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Poetics of Passion<br />
people would repeatedly ask her about his long spells of absence, “Aisa bhi kya bana<br />
rahe hain?” Nothing fazed him and his passion to build this centre. Actually the<br />
whole family was involved and for the last three years we have all shared just this<br />
one intent that Ambica’s ‘<strong>Art</strong> Centre’ be made. There was always excitement in the<br />
air. Order this, buy that, Google for this, that and the other, contact him, talk to<br />
her, do this, go there...........Wow! The energy Didi exudes is remarkable. She has an<br />
uncanny eye for the artistic and dares to tread the road less travelled. In fact I have<br />
been witness to how it is that she leads and people follow her.<br />
In the eyes of the world, she may well be considered a successful entrepreneur, but in<br />
my eyes she is an artist whose passion drives her to conceive and create magic! She<br />
was charismatic, spontaneous, benevolent and amazingly unruffled as she went about<br />
the mammoth task. It takes courage to answer a call. And what a call!<br />
To have the vision and courage to create <strong>Art</strong> <strong>Ichol</strong> in a remote village, in the middle<br />
of nowhere, is not easy. December 2014 saw the hosting of the first residency at <strong>Art</strong><br />
<strong>Ichol</strong>. In all the years that Didi has hosted artist camps in Maihar, this was probably<br />
the first time that we did not have painters, sculptors and ceramists come and stay<br />
with us. The participating members were carefully chosen by Gopika. The people<br />
that came together for this residency were a motley group of poets, photographers,<br />
designers, artists, film-makers and many of them with multifaceted talents who<br />
inspired and were inspired by everything that we did together.<br />
The evenings we spent around the bonfire are especially memorable. There was as<br />
much laughter and camaraderie, as there were discussions on photography and all<br />
that they saw during the day and more. I remember that afternoon picnic lunch at<br />
‘Amariya – The Writers’ retreat’ where Arshiya danced as I sang, on those silent banks<br />
by the river with the sun drenching us with its warmth. I particularly remember one<br />
of our nightly reveries around the bonfire; as we sat sipping and munching, when<br />
Gopika set the mood for music and I joined in. Both of us spent many evenings<br />
singing one Bollywood song after another. Her choice of songs was perfect and she<br />
sang with such feeling that we could have sung all night. Arshiya was her sporting
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