I'm inspired by many things in life and I feel lucky that it's a daily occurance for me. From oceans to un-touched beaches, architectures of different cultures and natural landscapes to everyday items, capture my imaginations during my wanderings. I can't escape the beauty of the natural world and how it makes me smile.
The places where I feel the intense power of my inspired mind are most definitely by the coastlines. Is it only me who romanticises the oceans? I've sailed many waves, walked many of the shores and wondered how could it be... there is nowhere on Earth that I find as much peace as I do by the deep blue. I can easily get lost watching a sunrise on the water's horizon, be inspired by the colours when it's time for a sunset and gaze at the stars under the moonlight.
The seduction of the blue oceans inspired me to learn how to sail. I learnt, bought a motor cruiser and then a sailing yacht to sail mostly on the Mediterranean for nearly 4 years. With every spare minute off work, the sails went up to catch the wind and I turned the wheel to the direction of my mood. Whether it was Sicilly, Sardinia or the Amalfi coast, the sunsets and the scenery were mystical yet serene. I spent my days sailing the waves and my evenings on the deck cooking, sketching ideas to the beat of the music, and at times, my indulgement even extended to a bottle of local wine. There was never a day when I didn't look at the ocean and the world around me, and smiled. Sometimes my mind would ask the most re-occuring question of amazement... how do we even exist on this rock full of water, hurtling through space into nothingness? My humble answer would always be... it's the power of magic and science.
The un-spoilt beaches of the Indian ocean are quite spectacular. Whenever I visit, I'm transported into a world that seems other-worldly. It makes me think about life and what's important to me.
Nature inspires my mind like nothing else. I love walking on the sandy beaches of the Indian ocean. I take many pictures, not just to create memories but to be inspired by our home planet. From a starfish in the process of going under the sand to stay hydrated for a few hours until the tide comes back in again, to the colour of the sands and the patterns that are created by different sea creatures and the little crabs making their temporary homes on the beach to stay alive.
I've learnt to appreciate every little thing in life and how lucky I am to be living as a human on this planet. There's no other place like it that we know of. My upbringing and my travels to explore nature has humbled me more than I can ever explain in words. Being at peace with everything and being in love with life is an extraordinary gift for me.
This busy stretch of temporary homes took my mind on a journey across the waters thousands of miles away to London and New York. And how busy the cities are with people building their own homes and going about their lives. And that comparison in my mind took me down the thought that we are all so busy just surviving. We are all so busy and lost in building everything that is just temporary, just like these sea creatures to be able to survive until the next tide.
My trip to the Indian Oceans in 2018, took me on a journey of deeper understanding of life and myself. It helped me to understand more of what's important to me and how I want to live my life during the precious time I have on this planet. I decided to live and create through my inspirations whilst helping others in whatever way I can.
Fallen trees float in the ocean and sometimes travel with tides between the islands. Sometimes they make their homes when they find a place that's perfect for them. In return they give shelter and safety to island wildlife. Whilst I was there, some wildlife even came out of the mangrove swamps, onto the beaches during the sunshine to explore and play amongst the drift woods.
The heritage, the craftsmanship, the designs, the geometry, and the colours of architecture in every city is spellbinding. How the same buildings look so different from sunrise to sunset always keep my mind wondering, how nature will always change and renew to show me a different perspective every single day.
The time I visited mini versions of all seven wonders of the world in Kolkata Eco Park. It was quite incredible! Although none of the structures are full size, they are still pretty huge.
How nature plays with architecture really fascinates me, from changing their hues in different light to the shadows they create.
I'm always inspired by my favourite cities. Whether I take a late night walk or pop out for a coffee before sunrise, how the cities interact with nature fascinates me. It's almost as though the cityscape changes at every hour to put on a spectacle of wonder. From playing hide and seek with the fog and the sun to reflections of ripples with the moon and the city lights. They remind me to self introspect, not only to help become the best version of myself, but also for the fact that, I can re-imagine my own creativity in different ways.
I learnt the art of photography from a young age and I don't possess any photoshop skills, hence everything I capture has to be live and I make adjustments to any required settings on my cameras prior to capturing what my eyes see. Sometimes I set up a travel tripod to capture long exposures, then step back and enjoy the views. They are little moments of my experiences that get etched in my memories.
I find myself being fascinated by reflections as they serve as a constant reminder to myself to self introspect, so I can improve and strive to become the best version of myself along my life's journey.
Every season, nature shows me to never give up hope. With the change of seasons, I get the chance to re-discover myself in new ways and explore how I can create differently. Every season I discover the same landscapes in different ways. It brings in new inspirations, new ideas and new hope.
Most of the images of my inspirations are taken with my phone camera as I go about living life each day.
The colours, the textures, the fragrances... I find it impossible not to be seduced and inspired by the beauty of flowers. Nature is always painting something beautiful with the most amazing colour palettes. As if by magic, it has a way of mixing colours that always work in harmony with each other. Flowers make me smile and I find myself wanting to re-create their beauty onto fabrics.