INCREDIBLE !NDIA ~ The Land of Enchantment, You may have seen promotional images on posters and TV travel ads…

My hubby, Bill, and I returned March 2nd from a rejuvenating, heart-felt, three week retreat at a meditation center in the Punjab. We SO needed it after a terribly difficult year care-giving our beloved daughter-in-law Briana here at home, only to lose her to metastatic breast cancer on October 27th, 2008. (Read more about Bri on her marvelous food blog: www.FigsWithBri.com and what we learned from being with her.)

I’m not sure we would have gone now, except our precious flight miles – enough for a round-trip flight to India – were about to expire. The second factor that made the trip possible was my youngest son, David, moved home January 3rd. Dave came to support his brother, to help ease the loneliness of Marc’s unspeakable loss…

Planning the trip took on its own momentum. Nothing went according to ‘our’ plans…but ended up being better than we could have anticipated. The first mishap was the India Railway website wouldn’t process our payment properly. A sweet friend from the essential oils workshops I coordinated locally, had her father – Sumant Bakshi – help buy our tickets.

In India, as in many countries, it’s common courtesy to give hospitality gifts to friends and family, especially if they host you or assist in some way during your stay. So, what to bring someone we’d never met? Turns out Sumant is a passionate flower gardener, a successful flower show competitor (chrysanthemums), and a collector of flower art prints.

In the few days before our departure, emailed Sumant a selection of images I had available to bring, offering one as a gift of appreciation. Sumant and his gracious wife, Reetu, chose ‘Empress of India’ (nastursiums & zinnas) as their favorite. One of my newer images, unfortunately, I didn’t have a print ready to bring. Will be mailing the print to them this next week.

Sumant asked me to bring along some small & medium-size prints as he was interested in purchasing several. So, I did. The four prints he selected will be hung together in a small grouping – a nice way to display smaller images. Here they are: ‘Pax’ Hybrid Musk Rose (downfacing), White Clematis, Garnet Heart Hisbiscus, Kathy’s Yellow Rose.

Hibiscus, roses & clematis grace many Indian gardens and roadsides. The Punjab, western India & the Garhwal Himalaya are where my love of flowers & beautiful gardens was born.

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All D’Gravure Etchings may be purchased by emailing the artist: Cynthe@SpringMoonFineArtPrints.com.  Check these links for information on sizes & pricing or art print care.

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