The procession of the Indian Gods and Goddesses

Last night me and my Dad stepped out on the street with almost a million other people to celebrate Shri Ram and watch his rich procession along with other Indian Gods and Goddesses. There wasn't enough room to even stand in one spot. So many enthusiasts all in one place. The whole walk of the procession was about 10 Kms. The volunteers and activists were keeping themselves cool during the walk by drinking lots and lots of buttermilk and water. Kids were climbing up the walls to get a better view.

I was holding my hand as high as I could to get the best view in my camera. 

Here are some shots for you. 

ENJOY! :) 

It is worth mentioning that the enthusiasm among the people was inexhaustible. The procession went on till midnight and there was not a single story in today's newspaper of any misconduct, misbehavior, violence etc. Something that makes me very proud :) 

That's how machine embroidery works.

We have imported two Japanese creations in India. One is A one head Eight needle ultra smooth low noise embroidery machine and another is a single needle japan made embroidery machine. The number of needles indicate the number of color threads that can be introduced in a design. Both these machines have a small monitor and a mini processor in it to identify and copy a design from our laptop into it.


Absolutely any image can be selected to be embroidered on a piece of cloth. The jpeg image is transformed into a machine identifiable format using a special software that outlines the design on the jpeg image such that the machine can embroider on those lines. Using a USB cord, the image is transferred from  the PC to this embroider machine, the coordinates on the piece of cloth which is being embroidered are set in the embroidery machine, the angle at which the design will be embroidered is selected, the height and width of the design which was set during transforming the image from jpeg is visible on the machine.


The piece of cloth to be embroidered is tightly fixed in the desired ring and fit on the machine. The machine is automatically capable of threading all the needles in it, it is also capable of locking the thread while disconnecting, in case of power loss, it is capable of starting from where it left without affecting the beauty of the design. When the designer hits 'Start', the machine starts embroidering as in the video.



The end product looks like in the picture below.

Aren't these BEAUTIFUL! I absolutely love watching this machine needling it's way to create such beautiful creations. The satin thread palette is inexhaustible. There are so many colors to choose from and one more prettier than the other. I just go crazy looking at them. In the peacock feather design, the yellow pink and green shades are all coming from one single shaded thread piece. Can you believe it? :) 

Here is a free hand design that I got embroidered for a bag. 

             

And here is something I created when I was feeling very patriotic :) 

The one below was created for a chocolate vendor as a decorative container for his chocolates and a brand promoter as well. 

This same technique works for logo printing on scrubs in hospitals, aprons, uniforms, caps, promotional T shirts, events etc. 

This machine is a wonder in itself. I agree that it doesn't come close to the skilled craftsmen embroidering by hand but this is a quick and unique solution for bulk embroidery. The finishing is excellent, the timing is superb, the efficiency is spotless and the ease of embroidery for anyone without any experience is what makes it such a powerful business solution. 

I recommend this machine embroidery for anyone needing a quick and beautiful creative solution. :)

The art of the leaves

The art of the leaves 

Mehendi is the art of drawing beautiful designs using Henna leaves paste on your hands and feet. Traditionally women have been the recipients of this luxury of someone else decorating their hands and feet but with men wearing earrings and all these day, who knows, tomorrow they might indulge in this art as well. ha! 

The Henna leaves paste design when left overnight dyes your palms dark orange or brown. The final product is then flaunted in festivals, marriages and ceremonies as a symbol of happiness and well being. These days women don't wait for A special occasion. I would just put this temporary tattoo to celebrate myself. 

India / Rajasthan (Wiki lead) commercially grows most of the Henna plants in the world and Indians, Pakistanis Bangladeshis and Afghanis are the largest attempters of this art. The leaves of these plants are dried, powdered and packed for sale. Whoever wants to indulge in this art can buy the powder and mix it with  just enough lemon juice or strong tea to make a thick paste. This paste is then transferred to a waterproof cone made of paper or plastic sheet. Once filled, the mouth of the cone is sealed with a tape tightly so that it doesn't leak the paste. The farther drawing end of the cone which is mostly not open is slightly cut with the scissors such that a thin line can be drawn through it. 

The real art begins now. The great unknown artists of this art (atleast one in every block in the country) manage to press the top of the cone with the distal phalanx of the thumb and the metacarpal bone of the index finger just enough to dispense a tiny dot and swiftly moving the position of the tip of the cone to create a line connecting the dots. The really trick for perfecting this art is practice practice practice. 

PS:Excuse the light in the video. The only source of light I had at the mall was the sunlight by the window and people kept passing by disrupting the source of light.   

Music:From the Indian movie "Kahaani". 

Aari Taari Hand embroidery work - India

'Aari Tari' Hand embroidery work

The Mughal Empire brought with it many treasures to India back in the 1500s. One of them were the skilled craftsmen who did hand embroidery work on the grandiose clothing the King and the Queens or should I say the 'Badshah' and their 'Begums' wore in those times. 

Today I visited one "Rahman Bhai" who has been doing this 'Aari Tari' work for the past 30 years. He is so skilled now that his hands can move about doing the embroidery work even with his eyes closed. When I asked him how he learned this art, he said he bunked school back  in those days and spent time with his Ustad to learn this art in Kolkotta. 

Look at the above apparatus for 'Aari Tari', called 'Adda'. The piece of cloth to be embroidered on is tied tightly and stretched in the 'Adda' and with the needle (specially hand made by the artisan himself - in the picture below), the hand drawn design is embroidered. 

Depending on the desired look of the design, a silk, metallic or woolen thread is chosen for the embroidery. As you can see in the video below, Rahman Bhai uses his right hand to insert the needle on the drawing and the left hand under the 'Adda' to hook the thread at the tip of the needle to create this beautiful art work. 

And that's the end product.

Thanks to Rags boutique for letting me in. :)

Tribal art work from the remotest areas near Bastar - Part 2

Tribal art work from the remotest areas near Bastar - Part 2

Since all things Indian begin in God's name, here 
"||Shri Ganeshaya namah||"

Continuing from my last post, today I am going to introduce you to the family who create these amazing art works.


These two brothers are beating on the heated piece of metal to give it, it's shape. you can see the underground handmade furnace. The wife with the little kid in hand is spinning the blower to maintain the heat temperature in the furnace. 

This guy below is hiding from the sun under the net shade and carving the metal piece. 

These men from the same family are carving the wood for making beautiful wood works that we hang on our walls. They can hardly speak any Hindi. As Varsha Ma'am told me, they are very shy people and usually there is an interpreter who translates them for us and us for them. Living in such remote areas, they hardly have any visitors which makes them even more shy of talking to us.  

They first draw the design on the wood, then carve the wood as per the design followed by smoothing the edges and polishing the end product. The tool sets they use are ages old. They have no markets near by to walk up to and buy new tools. 

 

It is said that once a craftsmen has carved lord Ganesha for years, he cannot even if he wants to carve any other figure. The expressions of Ganesha are so engraved on his soul that he can carve another Ganesha even in his sleep. 

 

There's Radha Krishna above carved by another such excelled craftsmen. 

 

Above is Dattaguru, which Varsha Ma'am got custom ordered for herself. Since this was the first of it's kind, a new skilled craftsman took up this job. 

 

Beautiful handwork by the tribal of India.

Valuable insights provided by 

Mrs. Varsha Tatwawadi

Owner of 'Raanbawari'

--An outlet of artefacts of Bastar (NGO)

Ph: 91- 9975055418 

Tribal art work from the remotest areas near Bastar

Tribal art work from the remotest areas near Bastar

Bastar is a district in Chattisgarh next to Dantewada (where coincidentally my Dad spent quite sometime working really hard in his youth). India contains within it, 70% of villages and 30 % of cities where educated communities like us reside. Within the 70% villages in India where there is hardly any continuous supply of electricity, just enough water to survive and colleges for name sake, there are regions in the interior where no mode of transportation can reach, casual population like us is recommended not to visit (because of dangers from settled naxalites). The roads are not developed, the area comes under the forest department, there is threat to life from wild animals, there is just enough food to survive, no government assistance since the area is not recognized as a village, there are people residing creating these beautiful works of arts without the new age furnace, without modern tools, without much incentives and with limited raw material available in the vicinity. Unbelievable but true. 

Some of their art works are displayed below. 

Door handles made of mixed metal (Brass copper and zinc)

Purely completely handmade with measurements provided not by scaling units but by the tips of the fingers.  

One line is never the same as the next line. One dot is never the same diameter as the previous dot. That's the beauty of handmade.  

They make their own molds and their own handmade underground furnace.

Their designs are their own and very unique. One cannot find these designs any where else.  

   

Look at the details in this metal design above. This is a family art work, the bread and butter of the whole family. They are not a community. One family lives up hill and the other 6-7 kms away downhill. But each family is large, almost about 3 generations large. 

The bullock cart carriage that used to carry people from one place to other in the olden days.  

Handmade Mr. Camel completely handmade. You just have to provide them a picture and they make into a metal piece for you. 

Bottle openers from the British Raj times. We didnt need the openers those times, we didnt have any bottles at all.  

The under valued people in India creating some invaluable piece of arts with their magical hands only.

Valuable insights provided by 

Mrs. Varsha Tatwawadi

Owner of 'Raanbawari'

--An outlet of artefacts of Bastar (NGO)

Ph: 91- 9975055418 

Happy Holi: Day 1

Happy Holi 

The Indian Festival of Colors 

Day 1: 

Today is day 1 of the Indian Festival of colors called Holi. Today we light a fire and pray around it. The holy fire burns down all the evil and only goodness remains. 

To celebrate the goodness that remains, today my dad has brought all kinds of sweets and snacks, every family member's favorite sweet is present in the combination below I think. 

And my little nephew is getting ready for tomorrow's colorful celebrations already. 

More colors tomorrow! :)