Author: Priya C.

Creative Collaboration: Green

For March (we are running about a month behind in the posting) the creative collaboration team was inspired by this instagram from DixonBaxi, a creative company out of London (and the Baxi in the name is my cousin). I was struck by the the way the green and black took up space within the image creating shapes within shapes as they connected together. This month collaborators pulled together some poetry, another healthy dish for you to make, and a color study. Check them out below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCf45OkJ1Ec/?taken-by=dixonbaxi
Continue reading “Creative Collaboration: Green” →

WordPower

Words have power. Fact. We live in an age where anyone can say anything and be believed. An age where fact checking is only reliable if it aligns with your beliefs. Words. Have. Power.

But power to what? To sway, to innovate, to encourage, to bring hope – and in their absence limit important forms of expression necessary for real communication. A few weeks ago two events brought these thoughts to the surface. And while both cases are based in fiction there are real world implications.

Anthony Doerr and Me
Meeting Anthony Doerr.

Continue reading “WordPower” →

Building Character: Writing The Heart of the River

“In every story that you read / A heroine or hero fills a need.”

At the end of January I finally hit publish on a children’s book three years in the making. 

The Heart of the River tells the story of a young explorer who searches for wonder at the heart of the River Idira. Along the way she encounters a fearsome dragon and uncovers her own ability for courage and kindness.

But this isn’t about my accomplishment, as excited as I am to share the news. Rather it’s a conversation on process, about how I wanted to create a world that was inclusive, but also a world where the main character would be the embodiment of all the writing and reading I had done over the past five years on what made a strong female character.5_ARYA_Light_Ray

In my acknowledgements I talk of how this story started as a tingle in my fingers and romanticized how it poured out of me with a life of its own.

But that’s a lie. Sort of.

Read the rest of the post on FANgirl.com.

Creative Collaboration: In Dreams

IMG_0613It’s almost the end of March and I realized I never posted the creative collaboration from February. The inspiration that month was a phrase that hangs above my roommates bed, one that looks to our dreams as a refresh button.

I chose the framed image as inspiration for two reasons. The first was that it was a nice contrast to the beauty in last month’s image. The second is that the words force the reader to move along a continuum. As they slowly spread out in the space the last line is the closest to filling the full frame providing stability, strength. Filling a purpose.

And so this month we have three submissions. A photographic series, a musical composition, and a collage.

Continue reading “Creative Collaboration: In Dreams” →

Creative Collaboration: Snow 

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Snow by Rob Cannon
New Year’s resolutions are great, especially when you make them with a group of creative and talented friends.

As the last minutes of 2015 disappeared we talked about our hopes for the coming year, including a hope for inspiration. The result:  Creative Collaboration.

Here’s how it works:  At the start of every month one of us sends out a piece of inspiration including, but not limited to, a story, a quote, or a photograph. What comes next (after the inspiration) is up to the collaborators.  Each of us brings to the table a variety of talents – from sketch comedy to music, dance to cooking and a vision for how we see the world around us.

For January we kicked things off with this photograph by Robert Cannon. A gorgeous vista of the National Mall on a snowy morning evokes all kinds of imagery. The result of the first collaboration had the added inspiration of an East Coast blizzard. The result are fun, soothing, witty, introspective, and comforting (and one makes you really, really hungry). So without further adieu here is the Creative Collaboration for January. Continue reading “Creative Collaboration: Snow “ →

The Heart of the River (I wrote a book!)

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You can purchase The Heart of the River on CreateSpace or Amazon.com.

In every story that you read,
a heroine or hero fills a need
and the day is saved—not with luck,
but with courage, heart, and a bit of pluck.

The story of The Heart of the River begins with a family announcement. A little over three years ago I learned I was going to become an aunt for the first time. Excited by just the idea of her existence I put pen to paper and after a few months had a first draft of what would turn out to be a little girl’s journey of discovery.

In the intervening years I’ve learned a lot about book production and what started out as a means to bring joy to now two little girls has ended up to be a true labor of love. Continue reading “The Heart of the River (I wrote a book!)” →

Hamilton: A Good Thing

A quick anecdote. While on a road trip last week to Charlottsville I helped introduce my high school history teacher to the magic that is Hamilton. A few days later I received a Facebook message where he asked me if this was in retaliation for the forced repeated listening of Gary Owen when I was in his class.

My response: I do what I can.

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Seriously though, everyone has an opinion about this musical, and I thought it was high time I shared the feelings of others (you know how I feel – in both parody and essay form). I also promise this will be the last post about Hamilton until I see it in August, because I got tickets that didn’t break the bank – Huzzah!.

In November of last year I asked some co-workers, and friends (one of which is an eleven year old) for their thoughts on this theatrical masterpiece. The responses I received were nuanced and introspective. So, on this blizzardy day here in Washington, DC here are the collected thoughts of Iris, Alison, Sarah H., Sarah F., Rob, Monty, Megan, Mike, Alex, and Renee. [Then read this great interview on Vulture.]

Describe your feelings for Hamilton in one word.

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Kindness, Humanity, Hope: Hello 2016!

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Sunset from Pacific Grove, California. Credit: Priya Chhaya

Hello 2016!

As we closeout this second day of the new year I have to say that 2015 sped by. There were marriages and babies. Trips and a lot of theatre, and perhaps more importantly, I spent the year doing exactly what I had resolved: In 2015 I took control.

At the start I decided to let my choices and needs dictate how I spent my time-challenging myself to say yes (and at times no). We can say, for the most part, that I was successful.

But what about 2016? Well from a pop-culture standpoint I can’t wait to watch Downton Abbey’s last season (in the UK this is so 2015 already), the X-Files reboot, Hamilton the musical in August and yes, more Star Wars.

I am also looking forward to visiting Colorado and India (at the end of the year) with some other adventures along the way.
Continue reading “Kindness, Humanity, Hope: Hello 2016!” →

A Myth Reborn: The Force Awakens

This post originally appeared on FANgirl blog.

Beware! [Channeling Yoda] Beyond first paragraph, spoilers there be….

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“The bee in his bonnet was that history and myth are two aspects of a kind of grand pattern in human destiny: history is the mass of observable or recorded fact, but myth is the abstract or essence of it.” From The Manticore, Book 2 in the Deptford Trilogy, by Robertson Davies (p326)

Overwhelmed. That was the prevailing emotion I felt when I walked out of a theatre in downtown D.C. on December 17th. I can’t say it was because I was immediately blown away or that I had just witnessed cinematic perfection, but rather that I left my first screening of The Force Awakens with a sense of immense satisfaction jumbled up with a continuous stream of questions and ideas.

Whew. Continue reading “A Myth Reborn: The Force Awakens” →

Three Days, Six Movies, and Stories to Come

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I can’t even.
Three days.
After a month of TV spots, interviews devoid of details but
full of excitement

It’s almost here.

I am self-aware that I am a willing consumer
For what is, on a very granular level,

Just a movie.

But we all know there is something more.
Something deeper.
Something beyond. Something Magic. Myth-Creation.

In a three day (over two months) spin
We’ve watched Four, Five, One, Two, Three, Six
And watched the narrative unfold.

A reminder:

Continue reading “Three Days, Six Movies, and Stories to Come” →