Diwali Ki Shubhkamnayen: 1.11.2007

Dust that old spice box, bring out that antique jewellery box your mother gave you, better still if it has some compartments in them.

Display it on your center table or that coffee table in your drawing room where you welcome your guests for Diwali.

Fill each compartment with dry-fruits, sugar candies, chocolates, take your pick:-) Drop a tiny tea light candle in one of the slots and see the festive glow it it brings into your home and on the faces of your guests:-)

(Images & ideas by Arch, feel free to get inspired and link to me but if you want to use my photographs for some other purpose please send me a mail.)

Diwali Ki Shubhkamnayen: 31.10.2007

Diwali is the time when major cleaning, painting, sprucing up is done and homes are transformed into a special abode for Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth)

There is brightness everywhere. My Diwali routine includes taking out all my brass lamps, the simple brass diyas to huge Kerala Lamps.

Here is a simple idea that you can use as a center of interest on your dining table, infront of a picture of Goddess Lakshmi or at the entrance to your home.

Polish those simple brass diyas, place it in between the grooves of an egg tray (which you can pick up from any grocery store). Use any flower of your choice to fill up the gaps in between the diyas. Voila! You have a gorgeous centerpiece ready.

(Images & ideas by Arch, feel free to get inspired and link to me but if you want to use my photographs for some other purpose please send me a mail.)

Diwali Inspirations...

With Diwali- 'The Festival of Lights' around the corner, I have been looking everywhere for inspiration to decorate my home. There are amazing, sparkly diyas & lamps available in the market, fancy gift packs of dry fruits & sweets, amazing packaging of chocolates and so on but I want to do something innovative, something simple, something beautiful, something traditional, something different.

So why look elsewhere? I keep sharing ideas from my home now and then, but this is the first time I have decided to share Diwali Decorating Ideas formally.

Some ideas & inspirations from my home to your home every single day from today to Diwali that is on 9th Nov, 2007. (Ok, I have said it!)

Now please be with me and do tell me what you think of this. While I try and share some inspiring ideas, the next couple of days...

Touched by kindness...

* I sip my lemon tea, feel the hot liquid warm my body as well as my spirits.
* Contemplative is my mind, you ask me how can tea warm my spirits?
* The tea was incidentaI it was a soul's act of kindness that has given such a beautiful start to my Tuesday morning.
* A little girl waits for a school bus every morning. An elderly sweet lady waits for the little girl every morning.
* To give a bunch of freshly picked flowers from her garden. To speak a few words of kindness.
* The little girl is excited to get lovely flowers and tell the sweet lady about her school.
* What a delicate, un-named relationship they share.
* A thread of kindness & innocence binds them together.
* The little girl being my Mallika, the elderly lady our sweet neighbour & the fresh yellow hibiscus is from her garden:-)
* Touched by this act I thanked her for the flowers and as I turned to leave, she said,"My daughter too was like her...when she was little." reminiscing her daughter's childhood.
* I had a lump in my throat and quickly walked away hiding a teardrop.
* As I placed the flowers in water I realised how beautiful life is and how people touch our lives in different ways.

Bungalow 8

The name of an unusual home accessories store which is situated in an unconventional location beneath the benches of the famous Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India.
The store's philosophy of juxtaposing contemporary blockprinted linens in Art Deco cupboards, sleek Jaisalmer bathroom accessories on vintage basins is extremely interesting.Bungalow 8 is a store where you'll find an eclectic, traditional & rare mix of furniture & fashion hand picked from India and from all over the world.
The store was set up by Maithili Ahluwalia in 2003 in an unconventional location of a bylane in a residential area and started the minimilist trend. Today she has won many accolades both in India as well as internationally.
Bungalow 8 - "Modern home accessories, Designs inspired from tradition & Global origin".


(images from bungaloweight.com)

Art & Crafts of India #7: Gond Tribal Painting

Gond Tribal Painting is done by Gondi people who live in parts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh & Orissa.

Gondi people pray to various Gods & spirits. These paintings like various other tribal art is done on the walls of the houses. The depiction of their environment in the form of forests, trees, animals, birds is prominent in the paintings. Lord Krishna dancing on the serpent head, part of the Hindu mythology.

Beautiful depiction of animals.Black & White Gond paintings from www.indiahandicraftstore.com
Serpent's Head Tree by renowned Gond painter Bhajju Shyam.

Bhajju Shyam's work won a State award in 2001 and today he has illustrated 'The London Jungle Book' by Tara Books.

Lovely art form from the tribal forests of Gond. Amazing colours & intricate workmanship makes it a winner.
Already on my list of 'To-Buy':-)

(images from indiahandicraftstore.com, resurgence.org, tarabooks.com, shot at Chitrakala Parishad )

Pink for the Cure...

My post for 'Breast Cancer Awareness Month"

Let me start with this bright pink studio home of fashion designer Malini Ramani. This space is a mix of bohemian, goan & international styles. Crystal lotus infront of a multi-faith mandir (shrine/temple) in her lounge area.
The lounge area has lot of pink velvet with pictures of friends and her guru in the backdrop. The wrought iron & shells chandelier is her own creation.Old rose walls with a Gautam Vaghela painting in one of Pinakin Patel's Alibag projects.Priti Paul & Jaouad Kadiri's Moroccan retreat.'Vogue' Magazine Photographer Norman Parkinson captures the richness of India through his camera.
The MTV Office in Bangalore by Sandeep Khosla & AssociatesAlpana & Rahul Kirloskar's bungalow in Pune with a large centre table with Sanskrit script on torched granite in the living room. A painting by J Swaminathan on the wall.
A verandah with a large wenge seagrass sofa with vivid pink upholstery.Some pink festive decorating ideas from Elle Decor Magazine.

Glass Candle Stand from Klove Studio, Fabric from House of Ishatvam, Atmosphere, Old Goddess Lakshmi print from Moonriver.Wrought Iron lamps from Good Earth, Chair from India Chic, Fabric from Muslin.
Bright pink upholstery from Atmosphere.

&

finally an artist whose paintings I really admire- Dhruvi Acharya.

She says,"My paintings focus, through allegory, on the roles of being a woman and artist plus a mother and daughter, of living life as a couple with two boys, or life as a couple with two careers … it is all these dualities, the “two-ness” of my existence that makes life both stressful and enjoyable. And these dualities find their way into my paintings, through allegories and metaphors, images and colours... read more here "

Bound, Acrylic on panel, 2001 In the Middle of the Night, Acrylic on panel, 2002
Flower PowerUnplugged, Acrylic on Canvas, 2000

(images from Elle Decor Magazine, Indian Design by Daab, Inside-Outside Magazine, Vogue, Dhruvi.com)

The month of October...

This leaf, so complete in itself,
Is only part of a tree.
And this tree, so complete in itself.
Is only part of the mountain.
And the mountain runs down to the sea.
And the sea, so complete in itself,
Rests like a raindropOn the hand of God.~ Ruskin Bond (Book of Verse)

Autumn? Fall? What does this season bring with it in an Indian context?

I love seeing this beautiful season of warm colours and dry leaves captured through the eyes of many a photographers, poets and simple people like me from around the world.
Autumn in Bangalore- I sharpend my senses and set out with my daughter into the season.

* I smell the change in season.
* The trees are still green but there are subtle changes, the tulip trees are flaming in orange.
* Dry leaves fom trees fall silently on the ground.
* The comforting smell of burning dry leaves.
* Prayer calls from the mosque during 'Ramzan'
* Excited voices of children playing cricket on the streets.
* Dusshera holidays.
* Beginning of various festivals.
* My heart fills with festive happiness.
* Twinkling lights appear on earth lining the roads and shops.
* Nip in the air and the sunlight brightening up various corners of my home.
* A craving for giant sugary doughnut and strong filter coffee.It's also a month of contemplation, a month where I turn a year younger...
Like Maddie says Autumn is a time of birth, of renewal.

* A time to rethink, the things I love.
* Have been wondering can a person be and do many different things?
* Inspiration comes in various forms.
* Learning is a constant thing and I plan to learn, more.
* Listen to my senses more.
* Read more.
* Feel more
* Share more.
* Love more.
* Do more.
Enjoy the season, dear friends...

Shine on...

I am partial to wooden furniture for my home, but these beauties are making me rethink.

Embossed white metal covered side table with Ram head chair from Graham & Green Beautiful four poster bed from Adarsh Gill.Embossed White Metal Coffee table made by the skilled craftsmen in Rajasthan.
Details of the intricate metal design by Adarsh Gill Embossed white metal covered cupboards from Graham & Green.
Adarsh Gill's range of furniture design.
Rajasthani Styled embossed white metal side table.
Now for some shiny accessories to lighten up your homes.
Antique Silver vases from Amrapali
Silver photo frames from Sukra.Silver Banana Leaf plates from Amrapali.

(images from Adarsh Gill, Graham & Green, Amrapali, Sukra)