Keep your purity, I have found mine by loving my flaws, my imperfections and embracing my darkness.
Come closer and see my scars; they are the skid marks of my happiness.
I am also built on their shoulders; the women who came before.
Come closer and see their shadows in my eyes.
#EkOnkar #OmShanti #Bismillah
Innocence and sass on the cusp of entering the educational system.
My girls begin play school tomorrow @littlepaddingtonpreschool where I’ve been reassured their unique spark will be nurtured not extinguished.
When our world seemingly spirals out of control, there’s always a few options:
1. Watch really bad reality tv
2. Binge on really bad food
3. Get up and do something for others.
My friend @punjewbi took me to the Silat Road gurdwara in Singapore this morning where we did some seva, soaked in the Gurbani and philosophized over cups of chai. Getting out of our ego selves, our insecurities and intellect is sometimes as simple as using our hands- and dedicating the result to others. Selfless action is one of the staple practises of Buddhism, Sikhism and Hinduism as I understand it. But how far the India of today seems to have travelled from itself, going by current news reports of the outbreak of dreadful violence in Delhi. Either way, human values can endure if we each commit to small acts of seva everyday ✌🏼
In this world,
We walk on the roof of hell
Gazing at flowers. ― a haiku by the Master Kobayashi Issa
Via #SukeshMotwani
Repost from @esheworld using @RepostRegramApp – Actor, columnist, model, social activist, performer, philanthropist, television star and theatre personality – Lisa Ray is all this rolled into one, and then some! She has also made a recent debut as an author. In her touching memoir ‘Close to the Bone’ (@HarperCollinsIn), she writes about finding herself, healing from cancer and navigating the world of glamour.
This year, she stars in AR Rahman’s musical #99Songs and in Season 2 of #FourMoreShotsPlease. She’s also working on three more books.
She’s our cover personality this month! Read her interview on eShe.in
Photo credit: @rohanshrestha / @lisaraniray / Instagram
#eshe #lisaray #lisaraniray #eshemagazine #readandinspire #womenwhoinspire #cancersurvivor #survivorstories #womenwelove #covergirl #coverpersonality #magazinecover #inspirationalquotes #qotd #quotefortheday #womenontop #bollywoodactress #actress #author #books #authorinterview #realbeauty
So while Indian cinema is finally taking baby steps towards acknowledging same sex relationships, I need to point out the path-breaking work of director/writer @shamimsarif and her partner @hananfkattan who released this beautiful film #ICantthinkstraight about a same sex relationship between two women of colour back in 2007. The film resonated widely and continues to resonate with the audience in a way that has been very moving – all of us still receive messages about how the love affair between a woman from an Ismaili Muslim family and a woman from a wealthy Christian Palestinian home has had an empowering effect on many women’s lives and sometimes decision to come out, despite cultural opposition. Looking back today I’m even prouder of Shamim and the work we all did in this pioneering and entertaining piece of cinema. The courage it takes to make content on sensitive topics before others is tremendous and doesn’t always get acknowledged in the current day white noise of PR machinery.
Repost from @shamimsarif using @RepostRegramApp – I get messages about my first film I Can’t Think Straight every single day… people reaching out to tell me that it gave them the courage to be honest with themselves and their families. While I know that courage comes from within each one of us, I also realise the power of film and TV to give us a glimpse of how life could be. Thank you to all of you who’ve been so supportive of my journey with @hananfkattan. Here’s a clip to start your weekend with a smile #icantthinkstraight #sheetalsheth #lisaray #lesbianmovie #lgbtq #queercinema #lesbianfilms #loveislove #pride
#theworldunseen
Padma patram evam bhasa
Live your life like the lotus flower.
Thank you @esheworld for putting me on the cover of your #BreakingBoundaries March issue, and making me sound so much more wise than I am. Make sure you read my interview for nuggets such as ‘LIFE IS NEVER PERFECT, IT’S NEVER MEANT TO BE… IT’S LIKE A TIDE, EBBING AND FLOWING’ which I stand behind, but don’t remember saying 😉😂 Fortunately you’ll also find awe-inspiring personal stories of love, loss, survival and giving. So what are you waiting for? Get your copy NOW!
#ClosetotheBone #cancergraduate
March 2011, I was shot for the cover of #Femina in my chemo cut, probably a first for this iconic Indian publication. How things have changed – in this case for the better- with strong, unique and vibrant women like @m_koirala @iamsonalibendre @beneaththesheetz @tahirakashyap opening their hearts to share the most challenging parts of their journeys towards becoming Cancer Graduates. Cheers to many more stories of hope and resilience- it’s in opening ourselves to our troubles and vulnerabilities that we rise above them. Don’t ever doubt it.
#humanityfirst #cancergraduates
When @aninditaghose asked me to write a tribute for @wendellrodricks I was an emotional mess and I wrote an overwrought, stream of consciousness piece that was more about me and how I was feeling. Anindita gently pointed out how deeply ‘personal’ the piece was and somehow, I got the message. I meditated and sat with my emotions, watching the playback of so many moments of joy and deep connection with my Wendelly. Then I went back to my laptop and wrote from a place that I know Wendell would approve: from nostalgia mixed with a dash of melancholy and rhapsodic fun; the feeling I get from watching a Wong Kar Wai film. This is the piece. Wendell came to me in a dream last night. We sat on a covered bench in Colvale, where we had once sought shelter from a sudden downpour on an evening stroll. He talked to me about design ideas he’d had over the years, his hands sculpting the air, laughing bawdily. Then he looked at me with a bemused expression as if to say: ‘why so sad, I’m still here.’ He knew he had passed onto another realm, and I didn’t want the dream to end. I pressed my eyes tightly together and pushed away urgent wisps of consciousness. But of course I woke. My heart was aching a little but I understood something vital has been transmitted; something that can never be taken away. .
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‘I suspect so much of Wendell has seeped into the way I see the world; his appreciation of the expansiveness of life. This notion that what we do is not a job or career, but a calling. A belief in living out our human expression with gratitude and gumption. The confidence to push against the grain.’ @live_mint @livemintlounge @wendellrodricks
My friend @raj_bansal shared an image of this #Rangoli created for a flower show in #Jaipur. For those who don’t know, Rangoli is an art form, originating in the Indian subcontinent, in which patterns are created on the ground using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals.
It’s more than remarkable and I’d love to know the name of the artist. This is an eerily accurate replica of a photo taken of me when I played Jahanara in a theatrical production called #Taj that starred @ikabirbedi as #ShahJahan.
This beautiful piece of art also reminds me of Tibetan sand mandalas which take weeks – sometimes months – of painstaking mastery to create and then are ritualistically destroyed to signify the impermanence and fragility of, well, pretty much everything 🙏🏼
Repost from @toraniofficial using @RepostRegramApp – Shubh Maha Shivratri
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Post Sati’s immolation Shiva was alone and undertook rigorous penance and retired to the Himalayas. When Sati took a re-birth as Parvati in the family of God Himalaya, She undertook severe pains to win over Shiva. Through her devotion and persuasion by sages devas, Parvati was finally able to lure Shiva into marriage and away from asceticism. Their marriage was solemnized a day before Amavasya in the month of Phalgun. This day of union of God Shiva and Parvati is celebrated as Mahashivratri every year.
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Image: Lord Shiva and Ma Parvati giving bath to baby Ganesha. Artist: Mahaveer Swami
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#MahaShivratri #ToraniIndia #ToraniTales
Repost from @shamimsarif using @RepostRegramApp – Happy Sunday – here’s a clip from #TheWorldUnseen, my 2nd film with @hananfkattan @lisaraniray and @beneaththesheetz. It was a @tiff_net selection and ended up with 23 awards worldwide. Cape Town was a beautiful setting for us as filmmakers and for this story of quiet desires in an era that tried (but failed ultimately) to crush humanity. #icantthinkstraight #sheetalsheth #lisaray #lesbianmovie #lgbtq #queercinema #lesbianfilms #loveislove #pride #theathenaprotocol #apartheid #womeninfilm
‘The ‘Woman of Twinbeliefs’ is a totem goddess whose self is divided into this of the ground and that of the sky. Combining sameness and difference, past and present, she meditates between human and spirit. She is a restorer of singularity, revealing answers through dreams and visions, making things and people whole.’ Quote taken from my @baro.india shadowbox
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#comingsoon #sneakpeek MUH @meghnabutanihairandmakeup
Yes. Just popped the #prata cherry in #Singapore at #CasuarinaCurry
#bigyums Casuarina Curry MacPherson Rd
Repost from @photo_moustache using @RepostRegramApp – @lisaraniray
Styled by: @who_wore_what_when
Lensed by: @photo_moustache
#JLF #JaipurLitFest #latergram
Via @sadhvijawa : Amidst the turbulent situation, this is for all those who are mending, repairing, taking care, patching and stitching up crevices, slits, the holes from gun shots, slashes from lathies, rends, craters from bombs. For those making the invisible visible, for claiming power by one tenuous thread at a time, those who are uniting, pulling the fabric together despite the continuous tearing. For mending, repairing, and taking care individually and collectively.
Repost from @rajionline using @RepostRegramApp – The book stands out in all aspects, much like the author. It’s written beautifully, honest as can be, filled with facts… And hugely inspiring. It will energise you and question your conventions. The relentless optimism of the father-daughter duo will somehow seep through the pages filling you with hope and will make you appreciate the simple joys of life.
For me – @lisaraniray reinforced the courage to be impulsive, to trust my instincts and to be fearless!
And I take her message with all its essence to pass on to my children … Padma patra evam bhasa (Live like the lotus flower)
#lisaraniray #rajisreadinglist #rajisreadinglist2020 #memoir
Repost from @soniabahl.ink using @RepostRegramApp – It’s more than a tad embarrassing to be called multi-hyphenated by someone who just happens to be an actor, columnist, blogger, model, social activist, philanthropist, television star, and now an author.
. But that doesn’t take away from the pleasure of meeting the incandescent Lisa Ray. Articulate, wise, warm, funny, and a supremely attentive listener——she morphs into an ‘old friend’ within minutes. We covered the gamut: our itinerant lives, roots in Calcutta and feet everywhere from Tbilisi to Johannesburg, reading, writing, navigating a world gone askew, and bringing up third culture kids. .
Welcome to Singapore, Lisa. Gratitude for the shout-out. .
𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 @𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 • @𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗲.𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 @𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 @𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗵𝗹.𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘄𝗮𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 #𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘂𝗽 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 #𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗳𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀
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#closetothebone
#writers
#writersofinstagram
#readersofinstagram
#soniabahl
#singaporewriters
#serendipity
#bookstagram
#bookstagram
Reading to Sufi from #SitasRamayana by @sam_arni and #moynachitraker and we would do well to reflect on this line, uttered by Sita: Violence breeds violence, and an unjust act only begets greater injustice. Rama should have stopped him.’ Oh where art thou now wise ones?
#Delhiriots
Right here is holy ground.
Right here I will build my sanctuary.
Thank you @nithyashanti for direct contact with source
#thepowerofnow #thepowerofpresence #allyouneedshere
Quite simply worth the hype. This debut novel from @deepa.anappara is so full of pathos and charm I had to stick a finger in a page to pause and remind myself that these are characters, not flesh and blood kids. Vivid, somehow hopeful and pathologically immersive, it’s a legit excuse to get away from my writing desk (that blurry thing in the background)
In my life and career, I have seen the glorification of success but not often enough, discussions about setbacks. That’s why I found the new HDFC Life campaign touching and relevant. This father-daughter story is endearing and infused with the essential message of bouncing back from life’s setbacks!
#bounceback @hdfclife
“I have always been on the side of those who seek the truth, but I part ways with them when they think they have found it. ~ Luis Bunuel
