a record of the greeting.

Factual reference: www.devdutt.com

Banyan and Beech

There is a tree called banyan
Hermit of the trees
story of its name not too old to find
Banyan, a British appellation
saw the bania trading under the cool beneath
Wide and strong, the banayn
Hermit of the trees
Tree of life and life beyond
Immortal it is

Immortal who are become auspicious
Like the sea, the mountains, carbon and ash

evergreen and shady
refuge for all creatures unable to bear the vagaries of life
though Not a blade of grass flourishes underneath

The over-protective parent it is
Offers shade but no fruit

For childbirth and food it is not to trust
Dejects home, flesh and material
Very distant it is to ever lust
The Rights of passage, marriage and childbirth
Major shifts in life
The banyan stands stable
a Long life span
like the soul
undying un-renewed

wives thread around
To a count of seven
Wish for the same husband
In every janam
branches become the roots
House to betals and pisaches

It is the soul, never dying un-renewed
associated with yam, the god of death

now so it happened
that we all set to
see the beech tree
many centuries old
some paths were blocked
some minds too
they had no questions
accepted everything they listened to

to all who asked and those who kept mum
the beech tree offered
something they never dreamt
studded with all sorts of green
old new leaves and chewing gums for the pigs
12 people around its trunk
28 steps within from the first sight
Some hugged it, some wished for the naked dance

Whatever would make wishes come true
often blindly trust

The beech was not new to human intervention
Some to see it grow
Some for selfish gratification
The lover’s point
Since four centuries and ten years short
The roots spread to reach to the water to the limestone

While researcher didn’t speak much
aNd answered the Frenchman
I wondered if the banyan could find
its companion in beech
since Immortal they both stood

Would wives come here and tie the sacred thread?
Will they also wish for the same husband in seven lives?

Or will there be wishes for match teams, homes and Mercedes
Matches and companions
That should quickly come and go

In all this wishing
We often forget
What they stand for

They stand alone
Against time
Seeing things live and die
Like cctv cameras for centuries

Immortal they are
Wide and strong
Hermit of the trees
No sermons no speech
The banyan and the beech

Orange carrots and red apples

Orange carrots bring out
aS the sun sets today
Fresh apple with glee
Will say hurray

Pans to be washed
Red to be scrubbed
Packets to be cut

When the stomach feels full
Please then you start
Empty palms make horrible sweet

Dice them, Grate them
do whatever you wish
lots of buttering
this will need

make the pan happy
throw the OCs in

as they sink
the apple can go
thinly sliced
core out with skin
when the pan calls
give it the apple
let the two mingle
and you stay out

yes you feel lonely
now that they are friends
they need to be
so please stay out

do other things
like ready brown and white
let the snow fall, less generously
can you see them smile?

Yes you can
Stir it just once
With a light hand
See how it melts
Blame it on eco
Now sprinkle some brown
Mmmmmmmmmm
Mmmmmmmmmm
Mmmmmmmmmm
Stop you will?
Hovering round
Let them be
Please stay out

Roast some pork toast some bread
Very generously
On it you spread
The yummy mix not very colourful
Carrots and apples
aRe here to stay

When the sun sets

When the sun sets
Make strawberry jam
Cut strawberries
Pick raspberries
Some Zest will do
Finely chopped through
aS the chaffinch plays peek a boo

aS the chaffinch plays peek a boo
And hits its head against the window
Butter the pan all clean and new
Let the Zest siZZle
Clean the wooden spoon
Some spirit in you
Let it flow too
Add the strawberries, let them make friends with Zest
For Zest they need to marry
In the pool of white and red
Let it begin to make sound
With pain or pleasure you not know
But sound they will
aS you stir them really slow


aS you stir them really slow
steel bloody
knife red

Ruby scent will flood your nostrils
Crush those peppers now
Black and hard
aDd them too
Little after start

Listen to the scent
Follow the smoke
Let it siZZle
just a little more

When it all starts to glow
massacre you witnessed
Cool it with lemon
ready to go

Take it down the heat
Look the blue has changed
The chaffinch has gone away


aNd now you can smile
Wash the honey jar
Keep it out for drying
Looking t the stars

Yes, it is, hard to leave
lovely sight of red
aS hard to finish
This horrible poetry but yet
T’will continue
When east will glow
But now you know
when the sun sets
Make strawberry jam

The Eagle Heart

the eagle heart
crumbled

aS it dies
It smells stronger
Like I found in 2006, closer to the equator
I saw again 2010
That was in east
This is in ‘the west’

What would be west for west?
aNd east for east?
Paler face
aN unspoken language
Or merely a stamp
That distinguishes cream from purple?

half ts and ks

what is the sound
that comes as the paper
tired of leaning
wants to rest?
when it moves
at no speed
half ts and ks
mini shrugs

footsteps in the right ear

footsteps in the right ear
have stopped
are they resting?
or have they moved to the ear of the other loner

Neons in the field

followed it
un-blinking
rrright through
till it hid
behind the smoke
gaussian blur of the blue
STAMPED again and again
patterns of smoke from the molten fire
GREY

BROWN
and when

I looked away
Yellow turned Pink
Green turned Black
every colour was lit
Neons in the field
t'was blue one moment
yellow the other

Salami (a salute)

slayed by the wind
little pink hearts
strewn on the cold pebbled path
like warriors
dead
yet
alive with glory
as the sun travelled
west to east
salami

The man between the leaves sits on the elder flower
going back to the womb

Panaromas I, II, III

Yoni near the cottage

The second work is more or less permanent, subject to human interference though, the act itself is an intrusion that I have subjected the pebbles and stones to. The process is to sift through so as to create a structure in a space which has been purely functional. I often also imagined the space to be viewed through satellites and see if this was visible or not; combination of the primitive and advanced technology to communicate. The structure of drawing starts from a point where it very naturally flows into becoming a shape from nothing and moves towards getting dissolved in the background again.
The structure again is of the yoni, the earth, something that gives life. The idea is to also make a space which is covered by stones hence lifeless into something that becomes alive. Like an organ which thrives.
The view often comes across as spaces from geography textbooks. It could be in fact a mini space, a barricade when zoomed into.

Circle of new life II

Circle of new life I

There was sudden loss; loss of company. I had to now fetch for new centers. The path to the cottage is covered with uniue blend of white stones; small and large and purple stones; small and large.
I started with the patch covered with small white stones. I dug a small pit. As I dug in there was a scent of the earth and the colours were beautiful; the innermost being dark and moist; progressing towards the white of the stones. It was an intrusion in the space. Then I carefully dug through the patch of soil. The soil was very black. I wondered if it was a mix of ash and soil. My efforts could be entirely in vain if it was black because of the ash. I made two yonis; one that was black and the other white. I poured water in it to make it moister. Then I encircled of the yoni, to give it shape. The pit in the white stones had naturally taken a round shape. The pit in the black soil was given shape with the white stones. I watered it once more. This was a process to prepare the earth; very similar to preparing a girl for marriage. I then encircled both these spaces with brilliant red; a colour most auspicious in Hindu rituals often leading to ceremonial references. It was also to reinforce the defining of these spaces so as to prepare them. This preparation was to prepare them for birth; giving birth to seeds that will be poured into them. In most marriages across India male and female are united by arrangement. It is seldom a choice. Often the case is that women conceive right on the night of their marriage. For me it was something similar. In the black yoni I put in ‘fenugreek’ seeds. In the white I put seeds of ‘curry leaves’. The next morning nothing had changed much. I continued to water them.
Two days later, during which it had rained quite a bit, the yoni with fenugreek seeds, had sprouted. Well the fenugreek seeds had sprouted but the carrier also becomes the container and hence nature itself I would say that the yoni had sprouted. The next morning too it rained.
As I see today the black yoni has come up. It has swollen with new life. The sprouts have given two new leaves. The white yoni wasn’t successful in giving life to strong seeds like the curry leaves. Hence I put in some ‘fenugreek’ seeds in them too. Two days later with little rain they have sprouted too.
The changes are overnight. It is like a surprise of growth that I am honoured to every morning. The process is also similar to awakening new energies and to let them be.
This growth is temporary and it would be rather sad to see them wilt away. However it is for my self as well as for the woods to see this journey of birth and death. I do not predict anything. I am merely a witness.

Krishna the Flute Player

July 8'th / July 9'th
Recreating Vrindavan in Fermynwoods.
Krishna the Flute Player will play the flute.

''Flute is the oldest musical instrument known to mankind. Everyone is attracted towards the melodious sound of flute, which is Lord Krishna's favorite instrument. Bamboo flute is the only musical instrument which is most natural and does not contain any mechanical parts. This is the reason the flute is very close to Nature and sounds very melodious when played in an atmosphere surrounded by Nature. Flute has been mentioned in the Puranas which were written thousands of years ago.
Flute along with Mouth Organ is one of very few instruments which are portable. You can carry a short flute in your pocket and can carry it anywhere with ease unlike most other instruments which are very bulky. Flute sounds best when played in the atmosphere surrounded by nature. For example, if you take a short flute to mountains or a thick forest and then play, the echo of the sound bouncing back either from the leaves of the trees or from the mountains is simply very delightful. Every flute player in such circumstances receives a celestial experience. Nature actually talks back to you. Flute being the most natural instrument goes very well with the nature. Even while playing flute you can see that birds start chirping and try to talk to you through their singing. Although it sounds very melodious, the flute player of course cannot comprehend as to what the birds are trying to communicate.

Once, Lord Krishna asked his devotees what they would like to become in his hands. Some said the lotus, some the conch, some the chakra and so on, but no one mentioned the flute. Krishna advised them to become his flute. In his discourse to his devotees, he said that in the human personality structure, as in the flute, there are 8 main spots: The five organs of perception, mind, intellect, and ego. If you get rid of your ego and become like a hollow reed flute, then the Lord will come to you, pick you up, put his lips and breathe through you and out of the hollowness of your heart, the captivating melody will emerge for all creations to enjoy. But if you will continue your attitude of dislike, hatred and jealousy, the Lord will distance himself from you, since you will be useless for his purpose. ''
http://dr-narasinha-kamath.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/08/lord-krishna-explains-about-his-flute-a-janmashtami.htm

The Walk (romanticised)

walk in the woods, meadows and fields

a line so long and straight and green

feathers and wasps

so still and rested

yellow, green and white of the unfinished house

shadows restrained

a pallette of green

garnish of white and yellow again

occasional spotting of things man-made

losing way

folklores and stories

old songs and chirps

buttercup routes

wild flower spreads

walk in the woods, meadows and fields

a line NOT so long and straight and green

Yoni : Drawings of the earth

Yoni, 2006, ink and oil pastel on handmade paper

Yoni : Drawings of the earth

Some drawings from the year 2006. They fall very well in the context of my interaction with 'nature' that will follow.

Yoni means “source or origin of life”. The ancient Vedas contain the word yoni in various contexts. The meaning of the word expanded, and got a secondary meaning "Divine Passage".

The term yoni was also used in agricultural references by the Aryans. A 'fertile yoni' meant a good harvest of crops.

the proposal

Where I come from
The culture of nature has been inculcated into most Indians since the very beginning. Respecting nature comes through daily practices like watering the basil (tulsi) plant or worshipping the peepal and the banyan tree. Hindu religious rituals encompass the medicinal and the metaphorical usage of plants, parts of trees including the roots. When nature does not get utilized in its natural form, there are ways in which it will still be included in daily practices and special occasions. In Mithila, a north eastern town of India, 'the lotus flower' is painted with other motifs like the banana leaves, mango leaves etc. in the wedding room to bless the newly married couple with physical desire, fertility and prosperity.
On the occasion Dassera (Hindu festival celebrating the defeat of Ravana by Rama, also a festival symbolizing wealth and) the leaves of a certain tree are exchanged to symbolize exchange of gold.
The rituals are plenty and so are stories behind them.
Respect and compassion for nature has always been demanded with the basic idea that the provider must be taken care of. As a child one is told not to pluck flowers or leaves because it is time for the plants to sleep. Children’s stories talk about the crying trees when the green branches are cut and the same trees offering their dry branches on their own.
These stories may seem bizarre to some but it is the culture I come from. Everyday there seems to be a struggle to keep one’s association with this culture alive. Nature being left to the whim and fancy of the thinking animal is no longer a natural surrounding. From square watermelons and tomatoes for storage convenience to carefully choreographed uprooting and rooting of trees, ground, and mud to manipulating the amount of sky we are allowed to see.

How will the residency benefit me?
As an artist and a member of the global society my concerns have been around the repetition of ideologies, beliefs, behaviour, values and culture that a generation passes to the other.
The idea of progress intrigues me on a day to day basis; when people ask, “so what are you doing these days?” A simple answer like “reading”, traveling, drawing, seldom satisfies anyone. This constant interrogation propagates a very false idea of progress. It really compels me to evaluate my idea of progress, success and growth, three words which has taken an overpowering charge over our thinking process.
We hug to ourselves the idea of progress. We like to think that we shall achieve a better state, become more merciful, peaceful and virtuous. We love to cling to this illusion without being aware that this is becoming a pretense, a satisfying myth. We love to think that someday we shall be better, but in the meantime we carry on. Progress is such a comforting word, so reassuring, a word with which we hypnotize ourselves.
At the Fermynwoods residency, I want to respond to the aspects of this persisting notion and greed for progress. I would like to use the time at the residency to contemplate on potential aspects of progress and growth e.g. waiting, observing the slowest movement and pure physical experience.
The former projects that I have come across on the Fermynwoods Gallery have inspired me further. I saw projects that enriched my experience and also set a challenge for high quality work.

Realtime work at Fermynwoods
Human interference has always been defended in the name of development (again a term not much thought about fundamentally) at times to much extreme.
As part of my project ‘I’ become the interference, an intrusive element. Here I do so to present to my audience my existence and experience through an instinctive treading of the space. If I come across something that speaks where it comes from and also bridges my culture with it, I will collect it. This will become my bank of objects. There will be occasions where I will dislocate what I have found. These found objects will build a certain vocabulary, pattern and will also serve the purpose of memories. In the act of doing so I also leave my memory in that place.
While doing the above mentioned acts of dislocation and memory building I would either follow a pre-decided path or discover a new one. Either ways the path becomes important. While following this path I want to use the camera strapped to my back to record what I will be leaving behind. Thus the memory of what I am heading towards is etched on my observation and the camera witnesses what I am leaving behind.
With observation and intuition I intend to do a series of experiments with:
Camera with audio and video facilities to my advantage
Moving around on my own in the woods
Grasping and adapting to the nature of my surroundings
Drawings, sculptures and collectibles
These experiments will take shape within a structured and stylized grammar which will help me put forth the rhythm of my experience.

How will I enrich the Residency program?
Coming from a country with diverse culture and behaviour I bring along with me a unique blend of skills and stories. I believe I will have much to offer from my references from nature, culture and questions like wise. I would be able to decipher new meanings from the space, the spaces temperament and beahviour. This would add to the existing collective data and experience of Fermynwoods Gallery.

I thus look at this residency as an opportunity for an intensive cultural exchange on a subject that is dear and of great concern. As the world goes global, we strive to keep our identities vibrating and I look at this residency as an opportunity to take this vibration across.

Vidha Saumya
01.08.09