Temptress and Temptation

The pell-mell of twenty-first century living, leaves very little time for nostalgia or musing. On Sunday evening, to celebrate the first anniversary of Art Musings, I was held in the thrall of an exhibition titled Eden Revisited curated by the bon vivant Shanti Chopra. That the exhibition boasted works by luminaries of the art world -- Anjolie Ela Menon, Husain, Raza and Paresh Maity, together with Subash Auchat, Sakti Burman, Arpana Kaur, Satish Gujral, Baiju Parthan, Neeraj Goswami & Samir Modal -- underscored the simplicity of the quaint, yet smart gallery.

To escape into the simplicity of `Eden Revisited' -- where Adam made the quick fire temptation decision to indulge, thus creating the genesis of mankind seemed quirky, cheeky and a fatalistic core to the art works culled from the theme of Adam and Eve. Replete with snake and apple, the artistic license indulged in was a visual treat. Lulled into this charming world of temptress and temptation, I marvelled at the sheer escapism that the genius of these masters of Art had created as though from the tapestry of life itself.

Being very, very partial to my `Soul Sister', Anjolie Ela Menon, I was struck by the magic that her three works, placed at the entrance, wrought in its evocative message: At Last The Apple. ``The inevitability of the journey from innocence to knowledge being as significant today as it was in the garden of Eden." Poignantly, it points out that "we willingly embrace the consequence of sin, hurtling towards the abyss with reckless abandon in pursuit of sweet ecstasy." How well it mirrors our own vulnerability and takes us to the crux of `Eden Revisited.'

The warmth of Shanti's personality was infused through the attentiveness of son Sumeet, with wife Apeksha, daughter Sangita and close friend Tarun Raghavan. They ensured the flow of chatter and wine. Access to the works was constant.

`Julie' was queen bee without a doubt, as her presence in our midst was the cause of genuine excitement and curiosity. Kavita Singh looked lovely in a sunflower yellow shirt, as she mingled, recounting the wonder of a recent vacation to Bali and the labour of love that was her new home in Alibagh.

Dr and Mrs Panday, with their attractive daughter-in-law, Deanne, were avid fans of Anjolie and had no compunction about stating it to her, bringing a shy blush to her cheeks. To be truly famous is the privilege of very few but to take the attendant attention and a flow of fulsome compliments with the simplicity and humility of a great soul, can be encapsulated as the essence of Anjolie Ela Menon.

Having known `Julie', as the family lovingly calls her, for three score and more years, I feel privileged and blessed to have her in my life, as the elder sister I never had. She has been there for me, with the sheer dynamism of what I consider destiny but most would call coincidence. In Rajan's fatal few hours, in the medieval mediocrity of Deen Dayal Upadhaya Hospital, it was Julie's presence that helped me through the holocaust of my existence.

In the aftermath of my fight, to bring a semblance of reality to my world it was Julie who helped with her simple advice, strong loyalty and bonding, as few of us are truly capable of doing. In Anjolie's works, I see an echo of strong women who are shrouded in the inevitability of life, with pain being both motivating and destroying forces. In the circle of life, her mother and child figures are beamed in a cosmic elevation of filial duty and love, that finds a resonance in one and all.

To Anjolie, must go the final credit of conveying such powerful emotive subjects, when indeed her own life is one of sublime grandmotherhood. If women need to be inspired in this year of women's empowerment, no single woman I know comes close to the role model of perfection that embodies the spirit of womanhood, more than Anjolie Ela Menon.