Krishna in My Niche: My Daughter's Love for Krishna and My Shawl in Progress

I love Krishna  as the charioteer to Arjuna. My daughter, too, beautifully describes her love for Krishna, Mary, and Mona Lisa.

Here is another sculpture of Krishna as the charioteer to Arjuna in the Kurukshetra_War, placed in my wall niche. This sculpture was created years ago right in front of my house by wandering street artisans. These vendors used to roam the city streets, crafting sculptures of Gods, Goddesses, birds, and other figures using old kitchen utensils and scrap metal. They would dig a small hole on the roadside, light coal furnaces, melt the metal, and pour it into various molds stacked in their large rag bags.

Krishna and Arjuna's chariot sculpture crafted from an old TV antenna, neatly set in the wall niche.

In a way, they transformed the heritage of people's traditional, large metal vessels into something new. I was completely fascinated by their craft and asked them to make this chariot for me using my old TV antenna.

Oh, I truly love this niche.

Here is another piece made from a melted aluminum pan. It is quite different from the first sculpture—just examine the legs of the horses and see the contrast.

This image shows the sculpture placed against a navy blue velvet background, while another photo captures it resting on rich maroon silk.

O Lord Krishna! I pray to You, please do good to everyone on this earth.

this is another one with molten aluminium pan! Yes not the same as the previous sculpture!!! Just examine the legs of horses!!!! and see the difference!!!!!!!!

The first hand-cast aluminum chariot sculpture showing intricate details of Krishna and Arjuna.

A Daughter's Poetry and Reflections

Recently, I stumbled upon a blog post featuring my daughter Vipin's poem, where she expresses her deep spiritual and artistic connection to Krishna , Mary_ and Mona_Lisa.

The second chariot sculpture made from a melted aluminum pan—notice the distinct shaping of the horses' legs.

this one is the same as its previous one.............

Side-by-side comparison of the two handcrafted metal chariot sculptures.

The silver-finished Krishna chariot sculpture displayed against a rich maroon silk background.

Here i took the photo on navy blue velvet!

उस वक्त मैं प्रेम में थी.

अब मैं कृष्ण की कलाओं में उतर चुकी हूँ.

द्रोपदी का लम्बा वस्त्र बनकर एक चमत्कार में ढल चुकी हूँ.

मैंने साध लिया है सीता का अखंड सौभाग्य.

आजातशत्रु के खेमे में जाकर खड़ी देखती हूँ.

मरियम-सी उदासी मेरे तलुओं पर चिपक गई है.

मेरी स्मित में मोनालिसा के होंठों का भेद शामिल हो चुका है.

हवाओं के अणुओं में बंद सरसराती लिपि.

व्याकरण समेत पढ़ ली है मैंने.

कहने की ज़रुरत नहीं.

मैं इस वक़्त प्रेम में हूँ.

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Mother Mary and Mona Lisa—artistic inspirations reflecting deep emotional and spiritual dimensions in Vipin's poem.

Mary_..................................Mona_Lisa

उस वक्त मैं प्रेम में थी

A thoughtful reader shared this comment on her work:

"विपिन की कविताएं पढ़ना हमेशा एक अलग सुकून देता है. उसका लिखना और छपना इस मामले में खास है कि उसमें बनावटी नफासत शायद ही कभी मिले. छपने को लेकर वह निहायत निर्मोही है, और उसका हरियाणवी खांटीपन उसके वजूद में झलकता है—वही उसकी असल पहचान है. बिना किसी हो-हल्ले के उसकी आवाज हमेशा कायम रहती है."

Hop on over HERE to read rest of her poems over there.

My Favorite Knitting Moments

While reflection and art nourish the soul, my hands stay busy with yarn. Knitting is pure magic. In the beginning, it is just loose stitches on needles, but suddenly, the true shape of a shawl emerges from the pattern.

A peaceful moment of hands at work, turning a ball of soft white yarn into a warm knitted shawl.

A peaceful moment of hands at work, turning a ball of soft white yarn into a warm knitted shawl.

It's magical every time. 

That's when the knitting goes from being a few bits that are knitted a little here and there, and suddenly you catch what it's going to be. Inside all the masks a shawl appears.  

see and be seen...

How cool is this?

A close-up view of the intricate knit pattern and the 3-ply yarn picked up from Patel Nagar Market, Hisar.

There are specific moments in knitting that I treasure:

• The Turning Point: When individual rows transition into a recognizable fabric.

• Crafting the Tassels: Wrapping the yarn repeatedly to add three-dimensional weight and texture.

• The Final Cut: Binding the edges and cutting the tassels evenly so it finally transforms into a cozy shawl for your shoulders.

It is a shared pleasure, as this moment contains the rounds with decidedly same stitches in each round, and are the momentous  rounds, but hello! - it's a shawl  here soon! 

I got hold of this three ply yarn. It was a friend who advised me that this ingenious invention existed. 

It is 0.5 mm thick, 3 strands and some  "staple" is 100 meters and this cost 25, - The yarn can be purchased from patel nagar market,hisar.

Now I'll just figure out something cool to use this 3-ply yarn for. 

Recently, a friend recommended a wonderful 3-ply yarn (0.5 mm thickness, 100 meters per skein). I picked it up from the Patel Nagar Market in Hisar for just ₹25. I am looking forward to trying out a new pattern with it soon.

Other good knitting moments are when making tassels of the shawl, and suddenly wrapping  and wrapping again and again.   Oi! You work  in 3D! Three-dimensional freezing down the back.

Finally, I will have my third favorite moment on my shawl; when you bind the tessels and put the scissors to cut them evenly  so that the shawl  is suddenly a fabric to wrap around your neck and shoulders. Horror and fun all at once. 

What is your favorite moment in knitting?

XOXO