Pamela Copeman » A Poem & A Painting: Colors of India

A Poem & A Painting: Colors of India

Feb 24 2014 · 0 comments · A Poem & A Painting ·0

I met Irene Turner, the Principal behind Irene Turner Interior Design & Renovation, at last year’s Design Blogger’s Conference in Los Angeles. I’ve featured her on the blog before, including this post dedicated to one of her amazing Pinterest boards. Well, for the past several weeks Irene has been on the trip of a lifetime visiting India. She has been posting the most interesting, colorful and beautiful photos on her personal Facebook page. I’ve never been to India myself but have been exposed to this exotic land through various books and movies which have piqued my curiosity about this place for a long time. Particularly as I look at Irene’s photos, I find India so fascinating as it is so different that anything else I have ever experienced. From what I am told, every sense is awakened in this faraway place.

This week’s poem features the writing of an Indian poet, translated into English. I love the imagery…

“Geetanjali“

“Where the mind is without fear

and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been

broken up into fragments by

narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from

the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches

its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason

has not lost its way into the dreary

desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is lead forward by thee

into ever-widening thought and action-

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father,

let my country awake.”

– Rabindranath Tagore

To accompany the poem, this week’s painting is titled, “The Colors of India”. My inspiration, of course, came from Irene. With Irene’s permission, I painted this based on one of her photographs. I hope when she returns she is pleased with the results!