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Harish Vadgama

@harishwings

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im just a wandering soul.

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How fleeting is life
How swiftly flow
the days
the seasons
year by year

Beginning and end of my poem
“Of life” (which I've posted before)
seemed to be right
for this post, which appears
after yet another lengthy and
largely involuntary absence from
this page and social media.

Dear friends and followers,
I sincerely apologize for having
neglected all of you, your feedback
and your creative output.
I will attempt to remedy my lack
of interaction and connection
as much and as soon as possible!

Having barely recovered from
the onslaught of incessant heat
and the many worrisome
local fires – mainly caused by arson –
I found myself greatly upset again:
Losing the marvelous Tim Curry
and the great Dolly Parton
on one day, was an awful blow.

Not only was I plagued by several
minor health setbacks and the
serious scare of one major
health crisis, other troubles
further undermined my overall state
of well-being.

My closest neighbor suffered
a stroke; I heard and found him
one night at 5 A.M.
After an extensive stay in hospital
he is now in a special facility
for stroke victims, on a slow path
to recovery.

My dear friend Heike, the local
bookstore owner, librarian and
all-around mainstay of our little town's
social activities – having organized
recitals, concerts, lectures, festivities
of all kinds and so much more -
was found with acute pain, rushed to
hospital, operated on, only to take a
sudden turn for the worse.
She died, leaving behind shocked,
devastated family and bereft friends,
a distraught and disrupted community.

The funereal proceedings were
heart-rending.
Some photos pay humble tribute.
I've included my poem for Heike.

The only other recent poem I'd
written – which is the main one
here – had also been
inspired by Simon & Garfunkel's
brief song “Bookends”.
The bulk of today's pix mix is split
between nature capture's and
impressions from a celebration of
and support for our local voluntary
fire brigade – who deserve it all!

How brave we are
to weather and endure
the relentless passage
of our time
How incredible:

To bear the truth
about being alive
To face death
as the inevitable fact
of life

My Dears:
Be safe, be well, be brave, dream on!

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Good things come in threes.
Inspired by this old adage,
I've decided to conclude
the celebration of the
#ninthanniversary of my
instagram page
with a third #specialpost.

After re-sharing favorite
photographs, plus captures taken
at favorite places I've been to
during the past nine years,
and adding a few new artworks,
I felt it was time for a generous
overview, selected from the many
homages to the specific art of one of
my favorite artists, Piet Mondrian.

Many of his originals are by now
over 100 years old while remaining
timeless and utterly cool.

I've been doing art homages to
Mondrian since July 2018,
at my 1 year anniversary.
Either straight takes and
near imitations, visually close to
the originals – or experimenting
with variations:
Shifting, splitting, dismantling,
reshaping, cutting up, painting over,
reversing to negative, changing
the original basic color scheme.

I've added two new ones here.
One shows a blue takeover.
The other one is being consumed
by fire. My thoughts are with
the victims and all the firefighters
of the raging wildfires
in Spain and France.

Up til now I've never dealt with
my fascination for #pietmondrian 's
art in poetic form.
I rectify that omission in this post.
The other poem is a humorous
rondo about "How to get from
nine to ten."

As always, dear friends and
followers, I hope you enjoy,
as I wish for you to
be safe, be well, be brave and to
dream on!

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A nine year anniversary is
an odd one, I find.

And due to my present
circumstances, which have been
problematic health-wise and
fraught with other time-consuming
and energy-draining difficulties,
this special post is late.

Also, dear friends and followers,
I apologize for having been less
interactive lately.
I had to prioritize.

Now: As of July 6th, it has been
nine years since I have begun posting
on this Instagram page.

My pictorial selection today is varied.
There are nine panels with
an overview of eighteen
representative photos of locations
and events significant to yours truly
and which have been featured here
during the past nine years.

Other than nine 9s,
I present four new pieces of
digital art.
Two are self portraits,
one based on an older, one
derived from a recent selfie.
There is a new homage to Mondrian,
with a hand-painted “glitch”.
And a fragmented smiley emoji,
inspired by an expression
I've used here often,
“Smile, or smile anyway!”

For my poetry of this special post,
I give you a tanka and two
tongue-in-cheek rhyming poems
about this odd #ninthanniversary,
plus one more having pensive me
waxing philosophical
with my take on #thistooshallpass .

Hope you enjoy!
Be safe, be well, be brave
and #dreamon, no matter what!

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Imagine, if you would,
dear friends and followers,
a large building, of palacial
appearance, where you can come
to visit, stay as long as you please.

Other than nice comfortable rooms
to spend the night and various areas
for eating meals of your choosing,
the most dominant, impressive and
important feature of this magical place
is that most of its rooms are dedicated
to books. The reading, the enjoyment
of books, the immeasurable pleasure
they can bring.

One of my poems today tells of such
a place.
Imagine further, that all the rooms
full of books also offer small islands
for getting cozy with the books
you select, enormous overstuffed
armchair with cushions, little
sidetables for refreshment other
than that to be found between covers
and pages.

Then you come across a text on the
need for "Earth Day", as a reminder of
humans about the state of the earth.
And you read and see photos on how
even the most paradisiacal of spots
on the planet get mistreated.
Nature uglified, ruined, burned,
polluted by careless, thoughtless
people who still ignore the dire signs.
If this happened to me, I would write a
poem like the second one I share today.

Once again, I faced the difficulty cum
pleasurable privilege of putting
together a post honoring and
celebrating both #worldbookday,
which is on April 23rd and #earthday,
which is on April 22nd.

My current reading I decided to share in
a later post. Instead there's a few snaps
taken at my favorite second hand book
store in Wiesbaden, during my last
visit. The majority of pics show
April flowers and blossoming trees.
I did include my poster designs, adding
one for #arborday, which in Germany
is celebrated on April 25th.
Hope everyone finds something to
enjoy! For now, please,
be safe, be well, be brave, dream on!

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Sharing a bit of our home recycling routine! ♻️ We make sure to clean and dry all our plastic waste (PET bottles and containers) before tossing them into our dedicated blue bin. Keeping them separate from organic waste is key to preventing contamination.

Once a month, the team at @servcare.sustain swings by for a pickup. We also hand over our used frying oil, which they upcycle for their biodiesel project! It feels great knowing we’re keeping plastics out of the ocean and turning kitchen waste into fuel. 🌍✨. #Sustainability
#PlasticToFuel
#WasteSegregation
#SaveOurRivers. #punekarboltoy

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When I started out at the Theatre...
As a very young man, I knew very little,
but was very eager to learn.

When I left, after nearly forty years,
now almost three years ago,
I had stored up a treasure trove of
insiders' knowledge and understanding
of the workings of a big repertory theatre.

The technical aspects.
The music of concerts, opera, operetta,
musical, ballet and more.
The excitement and intricacies
of drama, comedy, children's theatre.

The beauty. The pitfalls. The heartbreaks.
The tragedies. The futility.
The repetition. The hard work, physically,
mentally. The stress. The thrills.
The unforgettable moments.
The connections. The applause.
The boos. The critics. The fans. The stars.
The Divas. The Directors. The set and
costume designers. The backstage gossip.
The feuds. The triumphs. The colleagues.
The friends. The forever memories.

Theatre is an intrinsic part of me, will
remain so till my last breath.
They should probably play Mozart's
#themagicflute Overture for me when I'm
gone, for this marvelous Opera has been
a constant throughout all my theatre years.
I got to know it up close, when in my very
first production of it, I got to play the
venomous snake which chases
Prince Tamino when the curtain rises.

On March 27th, it's #worldtheatreday.
This year, I decided to celebrate the visuals
with poster designs for various plays,
operas and more. Some I did just for fun.
But most are based on insider designs
I did for the premieres of actual
productions presented at the
#staatstheaterwiesbaden.
In most cases I reworked and enhanced
my originals and removed much of the
detailed information.

Now, my poetry is a different matter.
This post features the first three parts
of a long satirical poem about how
cultural institutions are viewed
nowadays; how the arts,
theatre, film, music, literature
are being received and treated.
The other three parts are to follow.
I know it's a lot, but I hope you may find
it amusing and thought-provoking
to read, nonetheless!

For now, please, be safe, be well,
be brave and dream on, of course,
for there's always another show
of some kind or other, and "all the world's
a stage" anyway, after all!

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Dear friends and followers!
It is an honor and a privilege for me to be able to share a very special collaboration today.
In preparation for International Women's Day on March 8th, I had initiated a project with three wonderful women, exceptional artists all, each with distinctive style and techniques:
Irina @i.fischer01,
Cristina @cristinacerminaraart
and Aqueline @emana_art.
They are each highly valued followers of mine,
and I of them.
They each shared graciously and freely of their art, which allowed me to combine and create a video - after writing a new poem and doing a spoken word.
Glorious crowning ingredient swirling it all together in harmonious blend is a gorgeous musical composition by
Anri @anri_laran_composer.
Editing this unique collaboration video was truly a joyous labor of love.
I offer my humble gratitude to my dear participating friends,
while presenting it with great pride and pleasure to all others.
May many enjoy these creations from two men and three women!

International Women's Day 2026
Mottos:
Give to Get
Balance the Scales
Rights. Justice. Action.
For All Women and Girls.

Collab / Kooperation zum Internationalen Frauentag
Participants / Mitwirkende:
Art / Kunst
@cristinacerminaraart
@emana_art
@i.fischer01
Music Composition / Komponist
"Thank you, Universe, for this beauty"
@anri_laran_composer
Projekt Initiator, Video Editing, Poem
"Give what's owed to get what's needed" /
Konzept, Video, Gedicht Autor und Sprecher
@roberthludwig

Poem Full Text see Comments

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"some items I am unable to discard"
"cramped stacks and tightly disorderly piles
of what others might perceive as rubbish"
"remainders and reminders of former glory"

The above are random lines excerpted from
my poem "neither present nor gone"
which talks about the difficulty or even
inability to let go.
Letting go of the past, of people
or the memory of them, of things, possessions...

The two new poems presented here in full,
also deal with similar themes.
My new #sonnet talks of a grouchy poet
demanding that #everythingmustgo!
This alter ego to yours truly may be disgruntled
and disgusted not only with others
but with himself/me, as well, for clinging to
things too much...

In today's visuals it's all represented:
Discarded items, found objects, used toys,
flea markets, second hand shops and thrift stores,
trashy bulky waste, or household clearance
due to extreme #springcleaning.

Dear friends and followers, enjoy!
And be safe, be well, be brave, dream on!

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As the first and seemingly
indeterminately long month
of the as yet new year
comes to an end,
I hereby present a small
pictorial review of it, as experienced
here in our corner of the world,
the Taunus mountains of
Hessen, Germany.

A kaleidoscopic array of at times mild
but mostly cold temperatures and
spells of fog, rain, snow and dry,
gorgeously sunny weather, from
New Year's day to now.

Talking with friends and acquaintances
about Christmas trees, lights and decorations,
I found that many share my reluctance
of taking it all down.
Some still have their tree up.
Many, like yours truly, keep at least some
of the lights, seeing as it is still getting dark
fairly early.

When out and about, I noticed some
discarded trees here and there.
And I, in total agreement with the dear ladies
at my local florist, kept some of the
glass birds from my tree decor.
We put together a bouquet where I could
add them, red, silver and blue on white.
Almost three weeks on, it still delights,
standing right in front of me now.
A tanka tells of it.

The longer poem is about the constant
change in nature, in life.
Endings and beginnings. Decline and renewal.
With February next, #springiscoming soon.
Thus, closure and outlook.
#hopespringseternal.
And looking at what's going on
outside our little neck of the woods
in world affairs, boy, is hope
and a #positiveoutlook needed!
#timeforrenewal, indeed!

Dear friends and followers, I do hope
Everyone is doing as well as is
humanly possible. Going forward, onward:
Be safe, be well, be brave and always
dream on!
With love from *Robert 😊👋

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A close up look of my island 🏝️ 🖌️ 🎨 I was inspired by the legendary 'Bob Ross' as usual, ended up adding extra elements from my imagination cos Bob Ross said 'We don't make mistakes, we just have happy accidents'

P.S - The audio too is of Bob Ross...his voice too is soothing just like his art 🎨 🫶 A tribute to Bob Ross 🫶 🤍

#ayeshafmuskaan #authorayeshafmuskaan #ayeshafmuskaanpainting #splash_n_blast #splashandblast

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"what lies beneath the snow
which had fallen with intensely
steady relentlessness
for hours upon hours on day two
other than debris left behind
after festivities and fireworks
what splintered bits
fragmented nostalgic relics
of the recently departed year"

That, dear friends and followers,
is the first stanza of an as yet
unfinished poem called
"Underneath the thick white blanket"
which I had intended to use for this
my second post of the new year.
Since I struggled to complete it,
I decided to do a whimsical new
piece of wintry art, "The Soloist"
of a balletic #snowman, instead.
(Also, a nod and wink to Stephen
@stephenfosterdesign - iykyk 😁⛄😉)
And then, I wrote another poem
on #wintersnow.

After new year's day, all night long,
and during January 2nd it snowed
and snowed here in our neck of the woods,
the Taunus mountains of Hessen, Germany.
Thus the poems, art and photos I am
sharing with you here.

Rounding out this post
is my recent triptych Mondrian homage
already featured in my previous post.
I had forgotten to frame them to
Instagram scale, so they weren't
properly shown.

As ever, please be safe, be well,
be brave, dream on!

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