Began as an attempt to express the quiet grief I carry, the ache of living far from my aging parents, separated by borders and time zones. It is the fear of loss, the pain of absence, of not being there when they need me.
2023 - ongoing India | USA
I understand that is the way of life we have created for ourselves. It is filled with beginnings and endings, the reality we all share. We are but specks of light drifting in the tide of time; one moment we are here, and the next, we are gone. Yet it’s astonishing how much we carry within us: our hopes, our fears, our love, our longing. We dread the inevitable, but perhaps that very dread is a reminder of how beautifully our lives are bound together.
The images in this project move between intimacy and transience: fleeting light on water, footprints fading on sand, reflections dissolving in ripples. These fragile moments become metaphors for impermanence. My mother’s resilience takes the form of water; my father’s unwavering strength takes the form of light, forces that have guided us with hope. To say that my father has had a huge influence on me would be an understatement. I suspect many of us share that same sentiment toward our parents. A Still Ablaze comes from him. Though his body has grown smaller and frailer, his light still burns within him. This work is my way of holding onto that glow, of acknowledging the inevitability of loss while recognizing what endures: love, passed quietly from one generation to the next, still ablaze, even as it flickers.
The images in this project move between intimacy and transience: fleeting light on water, footprints fading on sand, reflections dissolving in ripples. These fragile moments become metaphors for impermanence. My mother’s resilience takes the form of water; my father’s unwavering strength takes the form of light, forces that have guided us with hope. To say that my father has had a huge influence on me would be an understatement. I suspect many of us share that same sentiment toward our parents. A Still Ablaze comes from him. Though his body has grown smaller and frailer, his light still burns within him. This work is my way of holding onto that glow, of acknowledging the inevitability of loss while recognizing what endures: love, passed quietly from one generation to the next, still ablaze, even as it flickers.