Sex, Love, Intimacy, & that Book Kama Sutra (Yes it's a religious HINDU scripture)

Ancient Hindu society before the influences of western Faiths, Puritanism, and Colonizations was very free-thinking and progressive. The western world has managed to dumb down ancient texts such as the Kama Sutra to just a “sex position manual”, brand Eastern religions/faiths as vulgar/obscene, and this needs to stop. I had the honor of presenting at the Museum of Sex in NYC about Hinduism, Love, and the Kama Sutra.

activism, activist, art, appreciation, create the change, compassion, change in thinking, classical traditions, education, educate, desi american, cultures, faith, global, global cultures, history, hinduism, hindu temple, hindu, indian american, impact, interfaith, inspiration, love, language, languages, museum, reflections, south asia, religions, religion, prayer, temple, tamil nadu, travel, unity, unityindiversity, unique, world religions, spirituality, spiritual activismsangeetha kowsikJanuary 29, 2023sex, love, intimacy, hindu, hinduism, sexual, museum, museum of sex, poetry, spirtiuality, spiritual, faith, interconnectedness, interfaith, india, indian, southasian, south asia, krishnalove, krishna, radha, radha krishna, andal, vishnu, shiva, parvati, goddess, tantra, shiva parvati, mirabai, sanathana, santhana dharma, sanathanadharma, spanish, spirituality, inspiration, love making, love make, devotion, poem, one love, true love, lgptqi+, queer, puja, pujaqueen, yabyum, compassion, music, dancer, indian classical dance, indian classical music, indian arts, sculpture, arts, art, sanatana dharma, passion, longing, yearning, divine, ganesha, shakti, sati, conversation, educate, education, educateyourself, break stereotypes, change, bethechange, changmaker, changing narratives, changing dialogues, dialogue, playfulness, ras leela, history, art history, archeology, theology, culture, ancient traditions, ancient, ancient cultures, hindu temple, hinduarchitecture, designer, design, designs, religion

SELF HATING (Indian Americans). Loving HINDU TEMPLES. AUNTIES & UNCLE GUTS.

If Hinduism is such a DOPE OPENMINDED INCLUSIVE faith……then…

WHY DO SO MANY INDIAN AMERICANS GROW UP WITH SELF-HATRED, MAKING FUN OF HINDU RITUALS / PRACTICES, DEITIES, INDIAN ACCENTS, FOOD, DRESS ETC. & CONFUSE BEING “INDIAN” (WHICH IS A NATIONALITY/RACE) WITH BEING A HINDU (A FAITH THAT ANY PERSON OF ANY NATIONALITY/RACE CAN PRACTICE) ???

activism, activist, appreciation, art, artwork, change, change in thinking, childhood, classical traditions, compassion, create the change, cross cultures, culture, cultures, desi american, design, distinctive, diversity, educate, education, faith, friendship, global cultures, global, hindu, hindu temple, hinduism, history, holiday, hometown, impact, inclusion, indian american, inspiration, interfaith, love, new york, music, my story, nyc, oneness, prayer, reflections, religion, religions, south asia, spiritual activism, spirituality, tamil nadu, tamil american, temple, tamil, unique, unity, world religions, unityindiversitysangeetha kowsikDecember 19, 2022hindu, hinduism, hindu temple, temples, temple, temple worship, spirtiuality, spiritual, spirituality, india, inspiration, southindian, south indian, south india, south aisa, indian, indian arts, indian classical music, music, history, sanathana, sanathanadharma, santhana dharma, dharma, sanatana dharma, educate, education, educateyourself, break stereotypes, stereotypes, faith, interconnectedness, interfaith, international, sanskrit, worship, ritual, growing up, american, tamilamerican, tamil american, desi, desi american

Interconnectedness, Hate, Love, & Ahimsa (Non Violence)

As a lifelong practicing Hindu who adheres to the principle of Ahimsa, which means “nonviolence” meaning not to harm any living creature with your words, thoughts, or physically.

it boggles my mind that the 3 great Abrahamic faiths of the world Christianity, Judaism, and Islam lived in relative peace and unity, and gave the world beautiful art, architecture, and an interconnected culture before someone drank CUCKOO juice, and decided to fill their minds/hearts/brains/souls with hatred and expelled Jews and Muslims, which led to the bloody Spanish inquisition of 1492!

These are my reflections of the interconnectedness, unity, inspiration, and beauty, I saw through religion, faith, culture, and art.

activism, activist, appreciation, art, artwork, change, change in thinking, classical traditions, create the change, cross cultures, culture, cultures, design, diversity, distinctive, faith, friendship, global, global cultures, graphic design, hindu, hinduism, history, impact, inclusion, holiday, inspiration, interfaith, islam, language, languages, museum, my story, music, oneness, painting, religion, religions, prayer, south asia, spiritual activism, spirituality, travel, unique, unity, unityindiversity, travel diaries, reflections, world religions, islamic art, racism, Islamophobia, anti semitism, love, compassion, new york, nycsangeetha kowsikAugust 31, 2022art history, art, design, designs, designer, history, museum, the metropolitan museum of art, truth, hate, love, compassion, islam, islamicarchitecture, architecture, reli, faith, interfaith, islamic, judaism, jew, jewish, christian, christianity, fatima, prophet, spain, spiritual, spirituality, inspiration, portugal, heart, one love, true love, mystory, my truth, jesus, interconnectedness, international, unity, unityindiversity, community, communities, travel, travelling, instatravel, travel blogger, travels, granada, cordoba, castle, seville, allhambra, pilgramage, typography, stereotypes, gratitude, activist, activism, racism, change, bethechange, connected, colonization, culture, crosscultural, cultural diversity, cultures, ancient traditions, tradition, traditions, world, oneness, one world, oneneww, global, global culture, global cultures, antisemitism, phobia, hatred, peace, understanding, educate, education, educateyourself, blog, blogger, non violence, ahimsa, gandhi, india, dharma, sanatana dharma, sanskrit, southasia, southasian, southasianartist, southasianart, south aisa, south asia, south indian, south india, together, unique, ancient cultures, beauty, shrine, prayer, worship, pattern, repeat pattern, islamicart, islamic art, islamic pattern, andorra, iberian, Iberian Penninsula, spanish, sephardicComment

Faith, Fusion, ABCD, Cultural "Norms", it’s time to CHANGE!

This is the same issue many children of immigrants face if they don’t have light skin, light eyes, and a “white” name. We always have to prove our “Americaness” or our “Ethnic Identity” over and over again and frankly, it’s just EXHAUSTING.

I HATE the word “ETHNIC” which needs to be removed from the English language! Ethnic literally describes anyone who is not white! HOW RUDE!

I am sick/tired of folks confusing “Indian culture/communities/society” with the FAITH of Hinduism.

I always found solace, peace, and understanding in my faith in Hinduism though I grew up in a chaotic/mishmash often contradicting Indian/Hindu/American culture and society. For example, I never understood why “Brown/Indian” American women were made to feel ashamed to date, go to school dances, date/marry folks of other races, wear tank tops, bikinis, etc.

SOCIETY & COMMUNITIES create stupid rules, divisions, racism, sexism, hate, patriarchy, and bigotry, not FAITH.

activism, activist, appreciation, art, artwork, change, change in thinking, childhood, classical traditions, create the change, cross cultures, cultures, desi american, design, diversity, educate, education, exhibition, faith, friendship, global, global cultures, hindu, hinduism, history, impact, indian american, inclusion, inspiration, interfaith, language, museum, languages, my story, music, oneness, religion, south asia, spiritual activism, spirituality, religions, tamil, tamil american, tamil nadu, travel, unity, temple, hindu temple, prayer, unique, culture, distinctivesangeetha kowsikJune 1, 2022hindu, hinduism, hindustani, hindu temple, hinduarchitecture, dancer, compassion, indian classical dance, classical, classical music, spiritual, spirituality, interfaith, faith, fashion, ethnic, community, communities, change, break stereotypes, kindness, immigrant, statues, museum, the metropolitan museum of art, art history, artwork, sanatana dharma, truth, one love, heritage, educate, education, educateyourself, racism, temples, temple, story, mystory, my truth, my life, life, love, bethechange, for change, language, society, culture, cultures, tamil, tamil nadu, tamil americna, tamils, tradition, traditions, ancient cultures, crosscultural, identity, american, feelings, desiart, desi artist, desi, design, dharma, designer, friendshp, friendship

I'm Hindu, DON'T eat Indian Food, Drink Chai, or Practice Yoga - FAITH vs. CULTURE

“Hindu Faith” and “Hindu Culture” are two very different things.
Nowhere in any Hindu religious scripture does it say to serve Palak Paneer, Samosa, or Dosa!
I wish the west would take the time to understand and appreciate the diversity of India and Indian Americans!

appreciation, california, art, activism, activist, change, change in thinking, create the change, classical traditions, cross cultures, cultures, desi american, diversity, design, educate, education, hindu, hinduism, global, global cultures, history, hometown, inclusion, indian american, interfaith, islam, oneness, religions, religion, spiritual activism, spirituality, tamil american, tamil, tamil nadu, unity, unityindiversity, my story, languages, languagesangeetha kowsikMarch 28, 2022food, cusine, cultural diversity, crosscultural, hindu, hinduism, hindu temple, my story, story, journey, yoga, california, india, indian, south indian, tamil, ta, tamil nadu, american, tamil american, tamilamerican, tamil culture, afghanistan, afghan, cuisine, food culture, blogger, blog, cali, break stereotypes, stereotypes, faith, spiritual, spirituality, immigrant, first generation, new york, nyc, new york city, educate, educateyourself, education, global, bay area, chai, tea, teacher, culture, cultures

LORD AYYAPA - An INLCLUSIVE Hindu Deity who is BELOVED by Hindus, Muslims, Christians & who's prayer came from Buddhism!

A Hindu Deity whose pilgrimage & fast is taken by 40 to 50 million people of all faiths/backgrounds yearly! A deity who unifies Hindus, Muslims, Christians, etc., people of all backgrounds/faiths. Showing that the mighty divine is SUPREME and belongs to ALL creation regardless of class, background, faith, gender, etc. The divine deity who symbolizes equal rights for the LGBTQI+ communities.

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I WON! Winner- Re-Imagining Democracy Future Art Awards - Virtual Exhibition - Black Lives Matter Design

I’m beyond thrilled and honored to win a special mention artist award for my Black Lives Matter Design in this year’s 2021 Future Art Awards Re-Imagining Democracy by Mozaik Philanthropy! I’m thrilled to be included in the Virtual Art Exhibition up on their website! https://mozaikphilanthropy.org/2021-exhibition/

MY REFLECTIONS:

I never understood why I have had only one black boss in the 20+ years I’ve worked in the world of fashion.

Brooklyn Museum Popup - My Customers are so DIVERSE! Grateful!

The world says “to define my customer base” Well I find that really difficult for me! My customers that day included Japanese Grandmas, Latino Boys, Young African American Gay Men, Hipsters, Hindu folks, Muslim folks, Arab families, Turkish families, and many more! My work appeals to a wide range of races, nationalities, ages, demographics, etc. I believe that art and design are the way to bring together diverse communities.

art, museum, change, activism, activist, appreciation, change in thinking, create the change, cross cultures, cultures, desi american, design, diversity, educate, education, faith, friendship, global cultures, global, graphic design, history, hometown, hindu, hinduism, indian american, inclusion, impact, language, languages, oneness, music, south asia, spirituality, travel, typography, unityindiversity, unitysangeetha kowsikJune 21, 2021interconnectedness, interfaith, museum, art history, history, culture, diversity, inclusiveness, cultures, crosscultural, ancient cultures, for change, fortheculture, together, southasian, southasianartist, southasia, asian, asia, brooklyn, brooklyn museum, the metropolitan museum of art, art, design, designs, designer, nyc, new york, new york city, cultural diversity, global, global cultures, international, community, communities, knowledge, education, educate, educateyourself, connected, connect, open your mind, unityindiversity, unity, no borders

BLACK MUSLIM EXPERIENCE, UMMAH, EID & ME - Juneteenth

I was the ONLY non-Black, non-Muslim, non-Hijab, non-Nikab wearing person/lady there! Did I feel any different? NO! I was welcomed with so much love and respect into this Ummah! (Community)

Art for the Love of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) - Tanjore Painting meets Islamic Patterns

For hundreds of years Tamil poets have composed devotional poems adopting the voice of a mother, addressing praises to an extraordinary child. Called pillaittamil ( "Tamil for a child”), major genre of Tamil literature.” Muslim poets used the genre, to praise the Prophet (PBUH), members of his family, and various walis (“friends of God”) who’s tombs are revered in Tamil Nadu.

My design incorporates Tamil script, Tanjore (Traditional Classical style of South Indian (Tamil) painting), traditional Islamic patterns in the background/cradle, & cradle (the poem states “so I can place you in the cradle, and rock you happily, come joyously. Muhammad, who has the truth, come joyously, come”)

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