Himani Paints in the Himalayas

At the end of my visit in Pune (winter 2009/10) I took the flight to Delhi. The temperature in Pune had been pleasant, warm during daytime and cool in the nights; in Delhi it was also warm during daytime and outside, yet cool inside the houses. From Delhi I traveled for the second time to Nainital, Uttarakhant, not by train, but with an overland taxi. This gave me the opportunity to take more luggage with me. I had planned to carry painting material with me to fulfill my dream of ‘Himani paints in the Himalayas’.

I chose a big role of canvas (5 m x 1,5 m) and some 500g plastic containers with acrylic colors, some brushes, sponge…. The shopping business took hours, so I started late and arrived in Nainital at 2,000 meters above sea level only around midnight beginning of February. Oh my – was it cold! Fortunately the Hotel City Heart (it is mentioned in Lonely Planet and other travel guides) provides hot water bottles for the guests in the evenings.

First morning, first walk to the clothes market to buy two warm sweatshirts and one woolen pullover/dress. My beautiful warm shawl from Dharamsala was around me all days.

Nights were cold, temperatures fell down to 5 or 6 degrees Celsius. I received a glass with hot milk and honey at 8am, added some cinnamon to it. Then I jumped out of bed into the bathroom – cold nakedness – hot water was available till 11am.

When it was raining for 1 ½ days… no sunshine… no electricity… just one candle… I stayed inside, sitting on my bed with all my warm clothes and the thick quilt… thinking: this too is India.

With the sunrays warming up the roof, I put up half of my canvas and started. Painting was almost like work, exhausting me quickly: at times brushes were too soft, colors too thick and the canvas too dry, etc. I used to take one color at a time, getting acquainted with it, finding the specific rhythm for it….

And this till February 13th, the day of the bomb blast in the German Bakery in Pune.

The shock went deep, threw me back into the first five years of my life in World War II, with bomb blasts around me again… again… and again. I could not touch or even look at the canvas, the colors… for days. Then I had the strong impulse to paint BLACK – even if all would be destroyed. Life and Death are so close together.

Then another few days later, out of the Black, new colors arose, new bubbles of life and energy turned into beauty.

Yes, finally at the end I have cut out certain ‘islands’ and had individual paintings. You see: the traveler in me is cutting down all objects to the very essential. And – surprise, surprise, I received photos that the owner of the hotel had taken without my knowing, the photos that you also can enjoy with me now.

And Himani sat down, being fulfilled to have brought this dream of ‘Painting in the Himalayas’ into reality.

Himani has a Masters Degree in Philosophy from the University of Hamburg and took sannyas in 1980. She became a Reiki Master in 1989 and developed Osho Neo-Reiki which she taught for a decade at the Multiversity in Pune. She is still teaching Reiki – these days in various places in the Himalayas. www.oshoneoreiki.com