3 questions for Aishwarya
Aishwarya is an Indian native, who arrived in Dakar in October 2020 and ever since she has kept herself quite busy! Not only is she an English teacher, a Meditation and Kundalini Yoga guide but also an extremely talented poétesse ! Passionate about the creative arts, she opened her beautiful and cosy home for the first artists.must.meet event.
Can you tell us more about what brings you to Dakar? How Senegal has been treating you so far?
Moving to Senegal has been nothing less than walking into the the unknown for me. The moment, my life partner asked me if I was ready to take the plunge with him to a faraway land unknown to me, I knew it was exactly the kind of thing I should do. However, I had my doubts and apprehensions, just like anybody testing uncharted territories, haha! And Dakar, He rewarded my daring decision by being the most pleasant surprise ever.
I have enjoyed every single day in this beautiful, multi-faceted city ever since we got here. I wake up every day counting my blessings as I would do in any part of the world, but Dakar is not going to let me go so soon, he wishes to bless me more and I can’t say no. I’ve been blessed with a beautiful circle, plenty of soul nourishing things to do and sunlit sandy shores to settle my feet in. I couldn’t be more grateful.
"I wake up every day counting my blessings as I would do in any part of the world, but Dakar is not going to let me go so soon, he wishes to bless me more and I can’t say no."
You have so many beautiful art pieces in your beautiful home, what are your favorites?
That’s right. I have to be honest with you. I was not exposed to as much art as I’d have liked to be. Back in India, the creative arts struggled to find the light they deserve, at least in my time, and in my life. Despite having an inner knack for them, I couldn’t meet them externally, until much later.
Most of the art pieces in our house were noticed, admired and brought home by my partner, Nicolas who has an incredible eye for artistic expression. But if I had to choose one, it would be the three piece portrait of a young girl which also adorned the stage for the event. It really does speak for itself as it keeps emoting an innocent joy while hanging on the wall.
It is also extremely special to me as it was co-creation. Me and Nicolas envisioned it together and requested a team of brilliant artists called “The Delhi Street Art Crew” to bring this painting into life, all we had was a picture of a young girl with eyes that spoke and voilà, this masterpiece was born...it’s hard not to notice it, to not be moved by it and basically love it. And so it had to move with us all the way from New Delhi to Dakar.
"If I had to choose one, it would be the three piece portrait of a young girl which also adorned the stage for the event. It really does speak for itself as it keeps emoting an innocent joy while hanging on the wall."
From the day you fell in love with Poetry, how has the journey been?
Long before I fell in love with poetry, I had fallen in love with the written expression of emotions. It was only after I had written for a couple years and seen how it made people feel, that I started feeling the same way when I read poetry. You see, I started writing when I was 9 and my scribbling were found by my then teacher, and now a dear friend, Miss Sheetal Bisht, who urged me to never stop writing.
I remember I wrote her a register (a long notebook) full of poems during my winter vacation to present to her and oh, she was moved. If I write today, is because she made me realise it makes people feel different emotions in a certain way they long to feel and each time I write, words come together with a mission. As I grew, I was exposed to more and more poets and poetry and the entire journey has been like a homecoming, of knowing that there were others, who could put to words the unspeakable, and ooh, in such beautiful ways did they articulate the most complex emotions and the deepest thoughts, that it has been a love affair ever since.