I fell in love with India in the late 1970s after being introduced to Indian thought and philosophy from a Psychology Prof in my first year at Architecture school in Ottawa. In 1979 I came on my first trip, met many friends, saw a lot of the country and finally met the meditation/yoga teacher that I was seeking. I have made at least a dozen trips since then…throughout maintaining a career as a free-lance illustrator…and a meditator.
India has been good to me, wonderful people and culture. We in the western world have much to learn from such ancient wisdom. Our society is so young and, in many ways, so naïve. One day I came home and these fellows (below) were working the street outside my studio. The charmer with the Beem (gourd-flute) was excellent (it is very difficult to play) and they were gathering quite a crowd alongside the highway. They stayed long enough for me to do a quick sketch that later developed into this painting. It is the cover image for a book I co-wrote called The Cobra's Gift which is currently seeking a publishing house.