New Art Video ''Jao pakhi bolo tare'' (Fly bird, let him know)

I heard this song yesterday evening and I could not wait till morning to start painting. I have not made a video in a long time. I am not a patient person and the editing really needs a lot of attention. 

I wish the first half was shot in broad daylight as well, but then the dim lights add a rustic feel to the video, almost as if I was painting in a hut by the lantern. 

Krishnokoli and Chondona Majumdar sing the song beautifully and the musical arrangement is perfect. I am no poet, Arnab helped translate:

''Shonar palonker ghore, likhe rekhechhilam dware''

(Alone in my room, full of comforts, I wrote on the door)

''Jao pakhi bolo taare, she jeno bholena more''

(Fly, bird, fly thither -- ask him never to forget me)

''Shukhe theko bhalo theko, mone rekho ei amare''

(Be happy, be content, but do remember me forever)

''Buker bhetor nona betha, chokhe amar jhore kotha''

(With tears in my heart my eyes shed my sorrow-laden words)

''Epar opar tolpar eka,''

(My pain, too strong to bear, upsets all other feeling)

''Jao pakhi bolo taare, she jeno bholena more''

(Fly bird precious, fly thither -- ask him never to forget me)

''Shukhe theko bhalo theko, mone rekho ei amare''

(Be happy, be content, but do remember me forever)!

''Megher opor akash ore, nodir opar pakhir basha''

(The skies fly above the clouds; the bird's nest is across the river)

''Mone bondhu boro asha''

(My heart harbours immense hope).

''Jao pakhi jare ure, tare koyo amar hoe''

(Fly bird mine, do tell him on my behalf)

''Chokh jole jae dekhbo taare, mon chole jae odur dure''

(My eyes long to see him again, my heart wanders afar)

''Jao pakhi bolo taare, she jeno bholena more''

(Fly, bird, fly thither -- ask him never to forget me)

''Shukhe theko bhalo theko, mone rekho ei amare''

(Be happy, be content, but do remember me forever)

Soundtrack from the movie: ''Monpura'' 

Singers: Krishnokoli & Chondona Mojumdar (Thank you for singing this so beautifully) 

Composition:Jao Pakhi Bolo tare

 

Thank you Arnab for playing this song to me yesterday, I shall treasure it, always! 

Love you.

Dee.

Merry Christmas!!!

We went out to see the Marchè de Nöel (Christmas Market), had Vin Chaud ( Spiced up warm wine) and walked through the old town when the bells suddenly started ringing beautifully at the St. Peter's Cathedral! It was beautiful..... 

Christmas tree at the Central commercial area 

The tree was decorated with these huge handcrafted glass ornaments!

Christmas market filled with pretty handcrafted goodies!

Vin chaud straight out of the cauldron!

View of one of the city streets from the end of old town.

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas! Have a memorable celebration!

Love.

Dee.

Yesterday, we took the bus all the way upto the Swiss-France border,

this is a snap from Versoix Douane.

A quaint Christmas market is lit up with beautiful colored lamps and filled with pretty handmade things, the place smells beautiful and looks inviting. Will be going there today evening to get some snaps and some ''vin chaud''!!!!

Now it is my turn to nominate the next five to be tagged, so here they are:

1. Painted Sky Woman
2. Sandra Mucciardi
3. Gallerygirl Jen
4. Chandan
   
5. Connie

I know it will be very interesting to read their posts on this!!

''Tagged''

I have been ''tagged'' by my lovely friend  sweetmango ! I have not done this before, so please excuse me if I do something silly while being tagged and passing it on. I do have to tag someone after I am done, right? One or five? !

Okay, so the 5 things that I do to try and keep my mind healthy and peaceful and joyful are:

1. Paint: Nothing gives me as much joy, calm and satisfaction, I love the challenge of a blank canvas (how poetic!) and I enjoy the moments when I am met with unexpected magical results. 

2. Mind work-out: I try to be regular at my yoga and ''Pranayam'' , I got a routine prescribed by an amazing Yoga Guru from Calcutta on my last trip.

3. Learn: something new, through a movie or a documentary or a book or a friend. Even from the mistakes and the faux pas. Explore, doesn't have to be calculus or rocket science, but learning rejuvenates and matures one's thinking.

4. Stay Positive: Try not to delve into negativity and divert my mind through productive creative activities. There is so much that I want to do with my photography, journalling, painting, crafting (each of these : extremely therapeutic à moi). 

5. Keep good company: be in the company of healthy, thinking and thought provoking, progressive minds. I enjoy the simplicity, directness and honesty in people, sometimes even to the point of bluntness. I prefer that to conditional love.

Not very complicated, eh?!! I will tag on only after you guys tell me when and how to do that.

Thank you sweetmango, for you I paused and thought this through.

More ornaments/ wooden tablets for Christmas!

I have almost finished making four wooden tablets/ ornaments. 

Here is a sneak peek!!

''Angel of Peace'' (''Ange de Paix'')

Acrylic on wood, crackled, beeswaxed with vanilla aroma.

Ready to hang!

(They will be listed today by 9:00 pm Geneva time, will post details)

I am adding a video to this post, I sure want to visit santa up there some day!

Hope you are having a great weekend.

à bientôt!

dee.

ETSY Update: Folk art ''Angels'' Christmas Ornaments

I painted these two darling angels with acrylics (and a little ink) on wood.

I couldn't resist painting them when I found the wooden angel shapes at the art supplies store. 

The warm red of her dress and the touch of gold on her 

wand and hair led me to name her ''Angel of warmth''!

 

''Angel of Peace'' in a blue robe carrying a dove! 

The back has been patterned using an Indian hand printing block.

Signed at the back. I started late, but hopefully no too late. 

There is still 12 more days to go for Christmas, isn't it?

The snowing has stopped and it was bright sunshine today, 

angels brought great weather for sure! 

Have a great weekend ahead.

!!à bientôt!!

The scene outside: It has been snowing incessantly since yesterday. Last year we did not see this much of snow at all. The pictures here were taken this morning in front of the school that faces our building. The kids got a break from their routine classwork to play in the snow!!!!!!!! 

These two ladies in bright pink coats seemed to be having too much snow fun. 

Now, some snapshots of what happened through the weekend....

Last Friday, our very sweet neighbour and friends Padma and Peter came home for tea. They got us this super cute box of yummy Swiss chocolates! What a treat, once I opened the box, I did not have the patience to click anymore, almost finished the entire box that night itself.

 

Isn't it pretty?!!! Thank you Padma, Peter. 

Thank you for the warmth, for your love and support.

We had a lovely time.

 Here is a photo of the two of us on the 9th, Arnab's birthday!

I made Zaffrani pulao and Chicken Curry (Bengali ''Kosha'' style). 

A quiet celebration with aromatherapy (winter spice candles that smell of 

cinnamon, star anise and apple), berry cake and Bordeaux! 

That's all for now ladies.

Stay warm, stay fit and drink some mulled wine (I am making some soon)!!

Love and hugs to my beautiful readers and a big hug for your comments, they make my day!

Bisous.

Dee.

''Parrots''

I am sure most of you will be surprised / confused and wondering! This is, indeed, the same painting that I posted under ''work in progress'' some days back.I had not been able to finish this for quite some time, the events in Mumbai kept us glued to the news channels. What has happened is shocking, scary and sad. Today's post is not about what happened in Mumbai. This is a follow up on where I left with this painting.

As I sat down to work on it, I realised that I did not quite like the way it had turned out. So I changed it, changed it some more et voila! here I am. The canvas measures 40cm x 40 cm and  it is about an inch thick.