🧡About My Region🧡

Know My Roots

🗺️मेरा इलाका: अरावली की गोद में बसा तोशाम और मेरा गाँव खरकड़ी माखवान

जब भी हरियाणा का ज़िक्र होता है, तो लोगों के ज़हन में लहलहाते हरे-भरे खेत और पानी से लबालब नहरें आ जाती हैं। लेकिन हरियाणा का एक हिस्सा ऐसा भी है, जिसका भूगोल और इतिहास बिल्कुल अलग और अनोखा है। यही मेरा इलाका है—भिवानी ज़िले का तोशाम क्षेत्र और मेरा प्यारा गाँव खरकड़ी माखवान।

⛰️अरावली का ऐतिहासिक आंचल (तोशाम का गौरव)

हमारा क्षेत्र तोशाम, केवल एक कस्बा नहीं बल्कि इतिहास का एक जीता-जागता पन्ना है। यह इलाका प्राचीन अरावली पर्वत श्रृंखला की पहाड़ियों से घिरा हुआ है।

• तोशाम की पहाड़ी और बारादरी: यहाँ की पहाड़ी पर स्थित पृथ्वीराज चौहान की 'बारादरी' (तोशाम की कचहरी) इस बात की गवाह है कि यह क्षेत्र कभी राजा-महाराजाओं के रणनीतिक केंद्र का हिस्सा था।
• प्राचीन पंचतीर्थ और कुंड: पहाड़ी पर बने 'अच्युत कुंड' और 'पांडव तीर्थ' जैसी जगहें हमारे इलाके के गहरे धार्मिक और सांस्कृतिक महत्व को दर्शाती हैं। यहाँ के पौराणिक शिलालेख इतिहास में गहरी दिलचस्पी रखने वालों को आकर्षित करते हैं।

🌾 बारानी मिट्टी और बदलता भूगोल

भौगोलिक रूप से, हमारा इलाका राजस्थान की सीमा के करीब होने के कारण अर्ध-शुष्क (Semi-arid) और बारानी क्षेत्र में आता है। यहाँ की रेतीली और दोमट मिट्टी बेहद उपजाऊ है, लेकिन इसकी एक ही शर्त है—पानी।

• यहाँ के किसान बेहद मेहनती हैं, जो पारंपरिक रूप से बाजरा, ग्वार, चना और सरसों जैसी फसलें उगाते हैं, जिन्हें कम पानी की आवश्यकता होती है।
• जब मानसून मेहरबान होता है, तो इन रेतीले धोरों के बीच बाजरे की लहलहाती फसल देखना अपने आप में एक अद्भुत सुकून देता है।

💧पानी का संघर्ष और हमारी पहचान

जैसा कि मैंने अपने पिछले लेख में ज़िक्र किया, हमारे इलाके की सबसे बड़ी चुनौती पानी ही रही है। भूजल का खारापन (Brackish Groundwater) और नहरों का आखिरी छोर (Tail-end) होने के कारण पानी का कम पहुँचना यहाँ की नियति बन चुका है। लेकिन इस कड़े भूगोल ने यहाँ के लोगों को कमजोर नहीं, बल्कि बेहद मजबूत, जुझारू और संतोषी बनाया है। यहाँ की हवा में एक सादगी है और लोगों के दिलों में अपनों के लिए बेहद अपनापन है।

 🏠मेरा गाँव: खरकड़ी माखवान

इसी ऐतिहासिक तोशाम की छाँव में बसा है मेरा गाँव खरकड़ी माखवान। यह एक ऐसा गाँव है जो अपनी पारंपरिक जड़ों से जुड़ा हुआ है, जहाँ आज भी चौपालों पर साँझा संस्कृति की महक आती है। भले ही हम पानी जैसी बुनियादी किल्लत से जूझ रहे हों, लेकिन हमारे हौसले और अपनी मिट्टी से जुड़ाव बेहद गहरा है।

My inspiration today...this macrame article

नीचे कमेंट करके अपने इलाके के सच और अपनी कहानियों को ज़रूर साझा करें। आइए, हम सब मिलकर अपने-अपने क्षेत्रों की उन वास्तविकताओं को सामने लाएं जो अक्सर अनदेखी रह जाती हैं!

XOXO

The June That Never Was: Poetry vs. Reality in Kharkari Makhwan

"Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly."

These beautiful lines by Pablo Neruda, paired with the vibrant image of blue and orange butterflies dancing over wet, lush wildflowers, paint a dreamlike picture of June. It evokes a sense of peace, life, and natural harmony.

But when I look at this picture, I am instantly reminded of a world completely opposite to this digital art—my own village, Kharkari Makhwan, located near Tosham.

For a long time, ours was a purely rainfed (barani) area. In those harsh summer days, there was no water even for the plants to survive, and the canal had not yet reached our lands. Without a single green leaf or flower, we often wondered—where would the butterflies even come from?

Over time, things changed on paper. The canal infrastructure finally arrived in our village, but the reality on the ground remains a struggle. Today, the canals rarely run with enough water. To make matters worse, our underground water is completely brackish (salty) and unfit for daily use or drinking. We are forced to rely heavily on the government water supply, which is highly insufficient for our daily needs.

This beautiful artwork of a wet June is a luxury that only abundant water can bring. For us in Kharkari Makhwan, June is still a story of survival, a daily hustle for drinking water, and a long wait for the monsoons. Beautiful poetry cannot mask the dry realities of our daily life, but it certainly reminds us of the green dream we are still fighting to achieve.

What about you? / आप क्या सोचते हैं?

"Every village and every region has its own unique relationship with nature and summer. While June is a dream for some, it is a struggle for others.

I would love to hear from you in the comments below:

• What is the water situation like in your area during the summer?
• Does your region face similar groundwater issues or dry canals?
• How does June look through your window—is it green like Neruda’s poem, or is it a struggle like my village, Kharkari Makhwan?

Share your stories, your village's reality, or your thoughts below. Let’s bring the unseen realities of our areas to light together!

Read about my village Kharkari Makhwan, and tell me in the comments—how is the water situation in your area?

XOXO

Is your business eating you alive? my niece,daughter and grand daughter

चाय की चुस्की के साथ शांत चिंतन के कुछ पल.

One of the major part of myself I have been focusing on this past year has been my creative process.  And with the Spring Equinox only just come to pass, Springing forward  into renewal and increased energy, it only seem fitting to put Winter's Reflections into action in our lives.  Or at least start sowing the seeds of renewal.

If only this were a simple idea to understand.

All energy is Relative.

Let me explain.

I've read a few books, deepened my yoga practice, am learning Reiki, and mostly I am finally learning how to take care of myself. How to say "no" to others, and how to say "yes" to myself.  How to give myself permission to meet my own needs.  How to stop when I have had enough.

"Creativity is like excrement.  If you don't expel it  it becomes toxic to you."  Clarissa Pinkola Estes

 "What?"

This is so true.  While Creative energy ebbs and flows, just like all other energy forms in our lives, if we are creative and we never expel it makes us sick.  I know there have been a few times in my life where I refused to create, and I was sick as a dog, and couldn't figure out why I was so miserable.

This past year has been about getting back to my roots, about getting back to being me.  About taking Space and making space in my life for my creativity.  About accepting myself as I am in this very moment, and accepting all my thoughts and emotions that are in me.  This is about non-judgment, of myself or others.  Just allowing things to just be as they are.  

"3 AM and I'm still awake, thinking about a story not fiction but real

 I will pen it down within a week.

All you really have is yourself.  So when shit gets tough, return to yourself and just breathe.

Laughter.  Dancing in the Rain. Believing that where ever I am, what ever I am doing, who ever I am with is no mistake.  It is exactly where I am needed.

"Learn to flow with Life, not fight it. Take each day, each dilemma, each crisis, each tear, each smile, each hug and be grateful for it." ~ Christine Marie Smith

That life is not happening to you, it is happening for you.  It is giving you whatever you need in order to learn to move forward, to enlightenment.  You only need take a deep breath and calmly look.

How does this effect my business, you ask?

I am my business.  My business is me.  :)

It's all relative.

Don't get lost in your business. But use it as a tool for rediscovery.

There is a fine line between your business swallowing you alive and having it deepen your experience and understanding of you.

Trust your intuition. Trust yourself. Trust nature.

Trust the universe.

Everything works out for the best, even if it may not seem that way now.

We don't always know what the greater plan is, we only know our little part of it.

Trust that things are happening for the higher good.

So these area my thoughts on this subject.  Balance, self compassion, getting lost maybe, but rediscovering yourself as well.

I love to see your comments, so please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with me.  

.

रेहाना अपनी बुआ के साथ.

मीठे सपनों में खोई छोटी रेहाना.

पारिवारिक स्नेह और रंग-बिरंगी यादें.

 xoxo

Where is the Sun on a Cloudy Day? Finding Hope Beyond Overcast Skies

I was sitting in my front yard during the harsh and humid month of Bhado in Haryana. Just a day earlier, we had experienced a few unusual, bright days in the middle of the typical monsoon heat and heavy cloud cover.

As I walked around the corner where the sun had previously reflected on the park's stagnant water and beamed through the trees, just the day before, the only thing that could now be seen was the cloudy grey sky that comes with a normal monsoon day. 

With a touch of disappointment, I whispered, “Oh, Mr. Sun, where did you go? Why did you leave us so soon? I needed you to stay just a little longer so I could focus on you for a few seconds. My eyes are tired and need some Trāṭaka exercise.”

The cloudy Bhado sky over Haryana, breaking the brief stretch of sunshine.

No sooner had I spoken those words than I felt a moment of deep conviction. The contrast in the scenery mirrored where my own thoughts had recently drifted.

Much like those sunshine-filled days, I had just passed through a wonderful season— the kind of season where we have the privilege of seeing God’s light shine bright and pushing through the darkness, beaming between the trees. It had been a season of renewal, refreshment, and restoration. It had been a season when dreams that would have appeared to have been dead or lost were now being given new life and shape.

Monsoon foliage in the yard, holding memories of brighter days.

Standing in the warmth of that season, I dared to dream bigger. I grabbed a notepad and pen, inviting divine guidance to shape a vision for the future. Glimpses of new possibilities began to unfold, later confirmed by unexpected calls. Big dreams often stretch us to our limits, keeping us humble and reliant on faith so that when they come true, the purpose is clear.

So there I was, with a fast beating heart in the middle of the excitement of what God was showing me glimpses of, along with my quickly bending and trembling knees. There isn't such an accelerating feeling like when God gives us a vision that is quickly followed by confirmation. I honestly don't know if my heart could handle those moments on an ongoing basis. I think I would quickly go from writing down God size dreams to standing in His presence if you know what I mean. Maybe that is why God’s glory and His dreams for us are revealed to us in glimpses so that we can live through them and fulfill His purpose.

 

Sweet friend, He wants to tend your heart too. If you find yourself in the midst of a cloudy day like I did in that season, let me encourage you. We must remember, just because the sun doesn’t shine, it doesn't mean that it's not there. Just because we can’t feel the warmth of its sunshine, it doesn't mean that it’s purpose is not being accomplished…even in the midst of those cloudy gray and overcast days. The sun is always there and it will shine again. It really will. Until then, let’s keep holding on to God’s promise; the promise that God never forgets about us or the dreams He has for us. The promise is that if we seek Him we will find Him, when we seek Him with all our heart…ALL of it!

Have you sought after Him today?

 

A cozy indoor corner holding personal keepsakes and everyday details.

A traditional Sitar resting indoors, adding a musical soul to the space.

Life Snippets & Moving Forward

Where do the days go? It feels like weeks have passed since returning from Delhi. The recent days have been a blur of rain, daily work, coffee breaks, and the endless talk of moving house.

A simple cane stool resting in the living room.

Sunlight filtering through the iron grill door into the room.

Well, it was a good job I didn't hold my breath when it seemed like something might happen with the house the other day. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened at all.

So let's put all that aside for a little while and talk about snippets here.

It is a good thing I didn't hold my breath about the house transition just yet. Things take their own time, so for now, let's set that aside and focus on these small, meaningful moments.

----

Today's inspiration 

 

 SOURCE

XOXO

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.

t

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