I fell in love with Mandalas 11 months ago ! It was a Thursday ( 23rd of May 2019) afternoon when I was relatively free and planning to relax when I opened a post sent by my dear friend Sangeeta. It was a beautiful Mandala with a title ‘ Another Mandala after a long time’. I instantly fell in love with it ! Actually, this was not the first time that I was seeing a Mandala. I had heard about Mandalas, seen some Mandala colouring books, but never had I felt this kind of attraction towards them. Like a person possessed, I searched the net for information on Mandalas. And I think I was meant to do this search , because for the next 40-45 minutes, the wifi stayed steady and I could watch some lovely and informative videos. One particular video caught my interest, as it talked about not the completed Mandala, but the meditative process of creating a Mandala. Looking back now, I believe all these things were preparations for my Alphabetical Mandalas during Lock down.
If I had not been drawing Mandalas, I would never have thought of posting something every day during the Lock down period…..and the write ups going with the Mandalas sort of evolved over time.
To go back to my story……watching the videos on internet prompted me to try out a Mandala…..it was a small one, not very intricate , so took me only 20 -25 minutes and I sent it to my friend. She appreciated it very much , which encouraged me to try out two more Mandalas with colour pencils, and sent them to a few groups of family and friends. Here too I received tremendous encouragement….and now I was wanting to draw a Mandala in every spare moment.
I was not very happy with the colour pencils…the lines were not sharp enough, so I switched to gel pens. Here again I found 2 gel pens in the house immediately …( I believe all these arrangements were indicators that I was meant to practise this art )…. then there was no stopping me ! I started creating a Mandala a day ! ( and when I couldn’t create one, I felt something was missing ! )
When my son Satyajit had been studying in a Steiner school, the students had an art subject called ‘Form drawing’. I had attended one workshop on this subject and enjoyed it enormously. I had filled 2 drawing books with these repetitive and artistic forms, which I found now. Mandalas reminded me of the joy I had experienced while practising Form drawing…and now Mandala drawing gave me so much more Joy, because I was not copying anything….I was creating it ! And I cannot thank enough all the friends and family who encouraged me, appreciated me, praised my Mandalas and gave me tips to improve.
I continued to spend every spare moment for this art…..to the extent that I was carrying a pen and a drawing book or sketch pad wherever I went and drew the outlines of a Mandala when I had a free moment. So I drew Mandalas at the end of my OPD, outside the airport waiting for my son to clear his immigration, during the boring lectures at a conference….and even when I was waiting for my turn in Tata hospital for my regular follow up ! ( A funny incident took place here….I was waiting for an echocardiogram and was lost to the world as I was immersed in a new Mandala…the nurse who came to check the BP thought Manoj was the patient…I probably did not look anxious enough to be a patient to her… and she was about to tie the BP cuff on his arm ! )
And now, something about the process itself….
For me, drawing a Mandala is a wonderful combination of Relaxation and Awareness ! ( which is what meditation is all about ! ) The creativity can emerge only if I am relaxed ; and the actual drawing is smooth only if I am totally Aware of what I am drawing.
Personally, I don’t decide the shapes or forms in a Mandala beforehand. I relax and just allow the shapes / forms to come to me. Almost all my Mandalas are freehand; only occasionally have I used instruments to draw lines or circles. ( I find that using instruments hampers my creativity ) Though I am basically not an artist, the lines just flow through my hands…effortlessly….and I am filled with Joy and Peace as the Mandala takes its form. It is amazing how a few lines or dots can create wonders on paper .
I continue to be surprised at the completed forms. It is not I who created the Mandala…it was already existing, waiting for someone to give it a physical form…and that someone just happened to be me ! I am really lucky and blessed that I was chosen to be that someone ! I can feel the Peace and the relaxation and the Joy flowing through me…throughout my body…touching me, caressing me, healing me !
Actually, it is very difficult to describe in words what I feel as the Mandala goes through its various stages..from inception to completion…I can only say that,” For me drawing a Mandala is as powerful as a meditation….it IS meditation for me !!”
During the initial months, I was creating a Mandala almost every day. But slowly, the frequency was reduced and I started drawing for special occasions, like Ganesh festival, Diwali, New year etc. In the meanwhile, a friend gifted me with a small sketch book in which I could draw miniature Mandalas ( Incidentally, this is the book that I have been using for the series of Alphabetical Mandalas ) , another friend brought lovely pens which I was not getting in India. I conducted a Mandala workshop for a large group of Senior citizens in my society, and also a few individual classes for friends and family. But as I said earlier, I was unaware that I was slowly but surely, being led to the culmination —- the Alphabetical Mandala Series !
Once again, let me thank all of you for your keen interest in my Mandalas and my posts,
