Finding Buddha
“Finding Buddha’, reflects the philosophy that
Buddha is in everything that makes one happy. It has no fixed time,
geographical boundaries or defined monetary value. Buddha can be a moment in
the rain or a sip of a freshly brewed coffee. Buddha is in anything that
awakens our mind and allow us to be in-tune with our inner self.”
These thoughts reflected in the viewpoint of the
artist made us visit the exhibition that held in Indian Habitat Center on March
20th, 2017. “Hosted by Atul Todi”, was mentioned on the invite. What made us
curious was the stand taken by this person with respect to Buddha. According to
him, ‘Buddha’ means the ‘Awakened One’, someone who has woken up from the sleep
of ignorance. This awakening happens with the recognition of ones source of
happiness. For generations, Buddha paintings have shown him as a symbol of
meditation. They do not imbibe the true message of ‘Buddha’ or connect with
today’s generation." And we couldn’t agree more!
Stuck somewhere near the venue, our eagerness went
notches higher. That’s when we started questioning ourselves, why? Why are we
going to this exhibition? Why do we need to be there? Why were we
wanted/needed? Little did we knew, we were about to be awakened from a complete
distinctive frame of reference!
“Hi, I am Atul Todi, Sorry for kept you waiting”,
with a vibrant smile, a person in early 30s maybe, greeted us with a firm
handshake. There was something about him which was different. His walking
style, or his way of speech or maybe just a divergent perception towards life.
He then started showing us his work and explaining what his magnificent piece
of art wanted to express.
What is a Buddha moment? Is it tangible? Does it
stays forever? What is the validity of that moment? What makes us realize that
this is it? With numerous questions in our minds, we began noticing the small
things in life, we started realizing how simple, subtle and very basic things
and moments in our life can make drastic changes in our lifestyle and the ones
around us. Any moment can be Buddha moment, be it finding a parking spot when
you actually need one, or maybe when you are having your favorite coffee, or
let’s say, that moment when you are enjoying your “Me Time”. Everything was
haywire, yet everything seemed perfect.
Starting with the painting of Buddha holding a
lotus with a bee hovering over it represented pollination and this idea was
ingested by the fact that when we learn something, even that is Buddha moment. Then
there was one where he was drinking beer, then one where he was engrossed in
his starbucks coffee, one with a guitar, one with a bong and others.
There is a distinction between a traveler and a tourist.
Tourist is hallow, traveler is deep. For him, the destination is not the aim,
the journey is his fun! He will have more memories of the journey rather than the
destination. And that something is a Buddha moment! Yes!! That’s how deep this
thought goes. It can be anything, it can be anywhere, and it can be with
anyone.
Imagine your crush saying, “Hi” to you for the very
first time..Imagine seeing tears in your father’s eyes when you achieve
something you both have been longing for long..Imagine that approving smile on
your mother’s face when you make her meet the love of your life for the very
first time..Imagine getting your college degree..Imagine making love for the
very first time..Imagine your first kiss..Imagine that moment when you want to
go back early and you get a half day off..Imagine when you have been craving for
water and finally you get some..Imagine when you reach somewhere on time despite
leaving late..Just imagine..
These small things are those which makes life
different yet we don’t realize..
Consolidating today’s lifestyle with the thoughts
of Buddha is what the art of Mr Todi expressed. Acknowledging his viewpoint,
that Buddha is not just a piece of furniture anymore, there is more to it. He
is somewhere lost in the cobwebs of the city life and this was his attempt to
make people realize that he is still there. He is still present. Oblivious of
things that we ourselves do, he is present.
MaCkY ;)
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