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Writer's pictureAishwarya Saigal

I said “Shiva”

Painting Description : I said “Shiva”

The novice painter in me lovingly invoked Shiva and started the magical process of giving form to the formless. The result you see, is a process spread over 16 months, of about 6 months of cumulative work days. The objective of making this video is to be able to express the artistic and spiritual evolution that takes place with art, or the act of creation.

Not knowing what you are making or how, finding things emerge out of huge strokes of color is anyways overwhelming. The struggle with the hand is a story by itself that brought me to tears many times till it literally set me free. Here I was trying to paint a hand underwater but it kept looking like a waterfall blocking my way ahead. When the first finger went down, my heart sank, I had tears and goosebumps. I spent a good amount of time feeling all the deep emotions after all the fingers straightened out and I had the whole sea in front of me.

This painting has been a blessing for me as a painter, a yogi, a devotee, a skeptic and as a seeker. Mind-less surrender to the process revealed unimaginable layers of strokes, colors, forms and brought a lot of peace and healing. I wish to share the omnipresent Grace of that we know as Shiva. And the deepest gratitude to my guru, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudeva for giving me the tools to paint my life the way I want.




I said "Shiva"

And I put the Blue.

Along came the other hues


I saw him watching

While I searched

In water, to make some earth


The human quest

In search of Him

While He watches from within


His hand lovingly held me…

Creating waterfalls while I tried

Diving into the deep sea


When I was ready,

He let go.

Unfurling his fingers Into eternity


Tears of deep emotions

Wet my canvas and made the waters.

Waves of expression carried me through borders


The temple was stripped

Down to a glow

To just a space in the know


Then He vanished!


And then He appeared…

From Violet to Black… to White

A peaceful burning Bright Light


I swam through ruins,.. with dolphins

While His hand I honed,

And made beaches that were shaped like Om


The known with the unknown

The tornado started to churn

Creating a riot of colors and forms to learn


Each swoop of the storm

Was cleansing something so old

The ashes of dissolution turning to gold


The last stroke finished

The painting automatically.

Then I looked at Shiva and He was looking at me.



~ aishwarya saigal ~18/May/2020



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It was a few months after the painting was complete that I found myself on an unplanned roadtrip that I had only imagined since i was in college. It was to my amusement that my first stop was Om Beach, Gokarna - of which I had heard but had never seen a picture of. And no i had not 'tried' to paint the Om beach in my painting the year past, but it just kept appearing in many forms. I had wanted to go to Gokarna Mahabaleshwar Temple, abode to the Atma Linga of Shiva because of my longstanding interest and curiosity with ancient art and architecture. (ancient anything)


When I reached Om Beach, I knew I was on the same journey as my painting, but i did'nt want to sound like such a loony to my own self :-) I went with the flow, and what a wonderful beautiful flow, through the land of Shiva and Shakti, through the ancient powerful temples, cultures and trees, along the changing coastline, into the forests and waterfalls, through banana valleys and Flame of the Forest Hills, to my Guru's abode, in my guru's arms, to the southern tip of the continent, up the 700 stairs of Murugan Temple (Palani) (in 20 minutes) to sit at the samadhi of Shree Bogar for an hour, and then the giant, ancient sculptures and boulders and advanced temples of Hampi. Oh what a flow!!


5 pairs of clothes, Steel water bottles, french press, computer, phone chargers, a pair of flip flops, and a pair of red canvas shoes. Nov 11, 2019 - Jan 7, 2020.

---------------------- Love and light to you!

Enjoy and feel free to share and leave a comment.

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