Zentangle

And there she was against a big black iron gate - a garage opening - where her art lay hanging on the railings. Black and white mainly but with occasional splashes of colour they are, what she describes as zentangle art. This immediately reminded me of my son whose doodles grace his walls, his pen leading him into a calmer, wider world where he can focus on the specific or see the bigger picture. She does the art for the same reason, to add sanity to her weekends so that she is not nagging her husband about the minutia in life. She moves them adroitly onto a white sheet and compartmentalises them and makes them visually attractive and does so knowing there is no perfection but purpose. 

Her name is Aakanksha which means desire and she explains that her parents had two children.The first was a boy and welcome he was. But they wanted a girl (hurray)  and they waited ten years for her to arrive. Their desire for her was overwhelming and embracing so her name says it all.

She is a lovely woman, the kind that I know India can raise. Kind, smart, funny, creative and independent. Aakanksha is a surgeon working in the Jaipur Hospital and this is what she does on her time off. Her dad keeps telling her to add colour but somehow she is happy mainly with the black and white effect and you can see why. 

Now my friend Catherine said I should not let her buy any more art this trip. So I have failed miserably in keeping her from this. She bought one of her drawings. I have however succeeded in finding a new friend and a story that we can both delight in.