Balancing the mental chatter like the lady balances her matkas often leads to a peaceful state of tabula rasa. We carry upon our shoulders the burdens of yesteryears, the stresses of today and the desires of the future. They seek our answers like the ghost Betaal who sits on King Vikramaditya’s back and doesn’t leave him until he gets his answers to the riddles he poses. To balance is art, to carry that balance is artfulness!
From the series titled, “Tabula Rasa…for a new beginning”!
Tabula Rasa in Latin means a clear slate, and originates from the Roman tabula or wax tablet used for notes, which was blanked by heating the wax and then smoothening it, to give a tabula rasa. In Psychology, it relates to the theory that at birth the (human) mind is a “blank slate” without rules for processing data, and that data is added and rules for processing are formed solely by one’s sensory experiences. And so in order to reach for his goals and desires, despite the setbacks that one has faced, one needs to clear his mind to reach a tabula rasa and start afresh. In this series, the artist has exhibited pictures those describe the meaning of ‘Tabula Rasa’, ‘before it is reached’ and ‘after it is reached’ in the human mind.
Shivani Pandey 