manisha gera baswani

Flora Fauna Filligree

Mile Stones of Memory

I ran through the Havelies and courtyards, looking out through the jharokhas, smelling the roses, hiding behind the pichwais. I was the nayika. I was in love. In each brush stroke, with every leaf that blew in the wind - I spent endless nights pushing the intricacy and detail in creating illusions of depth on the flat surface. I opened the portals into the havelis that I could see so clearly in my mind.