A Moment of Beauty

P, S and I went on an impromptu sketching expedition to Ramanagaram today. 

At SRS Betta, we started climbing up the hill, 

up each step consecrated with a dot of vermilion. 

P was climbing the steps in front of S and I. He passed through the porch of the small white temple in front of us. The darkness of the doorway was smeared across the old white walls like a  black stain

Suddenly, we heard a voice speaking through the darkened doorway. 

Then we saw this -

S and I gasped at the beauty of this moment.

Till the flame died down.

The three of us came back with lots of unforgettable memories and lots of drawings. 

While making this blog post, I received a message from P telling me he couldn't forget the Obbattu we all savoured at lunch. I don't yet know what S found unforgettable, but for me it was this, this moment that I quickly wanted to place here on my blog lest I ever forget it.

*

Quotation taken from the last page of Fludd

Lips drawn from a painting by Ambrosio Bergognone

2014

The drawing above, an old one dug out from one of my sketchbooks, was supposed to be complete for a new-year blog post, however a really bad cold and the tightest possible deadline for what seems to be the most difficult illustration ever has put a hold on it.

Instead I'd like to share this beautiful quotation with you -

The peace that we are looking for is not peace that crumbles
as soon as there is difficulty or chaos. Whether we are seeking inner peace
or global peace or a combination of the two, the way to experience it is to build
on the foundation of unconditional openness to all that arises. Peace isn’t an experience free of challenges, free of rough and smooth, it’s an experience that is expansive enough to include all that arises without feeling threatened.
~ Pema Chodron

I wish each one of you reading this, a peaceful 2014 and the time and resources to do what you really love.

My prayer for 2014