Smitha Vishwanath's Blog

Kenya Diaries 2025 : Navaratri celebration

It’s been a busy month- far too busy for my comfort, but it wasn’t half as busy as it has been for some of the people I have gotten to know here, who’ve been attending prayer ceremonies by day and dancing through the night. First, there was Navaratri, the nine nights of celebrating the feminine […]

Art : Figure sketch in charcoal

I write another post and do not share it. And a fortnight’s passed without publishing anything on the blog except for the painting of Lord Ganesha. That was easy. I mean, sharing the painting. It’s a picture. It does not tell you what I’m thinking, how I am feeling or anything else about me. In […]

Art : My first deity painting

It’s been a week since I wrote a post. I’ve been trying to, but there’s so much that’s kept me on my toes here, that everytime I began writing a post, I ended up going off track. So, instead of writing anything, I’ve decided to share a painting I did. This is my way of […]

Book Review 19/50, 2025 : The Gift of Self by Vandana Bhasin

The Gift of Self is written by Vandana Bhasin, a poet with whom I co-authored my first and only poetry book so far. The poems in this book are very different from those in the earlier book. It shows the growth and transformation of the poet since the last book. The sense of calmness, self-awareness […]

The Numbers Game #91-213

The numbers game- Judy Dystra-Brown I was going through the posts on my reader and I came across this challenge on Aletta’s blog. Check her blog if you want to see some bright and cheerful pictures.For the challenge, you’re supposed to go to your gallery and type the number (this week, it’s 213) and see […]

Book Review 18/ 50, 2025 : Sun Haiku by Dawn Pisturino

This week I have two reviews- both of poetry books. One, by blogger, Dawn Pisturino and the other, by Vandana Bhasin, who co-authored a poetry book with me. I planned to write them together but once I wrote the review on Dawn’s book, I decided to keep them separate, as both are very different and […]

Kenya Diaries: A trip to Gura river and Aberdare country club

Summer has set in and although it’s just begun, it isn’t pleasant between 11 a. m. to 5.30 p. m. if you’re outdoors. The equatorial sun shines brightly and the absence of particulate matter in the air to absorb it ( in other words, the air is pure), the UV is very high. However, if […]

The story behind this painting : Walking with a friend

There is a story behind this painting (see below). I first did a painting of these two Vietnamese school girls walking after the rain, in June, 2020. That was done as a landscape using acrylics. One of my friends loved it and wanted it. But I did not give it to her because I wasn’t […]

Thankful Thursdays 18.09.25 and Thursday Doors

It’s that day of the week again when I recount my blessings and share some beautiful doors from across the world as part of the Thursday doors challenge hosted by Dan Anton. It’s so easy to get bogged down by the things not working out for us and forget about all the things that are. […]

Published : 5 micropoems in ‘The Short of it’

PC – sarandy westfall – Unsplash These poems were published on 5/7/2024, but I saw them only now. 5th July, 2024, was when I was in Dhaka and there was an internet shutdown. We lost all connectivity with the world. The governement fell, Sheikh Hasina was ousted and an interim government was appointed. The internet […]