Creativity – Blue Pen Strokes

The selection of a sacred strawberry

Writers often lament writer’s block and procrastination as colossal hurdles to a regular writing practice. While both hold a genuine place in the writers’ list of woes, it is my experience that nothing is a bigger enemy of the creative journey than ill-disposed mental health. One can create masterpieces in sorrow and carve out brilliant art in happiness but it is hard to get a grip on artistic pursuits when one is stressed or anxious.

Since mid-November 2022 until now I have been struggling – first with a long spell of flu that lasted for a month and a half. Then, somewhere during this difficult time, debilitating worry and paranoia found their way into my life. I was trapped in a maze of repetitive thoughts and stress-induced negativity. I tried many things to heal my mind but it was a lonely journey.

The biggest casualty of my mental ill-health was my poetry. I realize how delicate a device poetry is. It demands total dedication. A disrupted mental frame cannot do justice to the pursuits of the poet.

One of the tools recommended for mindfulness and healing is journaling. I do vouch for its benefits but that is a post for another day. What I discovered amidst these trials was that for me story writing is closer to journaling.

As my physical health gradually recovered after Christmas, I came across the Penfluenza 3.0 contest by WriteFluence. I decided to start writing because the theme of Ritual called out to me. Each day, I poured a lot of love and care into my draft. It slowly became a healthy diversion. My mind would be at ease at least in those crafting moments. The story itself was therapeutic.

My efforts were worthwhile because when the contest results were declared, I was glad to know that my short story was one of the winning entries. Today, I received a heartwarming message that the anthology that contains my short story is now available for purchase. Read about The Selection of a Sacred Strawberry.

Meanwhile, I tried to go back to my favorite daily activity of writing for poetry prompts. It didn’t happen. Thoughts arrived wrapped in imagery but the words wouldn’t manifest. I felt for my forsaken blog but when you are broken, you can’t create a piece that is as fragile as poetry. Short story, in my case, was the sturdier sibling of the poem!

This weekend, I returned to my blog to publish a book review. Some words formed and then they started to string together. I am not sure if I will be able to write frequently because unresolved issues still camp in my mind space. But I am trying – each day – to let go of what I cannot control and to get a grip on the things I can create.

The Creative Mind

It all starts with a vision – be it a venture, a painted artwork, a sheaf of writing – and many a times across time and space they converge. A delayed monsoon made me crave the soul nourishment of the rains and I rummaged through some of my micro-verses looking for succour. I came across two previously written poems to feature on my blog.

Yesterday, like everyday, I was browsing through The Special Mom – Samavesh, a wonderful group created by dear friend, Kreeti. A post by Joyashree, caught my eye. It was a painting by her 12-year old son, Shreyan, His art was complementing the verses I had dug out from my archives.

I reached out to Joyashree and shared how beautiful the artwork was and the words I had written. As we chatted, I got to see another brilliant piece on the theme of boats and stormy skies by Shreyan. It was touching.

In absolute awe and delight at the acrylic painting on paper, I am sharing two of Shreyan’s pieces here with his mother’s permission. Joyashree says, a fun-loving adolescent, Shreyan loves to paint water bodies and shapes.

The little boy
Floats a paper boat
In a puddle on the road
To him it is the ocean
He on a voyage aboard
Musings by ANEESHA SHEWANI

Rain-filled clouds
Like cotton glaze
On a summer sky
The sun playing
Hide and seek
A silver lining here
A rainbow bridge there
MuSINGS BY ANEESHA SHEWANI

Acrylic on Paper by Shreyan Chakraborty (12 years old)

What is most inspiring about this artwork is that Shreyan is a special child, having been diagnosed with autism at the age of 2 years. Painting is his refuge and voice. He is expressing his vision of beauty and adoration for nature. We catch a glimpse of his beautiful mind and soul through his artwork.

Shreyan is one of the many whose creativity has found a platform on Samavesh (Inclusion). Kreeti has put her full force and compassion behind this amazing group of pure souls, who bring so much joy through their pursuit of creativity. I have seen intricately designed jewelry, clay work, and renditions of music and dance on this platform.

The profile of Samavesh says, “Let’s change the narrative, celebrate and showcase their talents and brilliance, and not their challenges.” Challenges, however, are a part of life and here is a shout out to all the lovely parents who are helping their children overcome everyday hurdles – one hug, one encouraging word at a time. Thank you, Joyashree, for bringing brushes and paints to Shreyan to brighten our world.

To learn more about collaborating with Samavesh and endorsing the work of these children, you can write to: contact@thespecialmom.org

Daily Grind

Sublime requests
Of my creative mind
Overturned by demands
Of a cerebral strife.
Shackled to cubicles,
Paints and brushes
Paper and ink
Yarn and hooks
Painfully exchanged
For butter and bread.
Amusing musings
Garrulous silence
Thoughts playing
Hide and seek in
My restive mind
Wanting to break free
Of the daily grind.
Unfinished pages now
Brittle and yellow
Mocking blank canvas
Waiting for a splatter
Of pictures and words.
My mind is where
I left the crochet hook
An unfinished work
I can’t wait to unravel
Start the lace afresh
As new patterns emerge.

Writing for Pleasure or on Pressure?

Let me start the first day of a cold January by penning down questions that have been perturbing me since I restarted blogging. Let’s talk about the pressure of remaining high up on the WordPress Reader or search engines or being relevant every single hour on social media platforms. Do you feel pressurized to churn out content, incessantly? Do you fear reader engagement or readership on your blog will fall if you don’t publish regularly, daily, or even every 12 hours to reach audience across all timezones? Do you write for quality or quantity?

The dilemma is so real that a pleasurable hobby like writing or even reading has become a competitive exercise. We see reading challenges all over the Internet and people reading and reviewing books on tight schedules. The numbers are met, records made, challenges completed, several authors reviewed, more complimentary books received, a sense of satisfaction achieved, but how much did the reader actually absorb, remember, or imbibe for a deep and lasting impression.

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