Heritage Art

Art has always been very close to my heart. I really enjoyed art when I was growing up, and what I love about art is that it has always been my hobby. I did not take art in university. I took economics, which is a subject I love, and I also did English literature. In college, however, I did do psychology, which was one of my favourite subjects.

The beauty about things we enjoy doing - like our hobbies - is that they ground us. Most often, things get in the way. Like work. Like paying the bills and other important things. And we cannot find time for our hobby. But on days like this, where I manage to finish everything on my list - well, almost everything - and I actually find time for my hobby, like that piece of artwork I have been trying to complete, and I manage to finish it? I feel so glad.

I think it is so important to stay in touch with our hobbies. Things that are close to our heart. These are the things that make life exciting. That make us feel happy and proud.

I love going through my art book - all those art pieces I have completed and those that I am still working on. The Warli art that depicts village life, and Gond art from tribal life, is what has always been so close to my heart. These Indian heritage arts have always attracted me and made me think about those times back in the day. I loved the chapter we had in history on the Indus Valley Civilization. I used to sometimes look at the pictures and imagine how it must have been to live at that time.

I remember making projects with shoeboxes, leftover things, clay, chalk powder, fabric, and other amazing things. My projects were always displayed on open day. My teachers always encouraged me and said I was very creative. I would love to find some time and make one of those projects one day - not for any purpose, just for the love of them.

This episode is a gentle reminder to return to the things that made you feel alive as a child. Whether it's painting, building, sketching, or simply imagining ancient civilisations through pictures - your hobbies are not a luxury. They are a lifeline. They ground you when work gets loud and bills pile up. They remind you who you are beneath all the responsibilities.

So take a moment. Open that old art book. Finish that half-done piece. Or just sit with the memory of clay, chalk powder, and shoeboxes. No purpose needed. Only love.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to today's podcast about something very close to my heart. Something I really enjoyed when I was growing up. Which is art. Art has always been very close to my heart. I enjoyed it when I was growing up. And what I love about art is that it has always been my hobby. I never took art in university. I took economics, which is a subject I really love. I also did English literature, which was really lovely, very creative, and I really enjoyed that. And in college, um I took psychology, which is also one of my favorite subjects. So the nice thing is when you take subjects that are close to your heart, things that you remember when you grow up, and things that you remember you enjoy doing. The beauty of hobbies is that they really ground you and really bring home things what you enjoyed doing when you were a child. Because most often things get in the way growing up, working, rent, mortgages, paying the bills, etc. etc. And all these things become really important, and sometimes we cannot find time for our hobbies. But on days like this, where I somehow manage to finish ticking the boxes of everything, well, almost everything on my list, and I can actually find time to sit down and complete that piece of artwork which I have been trying to complete. And looking at it, I feel so glad. It gives you a real sense of joy and pride and happiness looking at something that you enjoy doing so much, and it just feels great. I think it's so important to stay in touch with our hobbies and doing things that are close to our heart because that's really what makes life so exciting, that makes us feel so happy, so proud. Whenever I go through my art book and I look at all those art pieces that I completed and the ones that I'm still working on, the ones that are still incomplete, it gives me so much joy. I've always, always loved Indian heritage art. I love Wally art, the art that depicts village life and art which is gond art, the tribal life. That has always been very close to my heart, just creating with those lines, with those patterns, and that whole feeling of being mindful, being relaxed. It just takes you into a lovely zone and just really, really centers and relaxes me. These Indian heritage art have always attracted me. And I remember when I was little, I used to look at them and I used to try and imagine what life was back in the days. In history, one of my favorite chapters was the Indus Valley Civilization of Mohinjadaro and Harappa. And I used to look at the pictures and I used to imagine what life was, and it was almost like coming to life, like a movie. And I used to look at them and I used to really be amazed at the things they achieved at that time. I remember making projects with shoeboxes, leftover things, clay, chalk powder, fabric, mud, sand, shells, and it was just so amazing, you know, just being creative. And I remember my projects were always displayed on open day. My teachers always encouraged me, and they said that, you know, I was being very, very creative. And I I just loved making those projects because they just brought so much joy. And once they were complete, I used to just really feel so proud. In fact, I would love to find some time one of these days just to make those projects, not for any purpose, but just for the love of them, really. Spend that time and try and perfect them and use items which are like recyclable or items which we can just, you know, get chucked away. That would be really, really nice, actually. Just for the love of it, just for the joy of it. And try and actually get to complete it. That would be that would be interesting. The beauty of doing things we enjoy is that they really ground us. Just connecting with things we did when we were children, it just really connects with our creative mind, with our heart, and you know, brings back lovely memories. I think it's so important to stay in touch with hobbies, things that are close to our heart. And try and find time for those, because life sometimes can get in the way, and things we find important do get in the way. But these little things make life so exciting, make us feel so happy, something to look forward to, really. So today is just been one of those days where I'm just holding this lovely piece of art and just looking at it, admiring it, and feeling really, really glad. I was looking at it and thinking, I could have maybe used this color instead of that. Um, the leaves, I maybe I could just make an extra border around them or add a different shade of dark green around it. I'll probably do that tomorrow. I will probably add a few more shades of green and make a few more patterns, and yes, I'll probably do a border because I haven't made a border. But uh, the gone painting and the wall-ly art, they look nicer with a border, so I'm going to try and find time to do that border as well. But uh, yeah, apart from that, it's been such a lovely day here in London, it's been sunny, it's been relaxing, and I hope that wherever you are listening to this, you do manage to find a little bit of time and do something that you enjoyed doing when you were a child, something that's a hobby, um, which is just you know, just not for any specific purpose, just for the love of it, really. So I hope you find time to do that. I hope you enjoy doing it, and at the end of it, feel really proud and really glad. And I hope it brings back some really, really lovely memories of when you were a child. Thank you so much for listening. Hope you have a fantastic weekend.