Thank you, BROOKLYN...

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPmks7XMNAy8FZYL1DWQo6OQyMR79dSxpUeLv-Mu-dMAAPIDneMI_hBZ0ye0Zhor0gYTOQJATb0koRBjgmRF9RnlqXodI57yO2NXRhCZBxbfZNVgXhETFEz90u8cMAgIzrkM7yBSaJYL0/s1600/175663_1749341646885_1039150033_31932082_6446493_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPmks7XMNAy8FZYL1DWQo6OQyMR79dSxpUeLv-Mu-dMAAPIDneMI_hBZ0ye0Zhor0gYTOQJATb0koRBjgmRF9RnlqXodI57yO2NXRhCZBxbfZNVgXhETFEz90u8cMAgIzrkM7yBSaJYL0/s640/175663_1749341646885_1039150033_31932082_6446493_o.jpg" width="548" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="405" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VX5v-S_jGD4" title="YouTube video player" width="500"></iframe></div>

Thank you, BROOKLYN...

Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn

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MJ MALI 2010 festival au desert

<div style="text-align: center;">gravity agent<br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/whLOProLivY?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/whLOProLivY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div>

MJ MALI 2010 festival au desert

gravity agent

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NEW WORK: ALBUQUERQUE EL REY Theatre Mural Collabo : Day #1 w/ Jaque Fragua

<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Albuquerque-Step3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Albuquerque-Step3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://fragua.tumble.com/">Jaque</a> & I had started yesterday on our mural at the back of the El Rey theatre. The wall is actually way bigger than I thought, but we've made  quite a progress yesterday. We started at the back of the Golden West Saloon, Albuquerque's famed red velvet-walled bar/venue that had burned down a few years ago in a tragic fire accident. Everyone who came through to check what we were up to had found memories of it. The first thing that we both saw in the burnt wall was a face, so we decided to do a GATEKEEPER that will guard the celestial happenings about the happen...I see the project as a form of space-theraphy, using the healing power of color & form to bring the rubble back to life. The transformation was pretty mindblowing...</div><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Albuquerque-Step1.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Albuquerque-Step2b.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Albuquerque-Step2.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Albuquerque-JaqueFraguaElReymural2.jpg" /><br />We each painted on the two sides of the face our ancestral tribal symbols. Mine is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turul">TURUL</a> the divine messenger of the Magyars (the way Hungarians call ourselves), who perches on the Tree of Life along with the other spirits of unborn children in the form of birds. Legends hold that the Turul was the forefather of the first Hungarian king (and our ancestor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Attila">Attila</a> the Hun as well). Nomadic Magyars had a shamanistic tradition and traveled in tribes along with other Turkic and Mongolian tribes in Easter-Central Asia..all of our history before 900 A.D. was kept oral. They were called the Turul clan, who migrated toward the west from Central Asia and settled in the Eastern part of Europe in the 9th century AD. The clan was later called the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpad_dynasty" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Arpad dynasty">House of Arpad</a>, and traditionally descends from the wise and just king <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Nimrod">Nimrod</a>, the first king on Earth.<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Albuquerque-JaqueFraguaElReymural-turul.jpg" /><br />the Gatekeeper's Red Carpet Tongue to the Otherworld</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Albuquerque-JaqueFragua-ElReymural.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/Lichiban-Albuquerque-JacqeFragua.jpg" /><br /><br /></div>

NEW WORK: ALBUQUERQUE EL REY Theatre Mural Collabo : Day #1 w/ Jaque Fragua

Jaque & I had started yesterday on our mural at the back of the El Rey theatre. The wall is actually way bigger than I thought, but we...

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TUVAN Shamans, Punks and Throatsingers ::: YAT KHA-Mankurt & Genghis Blues

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9aI1iYgaoxG6NrtOvuh_yLWkhZhrriCdZpvICxZ0L5u58L3ubk0U4YmXUDOi1qRdUfblZehrV129tI48IgWftpXsNkqCXGq_7_LWqSbyemwuXqPEtOMiOFWdpOgov_I7GgCVoTlllhts/s1600-h/ReCovers.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371927814133891730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9aI1iYgaoxG6NrtOvuh_yLWkhZhrriCdZpvICxZ0L5u58L3ubk0U4YmXUDOi1qRdUfblZehrV129tI48IgWftpXsNkqCXGq_7_LWqSbyemwuXqPEtOMiOFWdpOgov_I7GgCVoTlllhts/s400/ReCovers.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 306px;" /></a>I've been working on a video collabo project with fellow artist, motiondesigner/animator <a href="http://www.vanguardbots.com/">Vanguardbots</a>, and we were looking for some soundtrack for our first project that would reflect some of the symbolic references of Central Asia (Check out Vanguardbots' vimeo site for some of his projects <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/vanguardbots">here</a>). I remembered this Tuvan throatsinging punk band I used to listen to years ago, called <a href="http://www.yat-kha.com/html/who/who.php">Yat Kha</a>. So I youtubed it and found this amazing animation made for their joint I've never heard before. It is based on the Turkic legend of Mankurt, a story def worth looking up. It's a symbolic tale about actual and mental slavery through the story of Mankurt whose memory is erased and turned into a zombie...as you see the character here finds himself in the city later self-destructing. It's also a metaphor about what happens if you forget your love, roots, ancestors, your mother Earth, and get enslaved by your own forgetfulness...<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Yast Kha's birthplace, Tuva has gotten recent attention through it's music. The Soviets cut off Tuva from the outside world for over 50 years, it is one of the most hidden and mysterious places of the southern regions of Siberia in Central Asia. Tuva maintained to a large degree its nomadic heritage and shamanistic culture, though Tuvan shaman were persecuted under Stalin. Their religion is similar to many Northern American Native tribes and their musical culture is tied in with their shamanistic healing tradition. Yat Kha is born out of the marriage of native Tuvan music and Anglo-American punk rock.<br /></div>YAT KHA :: Mankurt<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WzCvI_c3H7g&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WzCvI_c3H7g&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />It just happened that I wanted to post another Tuva related post with American musician, blind blues-singer Paul Pena visiting Tuva to learn throatsinging after hearing it on Radio Moscow while back in San Francisco. He went to Tuva and entered the contest! <a href="http://www.genghisblues.com/">GENGHIS BLUES</a>, the documentary following Paul Pena's journey to Tuva is one of my favorite films. I highly recommend it. I love this scene, Paul's throatsinging skills are astonishing.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zpP6Xo0TSNk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zpP6Xo0TSNk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">From the presskit ""Blind American blues singer Paul Pena discovered the art of throatsinging while listening to Radio Moscow on shortwave more than fifteen years ago. Emanating from the autonomous republic of Tuva, located between Mongolia and Siberia, multi-harmonic "khoomei" (throatsinging) remained almost unknown in the west until the 1990's. Genghis Blues charts Pena's incorporation of throatsinging into his own music and his entry in Tuva's singing contest in 1995.."</span><br /></div>

TUVAN Shamans, Punks and Throatsingers ::: YAT KHA-Mankurt & Genghis Blues

I've been working on a video collabo project with fellow artist, motiondesigner/animator Vanguardbots , and we were looking for some sou...

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inner visions

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83miIqRR2kMPO1Tw-sZJtN0mq3dZ3VbKi4ccQBnIYQaSW4IM7i5HXmg3stT2_nf9Br-BwajXVRxx6WBfgT4WUP5pC_FwDVS2LIdScGjm9zFLXkaK8A6ub6JH1wWzyL5NCQ5HXlXzaS78/s1600-h/Himalaya_Sunset_by_balaa.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363669586737093666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83miIqRR2kMPO1Tw-sZJtN0mq3dZ3VbKi4ccQBnIYQaSW4IM7i5HXmg3stT2_nf9Br-BwajXVRxx6WBfgT4WUP5pC_FwDVS2LIdScGjm9zFLXkaK8A6ub6JH1wWzyL5NCQ5HXlXzaS78/s400/Himalaya_Sunset_by_balaa.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 433px;" /></a>This is one of the reasons why I'm drawn to the Himalayas...I've been there in my dreams countless times as a child (i believe beyond this life), visited its foothills as an adult, and made a vow to go back. It is one of the most important power centers of this planet and I feel it is one of my spiritual homelands. The force that drew me there made me stop doing art for years and pursue an interest in a Kashmiri-Himalayan form of Sufism as a student of Persian and Islamic mysticism. The main person I was drawn to was a Persian-speaking Muslim mystic from the thirteenth century called <span style="font-weight: bold;">Najm ad-din Kubra</span> who had a discipline involving spiritual alchemy and visualization techniques of the seven colored subtle centers of the body (called<span style="font-style: italic;"> latifah), </span>much like the system of chakras developed in India and adopted into Tibetan Buddhism that developed in the Himalayas<span style="font-style: italic;"> (there is very little reliable information on the web about Kubra and the order he founded, but this <a href="http://www.sufi.it/sufismo/maestri/Najmuddin_kubra.htm">link</a> gives a tiny glimpse of what Kubra was all about).</span> Kubra's teachings were carried to Kashmir and became the foundation of the Kubrawiyya order of Sufism. If you would like to know more about the Kubrawis and another Kashmiri Sufi order that sprung off of their order, I recommend two of my friends' work (once you study something this obscure, you're bound to meet and befriend the two main experts on the subject). Check out <a href="http://www.bookfinder.com/author/jamal-j-elias/">Jamal Elias: <span style="font-style: italic;">The Throne Carrier of God : The Life and Though of 'Ala ad-dawla as-Simnani</span></a>. The available online as a partial scanned preview <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=zqc01-Y6XfMC&dq=jamal+elias+throne+carrier&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=FXaCSs71CduQtgfG8JXPCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false">here</a><br />and <a href="http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&st=sl&qi=GwcSh83W2VLDl6ChmShMpkOCpw4_8714528079_1:34:128&bq=author%3Dshahzad%2520bashir%26title%3Dmessianic%2520hopes%2520and%2520mystical%2520visions%2520the%2520nurbakhshiya%2520between%2520medieval%2520and%2520modern%2520islam%2520studies%2520in%2520comparative%2520religion">Shahzad Bashir: </a><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&st=sl&qi=GwcSh83W2VLDl6ChmShMpkOCpw4_8714528079_1:34:128&bq=author%3Dshahzad%2520bashir%26title%3Dmessianic%2520hopes%2520and%2520mystical%2520visions%2520the%2520nurbakhshiya%2520between%2520medieval%2520and%2520modern%2520islam%2520studies%2520in%2520comparative%2520religion">Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions: The Nurbakhshiyya Between Medieval and Modern Islam</a>, </span>which you can also peep <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=uom79HNFPGgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=jamal+elias+throne+carrier&source=gbs_similarbooks_s&cad=1#v=onepage&q=jamal%20elias%20throne%20carrier&f=false">here </a>.<br /><br />After spending several years learning the languages and everything I could find about this line of teaching, I <a href="http://lichiban.blogspot.com/2008/12/kashmir-my-spiritual-homeland.html">went to Srinagar, Kashmir</a> to seek the legacy of the Sufis and Tibetan Buddhist teachings (as a grad student) and returned completely reborn (as an artist)...Ironically, what made me want to pursue my studies was what ended up releasing me from a carrier path that was no longer giving me any sort of spiritual satisfaction. I quit school and decided to approach my search from an angle that was more true to who I am..more of a visionary than an academic. I had to restart from scratch...but I feel more alive than ever and my passion for seeking the truth keeps me going even when the conditions get fucked up. <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">[artwork by balaa]</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This is for my fellow seekers who have been asking me to share more of my spiritual interests through my blog...a rare glimpse into the life of Tibetan Buddhists masters who have dedicated their life to finding enlightment, and much like their Sufi counterparts, were seeking liberation through the realization of the fundamental unity of all beings...that is the true meaning of LOVE...the most powerful vibration of the universe and the biggest threat to those who have usurped this-wordly power through a discourse of war and fundamental difference (=inborn inequality) between beings.<br /></div></div><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J-kOuHkQErc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J-kOuHkQErc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />[This is a rare footage from <span>1963, when for the first time, the Dalai Lama allowed a Westerner, Desjardins, to film the heart of the Tibetan tradition. The original 60s commentaries are dated, take it with a grain of salt]<br /></span></div>

inner visions

This is one of the reasons why I'm drawn to the Himalayas...I've been there in my dreams countless times as a child (i believe beyon...

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THE ANATOMY OF FOLK ART: if you haven't noticed

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboQkxNkXjYVJycqadjKCJc9WBZfs5PlSNgQOUNjA-EjlrRzA3vT5PnnoeVFUaXtdefqOeyYRvqir9uYLIEklk1i30R6n1o9RrOwhns4kBrfWofVGTXcMY989EddNYeRyRNffsEAABo6c/s1600-h/BhsPaisley-velv-cush.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306342126249340690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboQkxNkXjYVJycqadjKCJc9WBZfs5PlSNgQOUNjA-EjlrRzA3vT5PnnoeVFUaXtdefqOeyYRvqir9uYLIEklk1i30R6n1o9RrOwhns4kBrfWofVGTXcMY989EddNYeRyRNffsEAABo6c/s400/BhsPaisley-velv-cush.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 230px;" /></a>....the good old paisley and in fact most of traditional flower motifs are full-blown erotic symbols. I used to collect embroidered textiles from around the world (got some really beautiful pieces from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, India, Hungary, Mexico, Kashmir, and Turkey), and as I started to pay more attention to the patterns, I started to notice that the same type of imagery...indeed, I believe that many of the flower designs are floralized coochies. (yes, I know Freud already pointed this out, but I had to discover it myself .) Perhaps it is because mostly the women of these communities work on these designs and embroider them, but they are definitely not just flowers.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I actually wanted to paint last night along this idea, but ended up only doing the design for it on photoshop. Check the examples of the embroidered flowers below, of you still don't believe me.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/lichibandamasknudeFR2.jpg" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">talking about Central Asian fabrics, I finally can share these dope Bokja pieces I found on the <a href="http://www.bokjadesign.com/">psfk </a>site. I love the combo of modern furniture design combined with these Central Asian textiles. If anyone has been into my apartment, they'll immediately realize why I'm in love with these pieces.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/lichibanxbjoka.jpg" /><br /></div>

THE ANATOMY OF FOLK ART: if you haven't noticed

....the good old paisley and in fact most of traditional flower motifs are full-blown erotic symbols. I used to collect embroidered textiles...

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KASHMIR: my spiritual homeland

<div style="text-align: center;">In the summer of 2006, I spent a month in Srinagar, Kashmir, the part of Kashmir that is now part of India. The Himalayas have been calling me since I was a child...I used to dream that I was a young boy living in a small tribe up in the mountains, which I later identified with images of Tibet. Kashmir's capital Srinagar, which lays in a valley at the foot of the Himalayas used to be the most precious pearl of the Mughal Empire, during which time they named it "Paradise on Earth" because of its breath-taking beauty and lovely climate. It took me two years to revisit my journey there. Kashmir changed my life in ways I could only understand later...the experiences I had there are still hard to verbalize but I am ready to share some of the glimpses of this magical land and the beauty of its people.<br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K3landscape.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K4lichibankashmir.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K5plane.jpg" /><br />my favorite, the AMBASSADOR, now used as cabs and governmental vehicles that provide a royal bulletproof ride around the city ::: the auto-riksha...one of the most hazardous vehicles ever to hit the roads of a metropolis (Delhi, India). My arrival midnight at the Delhi airport was one of the biggest tests of my courage as a lone traveler. My first sight as my cab pulled out of the airport was an accident involving a motorbike rider on an unlit two-lane road...no one was stopping for the man whose severed leg was lying 5 feet away from him...that sight haunted me for weeks.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">:::wheels:::</span><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K1cars.jpg" /><br />In the late 90s and then in 2002, there were serious threats of nuclear warfare between India and Pakistan over the territory of Kashmir. As a result, "peace" has been tenuous and is heavily guarded by the military (to learn more, read an interview with Chomsky <a href="http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4249">here</a>). I was in Delhi ready to get on the plane to Kashmir when my local Kashmiri host called me to say that I shouldn't get on the plane, since the violence has escalated and there are regular grenade-attacks targeting the military but taking mostly civilian victims. I had my ticket and I wasn't about to turn around after having traveled more than 18 hrs to get there..."Well, I guess we'll just have to protect you a little more carefully." said my host family, to whom I owe so much for their hospitality.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">::guns::</span><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K19soldiers.jpg" /><br />"Paradise on Earth" is now Paradise Lost. The military presence in the city is overwhelming..imagine spotting from the corners of your eyes at least two AK47 per block sticking out from unexpected places. Most of the violence that summer was targeting soldiers who were ordered by the government to protect the peace in the region. Since the military was everywhere, it meant that the threat of being blown away by a random grenade that someone has thrown at them was very high. During the month I was there, there were several deadly incidents that sadly affected women and children passing by, including at the house of the Sufi healer I planned to visit that week.<br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K13guns.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">::: the sanctuary:::</span><br />My journey that eventually brought me to Kashmir began several years ago with a book called <span style="font-style: italic;">The Man of Light</span> by Henry Corbin who introduced me to Najm al-din Kubra. Kubra was a sage from Khwarazm (now in Uzbekistan) who developed a spiritual practice based on a color theory of light that seemed to have integrated Sufi tradition with tantric Buddhist meditation techniques and other Central Asian spiritual teachings.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">the shrine of Shah Hamadan, the 14th century Sufi traveler, who brought the teachings of Kubra to the Kashmiri valley.</span><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K6shrinesufikashmir.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K8sanctuarykashmir.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K16devotion.jpg" /><br />The local architecture reflects Kashmir's position as a meeting point of cultures: many of the mosques had features similar to those of Buddhist stupas you found in neighboring Ladakh and Tibet.<br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K7houses.jpg" /><br />On the night of my arrival, I had a chance to meet the father of Kashmir's world-renowned contemporary poet <a href="http://www.nortonpoets.com/alia.htm">Agha Shahid Ali</a> (who used to live in the US and passed away in 2001), whose book, "Country Without A Post-office" earned him the title "the ambassador of Kashmir's pain." One of the most wonderful people I've encountered on my travels, he treated me and my hosts with the most incredible 10 course dinner sampling dishes from Kashmiri Hindu and Muslim culinary traditions. I copied this into my journal from his son, Shahid Ali's book of poetry that he showed me... "<span style="font-style: italic;">Srinagar haunches like a wild cat: lonely sentries, wretched in bunkers at the city's bridges, far from their homes in the plains, licensed to kill...while the Jhelum flows under them, sometimes with a dismembered body. On Zero Bridge the jeeps rush by. The candles go out as travelers unable to light up the velvet Void</span>."<br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K10oldruins.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">::: street life :::</span><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K14street.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">::: the people :::</span><br />generations of mothers :::: the beautiful women I met in Delhi at the Nizamuddin Chishti shrine. the lady on the right reminded me of my grandmother.<br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K2MOTHERCHILDelders.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K9kiddos.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K11gyspies.jpg" /><br />the Gujar "gypsies", a nomadic tribe that set up their tents behind the house I was staying at. I would come regularly and try to make a connection with them. Part of me that is still connected with my nomadic heritage was really drawn to these folks.<br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K12gujars.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K12kashmirikidos.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K12kashmirgypsies.jpg" /><br />The people of Kashmir have faced decades of civil war, intense economic hardships, and the daily threats of violence remain to this day. The sustained presence of fear has left unimaginable scars 0n people's soul. Their beauty and resilience amidst the harshest living conditions remain my continued source of inspiration and serve as a reminder of the fragility of human life and that we as people <span style="font-style: italic;">are one at the core</span>.<br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K15people.jpg" /><br />Lake Dal of Srinagar with its famed boat-houses, surrounded by the Himalayas. The only place where I felt the presence of peace. I took these shots from my boat as I was taken to the place where lotuses bloom.<br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K17boatlotus.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K18kashmirlake.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">:::windows:::</span><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/K19yeeswindows.jpg" /><br />Most importantly, I give thanks to the man who has served the peoples of Kashmir with his healing power for several decades. He opened his doors to me and treated me like a granddaughter. Meeting him has changed my life at the core. I pray that he is safe and is in good health and that he can continue to mediate love from the purest source. In'shallah I'll make it back there in this life time.<br /></div>

KASHMIR: my spiritual homeland

In the summer of 2006, I spent a month in Srinagar, Kashmir, the part of Kashmir that is now part of India. The Himalayas have been calling ...

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budapest street art..these cats are serious

last summer--like every summer in the last 10 years--i went back to visit folks in my beloved hometown, budapest (hungary), and i was blown away by the omnipresence of large murals and graffitis on the city's crumbling walls...people like to experiment by combining old school graffiti styles with fine arts or graphic design elements...<br />i was in visual heavan as i was strolling around.<br /><br />these are in a store called Poster Urban Outfit, in a courtyard near the Astoria, Múzeum krt 7.<br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/9bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/9bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/10bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/10bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br />this is on Kinizsi street, near the Ferenc krt stop on the blue subway line.<br /><br /><a com="" href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/1bu.jpg" style="width: 396px; height: 297px;" /></a><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/6bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/6bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 397px; height: 296px;" /></a><br /><br />these are part of the same wall<br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/4bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/4bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/5bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/5bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/7bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/7bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br />this is the bike storage room of the Szimpla Kert, a bar in the heart of downtown...i loved the decor in the place..."wild styles" feel combined with post-communist retro aesthetic in a decaying courtyard of a Hapsburg apartment building..a must see, because it won't be there forever..developers usually take over with little concern for the art..<br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/20bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/20bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/16bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/16bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/15bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/15bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/19bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/19bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/17bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/17bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/18bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/18bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br />here is another outdoor bar & cultural center, the Tüzraktér (an old communist style factory/apartment building)....local writers and artists just went crazy on this one...this place has a raw edge, though the crowd who daily attends the place is pretty benign...i doubt that an establishment like this could ever pass the safety code in the US though...<br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/11bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/11bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/12bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/12bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br />don't ask....<br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/2bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/2bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br />monkey harem...<br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/14bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/14bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br />Dali stencil in a unused sideroom<br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/13bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/13bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 286px;" /></a><br /><br />more stencil on the street (7th district)<br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/21bu.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/21bu.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" /></a>

budapest street art..these cats are serious

last summer--like every summer in the last 10 years--i went back to visit folks in my beloved hometown, budapest (hungary), and i was blown ...

Read more »