Celebrating Ganesha...

Received an invitation from one of my favourite stores Eka, announcing their 'Celebrating Ganesha Festival'So if you are in Bangalore or Goa this week, do check out their exotic store with hand-picked one of a kind artifacts from all over India.

A note from my friend in Israel!

I received this beautiful card from Ayelet Iontef in the email today and had to share it with all of you:-) It's New Year in Israel today! Happy New Year Ayelet!

Ayelet Iontef has a beautiful blog called all*over*print. Do check it out.

Adorn your walls....

Paint them, peel them, stencil them, plaster them, madhubani them, block-print them, hand-paint them, wall-paper them....Hand-painted elephant in Tibrawala Haveli, Bissau, Rajasthan. (See how the trunk forms the handrail)

Yes, I am talking about 'Walls'.The terracotta and white decorative patterns are inspired by houses in Magh.
Gone are the days when walls were plain and their purpose was to house paintings, today they are the paintings.

Bring in some rustic charm... Traditional wall decorations painted by the caftsmen from the Wadha community, Hodka, Kutch.
Interesting flat, stylised & geometric designs with birds & camel motifs painted on the outer walls in the villages of Baramsar & Roopsi, Kutch.
Family photosgraphs & religious images are embedded in the while plaster walls in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
(What a fantastic idea!) Terracotta tiles frame a niche in a house in Baramsar, Kutch where the cassette player is the only western amenity.Inlay work with antique mirrors & stylised flowers in Samode Palace, Rajasthan.
Lovely painted patterns in a private chapel in Goa. The trellised roof forms interesting shadows on stencilled walls in one of the homes in Goa.
Colourful Buddhist motifs in the mountainous region of northern India.

Or go contemporary/fusion with these design ideas...Bold colourful geometric patterns in Krsna Mehta's home.
Goldpainted leaf motifs on blue background in Krsna Mehta's residence.
Free flowing hand-painted design in film-maker Ram Madhvani's home.Feature wall with self gold floral print wall paper at Cafe' Penne designed by Payal Chopra. A sinuous bronze pattern on terracotta in Ram Madhvani's home.Foliage patterns in black & white designed by Tania Singh Khosla for Zanav Home.
Floral stencilled patterns in Mallika's room:-)

So what are you waiting for go wild with your imagination, the wall is your canvas, paint away...:-)

(images from Indian Style, home review magazine-vol6. issue3, inside outside magazine- july 2006, dec 2006 & jan 2007 issues)