#two very kerala dance styles ???

[elif-ants]

"kashmir tu, mein kanyakumari-"

IF YOU'RE KANYAKUMARI WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE YOU'RE IN KOCHI

[homedecor-shop-online]

Celebrating Diversity: Regional Variations in Indian Traditional Paintings

India is a country with diversity in cultures, languages, and customs; each area adds its own distinct character to the nation's extensive historical fabric. The unique traditional art forms that have developed throughout the nation are one of the most compelling examples of this diversity. Indian traditional paintings are unique among them, providing a visual feast of colours, subjects, and techniques that are specific to each location.

In this blog, we will look at different Indian states and their special contributions to art. From the vivid colours of Rajasthan to the tranquil surroundings of Kerala, every area has its own unique aesthetic that reflects its ethos, history, and culture.

Indian States and Their Popular Painting Styles

Indian paintings are very popular globally for their depiction of culture and mythology. Indian paintings remind us of the love we have for our diverse culture, beliefs, and traditions. All 28 states offer some unique form of art. Let's have a look at some of the Indian states and their popular forms of art.

Rajasthan: The Land of Royalty and Colours

Rajasthan is a state known for its beautiful palaces, long stretches of desert, and rich forms of art like singing, dancing, and painting. The state is well known for its miniature paintings. This style of Indian traditional paintings have gained a lot of popularity globally for its intricate detailing and rich cultural themes.

These paintings usually feature royal portraits, historical events, and mythological scenes.  From the vibrant markets of Jaipur to the imposing forts of Jodhpur, each brushstroke depicts a tale of bravery, passion, and extravagance. You can pair these intense paintings with a simple abstract wall art to create an unorthodox focal point in your room.

West Bengal: The Meeting Point of Nature and Emotions

From the north western state of Rajasthan, we now move towards the eastern state of West Bengal. Patachitra and Kalighat art are two renowned forms of art in West Bengal. Kalighat paintings originated in the Kalighat Kali temple around the 19th century and are known for their bold lines and visually striking composition.

In Patachitra paintings, ‘pata’ means fabric or cloth, and ‘chitra’ means drawing or painting. Originally, this style of painting was crafted on pieces of fabric, but later it was drawn on canvas. Patachitra paintings primarily feature depictions of Indian Gods and Goddesses.  Bengali paintings arouse feelings of spirituality and appreciation for nature, influenced by the lush landscapes of the Sundarbans and the ethereal aura of the Ganga.

Kerala: The Mythical and Divine Land

From the east now, we move to the Southern part of India, Kerala. Aside from a 100% literacy rate, Kerala is also known for its unique style of painting. This God owned land's love for art is evidently visible in its intricate temple architecture. Its traditional mural paintings represent themes from local folklore and Hindu mythology on the walls of old temples and palaces.

The elaborate details, vivid colours, and expansive compositions of these paintings define them. Kerala murals provide an insight into the rich cultural legacy of the state, showcasing everything from the celestial beings of the Ramayana to the fantastical creatures of Kathakali dance.

Gujarat: A Fusion of Innovation and Tradition

Gujarat, a state in western India, has a distinctive style of traditional painting that combines creativity and tradition. Among the most well-known forms are Pithora paintings and Kalamkari art, which are renowned for their elaborate designs and brilliant colours.

Pithora paintings originated in the Pithoragarh region of Gujarat, where members of the Bhil and Rathwa tribes depicted their tribal culture and beliefs in paintings. Kalamkari paintings are known for their intricate details and delicate curves. They usually depict animals, plants, and God portraits. Gujarati paintings honour the spirit of creativity and workmanship, drawing inspiration from the folk customs and tribal heritage of the area.

Conclusion

As our tour of the many regional variations in Indian traditional paintings draws to an end, we are reminded of the incredible art of creativity and culture that make up our country. Every region has a different take on art and aesthetics, from the tranquil backwaters of Kerala to the royal courts of Rajasthan. These are some of the best wall paintings for the living room if you have a traditional Indian decor.

If you are looking to buy Indian traditional paintings for your living room, you can check out Satguru’s. They have an amazing collection of affordable paintings that can serve as amazing focal points in your space. Along with Indian traditional paintings, they also have an amazing collection of Modern art, Spiritual and Landscape paintings. Visit Satguru’s to find a painting that connects with you and your taste.

[moonlit-sunflower-books]

writing south indian characters

[@/moonlit_sunflower_books on ig]

The primary Indian story that is told through modern literature and media is a very North-Indian focused narrative, and while there's nothing wrong with that, there's a massive lack of south Indian representation. Often we're sort of ostracised from other Indians as well, so i thought i'd make a post outlining how to write South Indian characters talking about the differences between our cultures :)

If you have anything to add or things to point out, please go ahead! This is all based on my own personal experience and knowledge.

how do you define "south indian"

"South Indian" is used as a very broad term and is also highly relative. Generally, it encompasses people from the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The problem with grouping all these characters under one massive umbrella is that our cultures are all vastly different, the same way that someone from Assam and Punjab would have entirely different. I'm going to elaborate on this further as we go!

food

South Indian food, contrary to popular belief, does not consist of idli and dosa.

Some examples of more food are bisi bele bath, pongal and vathakuzhambu (i promise it's not that hard to pronounce), sambhar shadam (a type of rice and curry), rasam, coconut-based kormas, tamarind rice, chakkarai pongal (which is sweet), vadai (yes we pronounce it differently from North Indians), mysore pak, lime rice, our famous filter coffee (or "kaapi"), and so much more.

South Indian food is more rice-heavy than grain-heavy, and we don't really have a roti equivalent. There's also a lot of non-vegetarian food, but since I'm vegetarian, I don't know a whole lot about it :)

There's also obvious language differences: for example, in a Tamilian household, we would call curd rice "thayir shadam", which means the same thing. Which brings me to my next point...

languages

There is a reason that there's a debate as to whether or not Hindi should be the national language. Spoiler alert: it should not.

South India is home to so many languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malyalam. Very often someone from North India will make the assumption that Indian people speak Hindi, whereas this is completely untrue - South Indians should not be expected to speak Hindi any more than North Indians should be expected to speak Tamil.

If you're writing about a South Indian character, make sure that they speak their native language and NOT Hindi at home! And if it's a South Indian character who lives in a different part of the country, like I do, they'll likely know the language of the part of the country they live in as well as their native language. (But this also depends - if a Telugu person has grown up in Delhi, they're likely to speak Hindi better than Telugu.)

Even characters that live abroad will have some connection to their language. As someone who spent many years outside India, I learnt quite a bit of random vocabulary in the form of food and short phrases like "look here", "what do you want", "what happened", and things like that.

fashion

The South Indian version of a lehenga is called a pavada or pavadai, and it's often what younger girls wear at any formal or festive event. Older women will often wear saris. Traditionally, Brahmins used to wear 9 yard saris that were tied differently, but in an attempt to eradicate the caste system, this largely isn't worn anymore.

Men wear veshtis, which is a type of cloth tied around the waist. Traditionally, this would have been worn without a shirt, but today it's not uncommon to see people walking around with a veshti and formal shirt.

Keep in mind, though, India has become really westernised, so many people will also jeans and shirts and things like that. Fusing ethnic and western wear, like jeans with kurta tops, is not uncommon.

It also varies a lot from region to region - in Chennai you're much more likely to see someone walking around casually in a sari than you are in Bangalore, simply because of the culture that surrounds the two cities.

physically

South Indians stereotypically have much thicker, curlier hair and darker skin than North Indians. (But this obviously varies from person to person.)

names

Within South Indian names, it's fairly easy to tell where someone is from - and this is true of any micro-region, state, or culture within India.

Some examples of Tamil names could include "Srinivasan", "Iyer", or "Pillai". (Iyer and Iyengar are actually two sub-sects of Tamilian Brahmins who worship Shiva and Vishnu respectively, but I won't get into that.) Telugu surnames could include "Komati" or "Nayak".

But traditionally, South Indians never had surnames. There would be 2-3 initials that stood for one's village name and father's name, followed by your name. So, for example, C. V. Raman was his full name! Some people still use this system, but because it becomes difficult during documentation etc, most people have switched to the westernised version of the system.

general culture

Two of my personal favourite parts of South Indian culture are Carnatic Music and Bharatnatyam, both of which I have learnt. Carnatic music is a form of classical music where one sings varnams and shlokas and padams in different raagas and taalams. Bharatnatyam is a classical dance form from Tamilnadu with two main styles - Thanjavur and Kalakshetra.

Of course, there are millions of little aspects to South Indian culture, but I couldn't possibly fit them all here :)

being south indian

Being South Indian in other parts of India means that you're subject to a whole lot of racism.

I've had people say "how can you call yourself a real indian" and, like I said earlier, use words like "dosa" and "pongal" instead of my name. There's also language-based discrimination like I mentioned, because many people assume Hindi should be spoken across the country.

The caste system is also very prominent, and there are multiple movements to eradicate it across South India.

[gopalakrishna1234]

Best DJ in Hyderabad, India

DJ Kim Thomas is an extremely versatile DJ in spinning the best of Bollywood, Commercial Music, Progressive House, EDM & more and he has rocked most of the Night clubs in Hyderabad and across India.

A complete Nightlife music soul, Kim has mastered almost every genre of music. However, specializes in Bollywood, Commercial House, Club Music, EDM Progressive Trance Music. Having spent many years performing at all of the major local night clubs and despite all the challenges and hurdles of understanding the audience need Kim evolved as an extremely versatile artist mastering the art by himself as a self-taught DJ.

DJ Kim has made a name for himself by remaining ahead of the game not only for his choice of music but, the way he performs, engages, and entertains the crowd with long flowing mixes that seamlessly blends one track into the next. Aided with the skill and love for a keyboard at church in his early childhood to mixing with top artists of today likes of Neha Kakkar, Diljeeth Dosanjh, Shankar Mahadevan, Sunny Leone, Atif Aslam, Hardy Sandhu, Rajeev Raja, Andrea Jeremiah, etc. He started experimenting with different styles of music, sensing the music pulse within the crowd, and it is this tenacity that won him awards of being the Best DJ of 2018 & 2019 by various associations including the Telangana Entertainment Industry. Also, he is one of the TOP 100 DJs in India.

When not performing, Kim supports and works for a reputed International IT firm in the domain of Information Security. Visiting multiple clubs during his IT tenure led to him taking up DJing as a passionate Hobby. However, it turned out to be his full-time profession over a while and he started excelling in the Music Industry.

Roots from Kerala, Brought up in Chennai and ruling the hearts of Hyderabad’s with his Bollywood Music, DJ Kim aka Kim Thomas is one of the refined Artists In Hyderabad who has truly mastered the art of DJing just within a span of three Decades. If Kim met in the daytime, will come across as just as any other 9-5 Corporate IT person, being in I.T is also one of his passion as an Information Security Professional, however, you will be gobsmacked to know where he truly belongs – On the console spinning the best of Bollywood music and entrancing crowd to sway and swing. His passion for music not only has earned him the title of” Best Bollywood DJ in Hyderabad “but also made him the favorite DJ of party holes in the city.

Kim has started his career as DJ in 2012, on the Journey from just as any other struggling artist to become one of the most sought out DJ’s in Hyderabad as he quotes” It has never been a smooth ride, there was so much disapproval, but what kept me going is my passion for music”. He played at almost all the popular nightclubs and party places in Hyderabad, like Heart Cup, 10 Downing Street, Vapour and Kismet and many more. Most Recently DJ Kim is hired by one of the popular party places of Hyderabad “Hylife Brewing Company” Located at Jubilee Hills.  Kim is the first Bollywood Artist to be blazing the floor of Hylife with his stunning mixes of Bollywood classics and retro’s that his fans have come to love and know him for.

Hylife is known for its unique choice of international Artists Spinning EDM, Deep Tech, House, and Trance, it’s always buzzing with party freaks even on weekdays. This place truly lives up to its mark and looks no less than an art piece and not to forget hanging vehicle in the center is just cherry on the top.  As Hylife being the best has chosen the Best Bollywood DJ in the city. The combo of the lovely place and the lively DJ results in one hell of a party at Hylife every Wednesday.

Partygoers at Hylife not only loving this pleasant change but thoroughly enjoying the wow factor which Kim adds to the night. Kim’s secret sauce is that he understands his audience and his ability to blend Sounds, Emotions, and Music; he is truly a definition of being able to think on his feet. Both a true DJ and People’s favorite, Kim’s Popularity echoes all over the city and respected as one of the Best Bollywood DJs in the city, explains why he is the first Bollywood DJ to be chosen to play at Hylife.

Let’s hear what Hylife Management has to say about Kim’s work at Hylife:

 Operational Director (Hylife):

Kim just owns the dance floor and he knows how to alter the playlist according to the audience, he had some innovative ideas on the table at our first meet that we loved and have never seen before from other artists who could cater more than what they can deliver. He truly is charming both on the floor and off the floor. He takes cues from the crowd and engages them subtly. I would highly recommend Kim any day for a Desi Club Night.

Karthik: General Manager (Hylife):

Kim is the first Bollywood Artist from Hyderabad we had at Hylife, there is a reason why he is the first one, and he is really good at what he does and never disappointed us. He also brings in a lot of ideas for improvement, takes feedback and works on them spontaneously for the success factor of the business. Kim is one of those artists who is very Professional, hardworking and humble at the same time. Our Wednesdays have been so exciting ever since he has associated with us. He is so easy to work with and understands our requirements and always delivers more than expected.

As Cliche as it sounds “If Music is your Drug, well Kim is your Drug Dealer”. And there is never too much to indulge yourself.

Even if you are a person with two left foot worry not, Kim knows how to connect with his audience and shake their feet. Being blessed with the art of music he has a special gift to read and keep his crowd entertained, to witness the Best Bollywood DJ in Hyderabad city at his work being the awesome as he is, Hop in at Hylife on every Wednesday and party till you drop.

[dypuh-blog]

Kathakali - The Grand Spectacle of Kerala

Kathakali is a profoundly stylised old style move show portrayed by its alluring make-up of its characters, expound outfits, definite motions and very much characterized body developments introduced in line with the grapple playback music and going with percussion. It began in the territory of Kerala during the sixteenth century AD, roughly somewhere in the range of 1555 and 1605. Kathakali has experienced fast updation and enhancements throughout the years.

The fundamental rights of a fruitful Kathakali entertainer are his aptitudes of fixation and physical endurance. Imperative endurance to last an entire night of thorough execution is picked up from controlled preparing dependent on Kalaripayattu, the old military craft of Kerala. This preparation readies an on-screen character for his requesting job. The preparation can frequently keep going for 8-10 years, and is escalated. The serious Kalaripayattu preparing has additionally subliminally impacted the non-verbal communication of Kathakali characters.

Historical underpinnings:

The name Kathakali gets from the Malayalam words "katha" (story) and "kali" (which means: play or execution).

Brief History:

As indicated by legends, Kathakali began from a forerunner move show structure called Ramanattam and owes a considerable lot of its exhibitions to Krishnanattam. To put it plainly, these two forerunning structures to Kathakali managed introducing accounts of the Hindu Gods Rama and Krishna (both are natural appearances of the Preserver among the Hindu trinity-Vishnu).

Legend has it that Kottarakkara Thampuran (1555-1605) (leader of the south Kerala area of Kottarakkara) formed most plays dependent on the Ramayana that in the long run prompted the development of Kathakali. In spite of the fact that Ramanattam as a work of art is wiped out, its accounts keep on living as a piece of Kathakali.

Kathakali is the consequence of effective amalgamation from different artistic expressions. It imparts likenesses to Krishnanattam, Koodiyattam (a Sanskrit dramatization execution of Kerala) and Ashtapadiyattam (an adjustment of twelfth century melodic called Gitagovindam). It likewise joins a few components from other conventional ceremonial works of art like Mudiyettu, Thiyyattu, Theyyam and Padayani other than a minor portion of society expressions like Porattunatakam.

Kathakali melodies are rendered in Manipravalam-which is a blend of the traditional language Sanskrit and neighborhood language Malayalam. Despite the fact that a large portion of the melodies are set in ragas dependent on the microtone-overwhelming Carnatic music, there is an unmistakable style of plain-note interpretation, which is known as the Sopanam style. This normally Kerala style of version takes its underlying foundations from the sanctuary melodies which used to be sung (proceeds even now at a few sanctuaries) when Kathakali was conceived.

The characters of Kathakali show up with vigorously painted faces and expand outfits. The movement is profoundly best in class (principally created Kaplingad Narayanan Namboodiri - 1739-1789) and authorizes stories transcendently from the Hindu sagas. Despite the fact that Kathakali was customarily been acted in sanctuaries and castles,Alex Kime Chicago over the previous century it has likewise discovered settings in post-reap paddy fields just as proscenium phases of open corridors/auditoria. Kathakali is a visual treat and its green painted entertainer has gotten interchangeable with the raised culture of Kerala.

Noticeable highlights of Kathakali:

Kathakali comprises of five old style components of compelling artwork:

Articulations (Natyam, the segment with accentuation on outward appearances)

Move (Nritham, the segment of hit the dance floor with accentuation on mood and development of hands, legs and body)

Establishment (Nrithyam, the component of dramatization with accentuation on "mudras", which are hand signals)

Tune/vocal backup (Geetha)

Instrument backup (Vadyam)

Kathakali plays

Generally there are 101 traditional Kathakali stories. The most usually organized stories among them may associate with 30-40. In those occasions when amusement media was amazingly constrained, Kathakali exhibitions were intended to last an entire night. We may state it might have evoked the reaction of a contemporary live performance.

Execution

Kathakali in its most flawless structure is acted before the immense Kalivilakku (kali importance move or execution and vilakku meaning light). The light was lit with a thick wick fuelled by coconut oil. This light was the single wellspring of brightening when the plays used to be performed inside sanctuaries, royal residences or homes of aristocrats and blue-bloods. This aided in making a feeling of wonderment and riddle and helped the entertainer misrepresent the characters he played. It was conceivably one of the principal compelling employments of light to highlight the characters and make a display.

Kathakali is instituted with the backup of music (geetha) and instruments (vadyam). The percussion instruments utilized are Chenda, Maddhalam and Edakka. The lead artist is classified "Ponnani" and his devotee is designated "Shingidi". The lead artist utilizes the "Changala" (gong made of chime metal, which can be hit with a wooden stick) to direct the Vadyam and Geetha segments, similarly as a conduit utilizes his wand in western traditional music and the Shingidi utilizes the "Elathalam" (a couple of cymbals) to add a variety to the music. Most music is customarily framed in gatherings of up to 14 individuals. Be that as it may, typically the melodies are formed with more than 20 individuals.

The distinctive element of Kathakali is that the entertainers never talk yet use hand signals, articulations and cadenced moving rather than discourse (however for two or three uncommon characters). The story is established simply by the developments of the hands (called mudras or hand motions) and by outward appearances (rasas) and substantial developments. The articulations are gotten from Natya Shastra (the tome that manages the study of articulations) and are arranged into nine as in most Indian old style fine arts. Artists additionally experience exceptional practice meetings to learn control of their eye developments.

Kathakali execution rotates around 24 essential mudras - the change and mix of which would include a piece of the hand motions stylish today. Each can be separated again can be grouped into 'Samaana-mudras'(one mudra representing two substances) or "Misra-mudras" (both the hands are utilized to show these mudras). The mudras are a type of gesture based communication used to recount to the story.

The fundamental outward appearances of a Kathakali craftsman are the 'Navarasams' (Nine tastes or articulations). The Navarasams are: Sringaram (love), Hasyam (scorn, humor), Bhayanakam (dread), Karunam (sentiment), Roudram (outrage, rage), Veeram (valor), Beebhatsam (sicken), Adbhutam (wonder, awe), Shantam (serenity, harmony).

Kathakali has an intricate make-up code. The make-up might be characterized into five essential sets to be specific Pachcha, Kathi, Kari, Thaadi, and Minukku. The contrasts between these sets lie in the prevalent hues that are applied on the face. Pachcha (which means green) has green as the prevailing shading and is utilized to depict honorable male characters that are said to have a blend of "Satvik" (devout) and "Rajasik" (regal) nature. Rajasik characters having a detestable streak ("tamasic"= fiendish) - no different they are screw-ups in the play, (for example, the evil spirit ruler Ravana) - and depicted with dashes of red in a green-painted face. Too much underhandedness characters, for example, evil presences (absolutely tamasic) have an overwhelmingly red make-up and a red facial hair. They are called Chuvanna Thaadi (Red Beard). Tamasic characters, for example, ignoble trackers and woodsmen are spoken to with a transcendently dark make-up base and a dark facial hair and are called Kari/Karutha Thaadi (which means dark whiskers). Ladies and religious zealots have glistening, yellowish appearances and this semi-sensible classification shapes the fifth class. Moreover, there are alterations of the five fundamental sets portrayed better than as Vella Thadi (white whiskers) used to delineate Hanuman (the Monkey-God) and Pazhuppu, which is significantly utilized for Lord Shiva and Balabhadra.

Minukku

Minukku is the cleaned assortment of facial make-up comprising in smoothening the entertainer's face with a covering of a blend of yellow and red shades. The arrangement gets 'a self' (or normal skin) appearance shading. It mirrors the characters normally found in Brahmins, Ascetics and Virtuous ladies. The eyes and eye-lashes are painted and shapes lengthened with the dark unguent and oily collyrium. Some of the time the face is enriched with white or cream shading specks, running from the cheeks to the front head in a bow-shape. The lips are blushed and the temple is enriched with a station mark. This shading plan serves to give a representative sparkle of devotion to a fan character. Ladies job types are given sensitive contacts of the make-up.

Pachcha

Pachcha delineates a dark green face. The endorsed jobs are Gods, commended legendary saints, and ethical personages, representing internal refinement balance, chivalry and good greatness. This incorporate legends of a play and honorable characters, Indra, Krishna, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, Sathrugnan, Harishchandra and Nala. The forward portion of their appearances is given smooth dark green base on which chuttis (white rice-glue bends) run from the focal point of the jawline, covering the lower jaw, to either side of the face. The eyes and the eye-lashes are painted dark and the lips splendid red. It expect the state of a wide cutting edge saber or of a broad bend of a bow. The brow, over the tie formed painted segment, is secured by a red lace of the overlaid head gear.

[indimasihealingvillage-blog]

Kalari and Ayurveda- two fruits of the same tree planted by sages

 By Guru Yogi Shivan

 Spirituality is India’s gift to the world. Rishis, the ancient sages, who wrote the hymns of the Vedas, in their quest for the ultimate truth also gave to the mankind vast knowledge for the fulfillment of a meaningful life. It was these great sages and seers, who through their meditative prowess identified and developed the medicinal system of Ayurveda and the martial art form Kalaripayattu also known as Kalari for the upliftment of society and mankind as a whole.

For those unfamiliar with the ancient way of living, it may sound surprising as how can a seer or a sage can be guru (teacher) to a martial art form or how can he develop a system of medicine with elaborate description to the medicinal value of plants and treatment of diseases. To add to this ‘Bharatanatyam’ is one of the oldest and popular classical dance form in India. The origin of this dance form can be traced to the sage Bharata Muni, a Rishi who wrote the book ‘Natyashastra’.  Such was the contributions of these great ancient sages that they touched every sphere of life.

Kalaripayattu or Kalari is the first and the mother of all martial art form in the world. The Kalari originated in South India and there are two styles in practice. The Guru of Thekkan (southern) Kalari is sage Agastya and guru of Vadakkan (Northern) Kalari is warrior sage Parasurama. Though the real recorded accounts of the ancient Indian history has faded away with time, due to a series of invasions that India underwent, there was undoubtedly a rich Indian culture and tradition that created a healthy society. This glorified past of the land Bharatam or Bharat which later came to be called as India can still be traced in various parts of the country and in Southern state of Kerala in particular. A number of South Asian martial arts are believed to have originated from Kalari and still shares many similar fighting styles.

Of these Kalari, other than being a martial art form has various dimensions to it and was developed for a greater cause. It was a martial art form practiced by men and women of all ages thereby building a healthy society. They specialized in one or more of the important weapons of that period including the spear, sword and shield apart from various techniques of fighting with bare hands. Kalari tournaments were often held with much pomp and splendour and these arenas were also the recruiting ground for the warriors of erstwhile King’s army.

The medical side of Kalari – Masters turned healers

Kalari also has a medical side to it. The masters of Kalari were also well versed in the art of healing which was taught to the disciples. This was incorporated in the martial art form by the seers so that those practicing Kalari were also able to keep diseases at bay. Also, they could heal if anyone of the fellow mates was wounded in the practice or during the actual performance of the martial arts. Those who learn Kalari are also taught various aspects of the human body as the flexibility of body, focused mind and the correct moves are considered vital elements in Kalari. The control of breath ( Pranayama) and its various manifestations were put to good use in the Kalari on the outer level. The master of Kalari is called as Gurukkaal and even today many approach them for treatments of various ailments mainly outer injuries, muscular problems and even broken bone. The masters of Kalari were learned scholars in various marmam - vital points in the human body. When in the battlefield, if the use of these vital points in the body was to neutralize the opponents, back home, it was used to cure diseases and has a medical purpose to it. Marmashastram (Science of Marmam) stresses on the knowledge of marmam and is also used for marma treatment. Kalaripayattu teachers were also qualified experts in various forms of massages (uzhichil) with medicinal oils. This they gave to students to increase physical flexibility and to develop a healthy body. It was Kalari that lend the massages to Ayurveda system of medicine. Thus, we can see how Kalari is closely knitted to Ayurveda and Yoga.

Though Kalari in ancient Kerala was practiced by women and men, still there were people who were unable to practice it. Mostly, young children and old people. When a Kalari practitioner was able to fight diseases affecting his body through various means of practice as laid down in Kalari, there was a need for proper treatment mechanisms for the common man. This is where the Ayurveda came in. The vision of the great Indian sages was so vast that they bridged this gap by formulating Ayurveda system of medicine.

The great Ayurveda system was developed by these sages not only by the trial and error method but also through immense knowledge they acquired by their intense meditation.  It is claimed that even these sages were able to transform themselves in their deep meditative state to match the level of a plant to unravel their medicinal values and pass it on for the betterment of the mankind. The medicines were developed for both internal and external application. The modern-day medicine through their intense research and various laboratory tests are now slowly accepting the fact that various medicinal use of plants as laid down in Ayurveda are indeed true. But it may require many years for the western scientific acumen to fully grasp the knowledge that Indian seers gave to the mankind.

Having said this, though the Western reductionist science does not have space for the findings of the Indian seers, the newly evolved quantum physics has come very close to ancient Indian philosophy. German physicist, Hans-Peter Durr, who put forward the duality principle in quantum physics had said that he is just playing the second fiddle to the ancient Indian sages who taught the great Advaita philosophy to the world.

The spiritual side of Kalari – Joining the dance of the cosmos

The martial art form Kalari has a spiritual nature attached to it. Envisaged and passed on to the disciples by the great sages, Kalari’s spiritual side is little known today to the modern world. But those who practiced Kalari and went out in search of the ultimate truth that connects a human being deep within and outside were able to recognize the spiritual side of Kalari. The great warrior masters ‘Chekevars’ as they were called, through arduous practice of the martial art indeed were able to identify and tap this huge spiritual potential attached with Kalari. The great sages Agastya and Parasurama passed this vital aspect in Kalari to their disciples and it was passed on from one generation to the other by the Kalari gurus. These ‘Chekavars’ apart from Kalari also practiced ‘Dyana’ or meditation and were able to tap the cosmic energy.

It is said that a ‘Chekavar’ never tastes defeat on the battlefield.  Kalari is practiced in ‘Kalam’ which can be translated as Kalari arena. Once the Chekavar declares a fight with an opponent (usually another Chekavar) they start Vritham (penance) and involves in ‘Dyana’ or meditation. Till the day of the fight, the Chekavar involves in these practice in the Kalari training centre. If a Chekavar does not return from the arena of the fight it means he is dead. That means the great Kalari warrior fights till the last breath and joins the dance of the cosmos once he leaves the body. That also implies that he never returns to bear the weight of a defeat. Thus, every Chekavar remains undefeated.

In a way, we are all Chekavars. This life of ours is the arena where ‘we’ the warriors are constantly fighting diseases.  We should all be duty bound to lead a complete and meaningful life to evolve victorious. Kalari, Ayurveda, Yoga and all those passed on to mankind by the great sages of India will be a guiding light.

[venuelook-blog]

What are the Best Winter Honeymoon Destinations in India?

As the winter arrives wedding bells start chanting!! Many people start their journey of togetherness with their better half’s. And as you have spent countless sleepless nights planning out every single detail of your wedding to be perfect and flawless. In between this rush, the euphoria of starting a new life, planning for your honeymoon might have slipped through the cracks. But don’t worry you still have time left to check this out and finalize your destination for honeymoon. After all, the wedding rituals and spending time with all your family members, life tempts for an exotic and cozy honeymoon holiday to escape from the city clamor to a serene enclave. Honeymoon is one of the most beautiful moments of our life that is framed in our golden memories eternally. The period that is purely filled with love, adventure and gaining new experience.

GOA

Everybody knows by now that Goa is a very popular honeymoon destination in India among all the destinations! Goa is a perfect blend that has everything for a couple that can make sure the honeymoon period never ends. Goa can itself fetch the trendy honeymoon couples to spend their special and exotic days experiencing the secluded, tranquil and pristine beaches overlooking the Arabian blues. Not only this but also glorious Portuguese architecture, balmy shores, eclectic nightlife, and a coastal retreat with a shimmering sun in the backdrop everything is just perfect to spend your best time with your loved one.  We are sure that Goa will not fail to make you experience the best of it by making sure the wedding fever doesn’t fade away.

JAISALMER, RAJASTHAN

Jaisalmer has always known for its royalty and culture. Jaisalmer is a  true fairytale rising from the mirage of a long lost royalty that will surely make your honeymoon memorable! If you are planning for a perfect exotic destination filled with activities then Jaisalmer is a perfect choice, as you can experience the fun of a safari in a desert, camping, camel safari and bonfire. Not only this you can even experience traditional dance, music show and thereafter a candlelit wine & dine that enriches your bed of flowers. Jaisalmer is the best place to enjoy your honeymoon in winter.

MUNNAR, KERALA

Munnar is one of the most beautiful places to experience, it is also known as the honeymoon capital of India. Perfect because it has an amorous climate, pleasing breeze, soothing environment, and wonderful attractions that will surely be going to win your hearts. You can even experience the wildlife activities that you will surely enjoy with your loved ones. It is a perfect place to enjoy some private campfire for two in the chilling cold winter nights.  You can even enjoy the best of greenery here with a perfect bliss of mountains and lakes, coffee plantations and houseboats. Life there will simply turn to flutter like a butterfly spreading your honeymoon wings with varied colors, tunes, and emotions. 

ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS

Looking forward to planning a rich and Miami or the Bahamas styled honeymoon, then Andaman and Nicobar is a perfect place for you! It is situated in the Bay of Bengal. A perfect exotic destination where you can experience a dive into reefs, dinner in a moonlit beach or can relax in white sandy beaches and in early winters you can even experience a walk among the turtles. A beautiful destination for having a luxurious honeymoon and you don’t even have to travel to Thailand, Maldives or Mauritius for that. You can look outside of your window to catch the sparkle of the lighthouses or walk hand-in-hand with your loved one on the white sands of Asia’s best beaches.

DALHOUSIE

Dalhousie is also one of the best choices to plan your winter honeymoon. In winters you can even experience a snowfall that will surely make your honeymoon amazing that you can keep in your golden memories. Dalhousie is situated in the state of Himachal Pradesh among the world-renowned Himalayas making it best as a honeymoon destination to visit in winter. Dalhousie has a mystic ambiance that carries the fresh aroma of tea plantations and the best view is of the tall pine trees tipped with snow.

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Top 5 Cultural Festivals in India That You Must Experience

“Unity in Diversity” is a motto that can be seen and felt in every aspect of Indian life.

Rightfully so, since the unique assortment of rituals & festivals of India reflects its rich heritage & diverse culture, regions, & religions which have been built over centuries.

India is one of the very few countries across the globe that supports people from all communities and religions. Every religious festival in India is celebrated with equal zeal and vigor and each faith follows its own calendar for deciding the day on which the festival is to be celebrated. With over 3.3 million gods and goddesses that this country has, no wonder why every month brings a unique Indian festival with it! To name a few, there’s Holi-the festival of colors- celebrated in early Spring, Makar Sankranti, Kumbh Mela, Onam to mark the late harvest season & Baisakhi for the early harvest season, Durga Puja, Christmas, Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid, and Buddh Poornima, etc.

However, if you want to really explore and understand the heritage, history, and culture of this country, you should focus on the cultural festivals in India.

1. Snake Boat Race, Kerala

Vallam Kali, popularly known as Snake Boat Race, gets its name from the canoe-style traditional war boats that are used in the race.

This 650-years-old festival is celebrated during Onam every year around major lakes and rivers, with the most prominent one being the Nehru Trophy Race held on Alleppey’s Punnamda Lake. Traditionally dressed rowers position themselves on their team boats, with nearly 2200 players competing at the same time in 20 teams, as musicians & folk artists cheer them up from the shores while the audience looks on.

Out of all the cultural festivals of India, the Snake Boat Race stands out because of the exhilaration and thrill it inspires in all who attend and witness this mini Olympics on water. Plus, the exquisite Onam feast, where you can devour special Keralan cuisine and celebrate this harvest festival with a local family, is an added advantage.

Celebrated In: Midway during the Onam festival; usually in late August or early September

Also Read: Indian Festival Guide: Best Indian Festivals to Enjoy in November 2018

 Discover India’s Unique Culture & Heritage with Vue India Tours

    2. Desert Festival, Jaisalmer

  Sandy dunes, folk tunes, enthusiasm, colors, and happiness- the Jaisalmer Festival, filled with people from all spheres of Rajasthan’s cultural landscape, makes the otherwise bland desert come alive with vigor.

With an undivided focus on showcasing the local elements and tradition of the desert state, this three-day-long extravaganza exhibits the harmonious balance between Rajasthani art, music, folk dance, and lifestyle. In addition to the performances, you will also get a chance to see exciting events like camel races, rural fashion shows, turban-tying competitions, the longest mustache competition, etc. and participate in them as well.

Amidst the magnificent tour of Rajasthan’s Havelis, palaces, forts, lakes, and remnants of its imperial past, the Desert Festival in Jaisalmer is a perfect way to indulge in an out-of-the-world experience.

Celebrated In: Early to Mid February  

3. Thrissur Pooram, Kerala

While most festivals of India have either religious roots or social ones, Thrissur Pooram is one of the few that has both- It was created over 200 years ago to ensure communal harmony through mass celebrations by the then Maharaja of Cochin- Raja Rama Verma.

The grandest event of Thrissur Pooram is the public display of elephants, decorated distinctively like chariots of Gods, with golden headdress, decorative bells & ornaments, and beautifully crafted Kolam. The event is marked with a huge fireworks display, traditional music, and cultural representation.

Watching neat rows of elephants standing calmly as drums blast religious tunes and the awe-inspiring procession of chariots passes by you is a truly magnificent experience. No wonder why Thrissur Pooram is called the “festival of festivals.”

Celebrated In: Usually in April or May, during the Malayalam Calendar month of “Medam”

Also Read: Top Wellness Retreats in India

 4. Hemis Festival, Ladakh

Hemis Festival, a prominent festival of North India’s Ladakh, is a celebration of faith and tradition hosted annually in Hemis Gompa, the largest Buddhist Monastery in the wilderness of Ladakh’s freezing, rugged landscape.

You’ll find the centuries-old monastery a sight to behold. But, it is the fete that will catch your attention and keep your heart.

If you ever find yourself longing to experience Ladakh’s real culture, there is no better way to achieve so than spending two days wrapped in the Hemis Festival. Dedicated to Lord Padmasambhava, the ceremony begins early in the morning, followed by the festivities. The most mystical of these is the Sacred Mask Dance where people dress up in vibrant costumes and peculiar outfits, wear remarkable masks designed to depict celestial & divine figurines, and follow the master artists who perform the eloquent Padmasambhava dance on the medley of drums, trumpets, and cymbals.

Celebrated In: Usually in June or July, during the 5th Month of Tibetan Calender.

Also Read: 8 Amazing Cultural Fairs & Festivals of Rajasthan That Are a Colorful Visual Treat

 5. Pushkar Camel Fair, Rajasthan

Pushkar Fair, India’s largest cattle fair, is an annual festival of India that mirrors the 100-years-old, vibrant & gracious Rajasthani tradition and celebrates religious reverence of the Pushkar Lake.

Hosted on the banks of the Pushkar Lake, this unique Indian festival is hosted in the small town of Pushkar, that’s a three-hour drive from Jaipur, and registers thousands of foreigner tourists each year.

In addition to the gorgeously dressed animals being sold for the best price by quite articulate owners, the appeal of the Pushkar festival lies in exquisite jewelry markets and shops for local garments, tie-and-dye scarves, tattoos, and patchwork. Each day is celebrated with a series of spectacularly impressive and breathtaking competitions, including camel races, cultural dances, longest mustache competition, tug of wars, and bridal competitions.

The last five days of the Pushkar fair are dedicated to Hindu pilgrims, who come to ward off their sins in the holy water of the Pushkar lake.

Celebrated In: Usually in November.

So, What’s the Wait? Go Ahead and Explore These Cultural Festivals of India

The list is never-ending. In addition to the five, you just read about, there are a lot more items in the list of festivals of India that let you explore its unique cultural aspects as well.

• Pongal • Bihu • Baisakhi • Durga Puja • Dussehra • Makar Sankranti • Basant Panchami • Mahavir Jayanti • Losar Festival • Eid-ul-Fitr

Truly, the list is too long to compile at once. However, if you want to know more, just let us know and keep checking back for updates.

Read More: Celebrate and be a part of the fairs and festivals of Udaipur

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South India

South India (comprised of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu) really has a distinct culture that sets it apart from the rest of the country. Intricate temple architecture, historical ruins, palm fringed canals, spirituality and beach will provide you with a varied and interesting trip. Southern Part of India has witnessed many Dynasties and thus represents different Cultures. It is still untouched, green and pure. Traditional clothing: South Indian women traditionally wear the sari while the men wear a type of sarong, which could be either a white dhoti or a colourful lungi with typical batik patterns.

                                                      Cuisine:

Rice is the staple diet, with fish being an integral component of coastal South Indian meals. Coconut is an important ingredient in Kerala or Hyderabadi biryani is also very special in Telangana. In Andhra Pradesh is characterized by the pickles, spicy aromatic curries and the generous use of chili powder. Dosa, Idli, Uttapam etc. are popular throughout the region. Coastal areas like the state of Kerala and the city of Mangalore are known for their seafood. South Indian coffee is generally quite robust, and coffee is a preferred drink throughout the Malabar region. Tamil Nadu is well known for its Idli, Dosa, Pongal, Sambhar, Vada, Puri, which are the common breakfast in Tamil families. Among the Malayalees, Appam, Puttu, Upamav, Malabar biryani are some of the common dishes. In Karnataka, Bisibele bath, Kara bath, Kesari bath, Raggi mudda, Udin Vada, Bene Masala Dosa, Paper Dosa are some of the common dishes.

                                                          Music:

                                         Rural folk music to the sophisticated Indian Classical Music of South India is known as Carnatic music and mostly devotional, rhythmic and structured music by composers such as Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasaru, Tyagaraja, Dikshathar, Shyama Sasthri, and Swati Tirunal. The nadaswaram and the (thavil) were played together in South Indian temples to create a periya melam ensemble.

                                                             Dance : 

The South Indian culture is celebrated in the elaborate dance forms of South India Koodiyattam, Bharatanatyam, Oyilattam, Karakattam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Thirayattam, They yam, Bhuta Kola, Ottamthullal, Oppana, Kerala Natanam, Mohiniaattam and Yakshagana. The Bharatanatyam is the celebration of the eternal universe through the celebration of the beauty of the body.

                                                         Kerala Backwaters:

                                                    Cruising along the palm-fringed canals, known as the backwaters, is one of the best things to do in Kerala. Indian food cooked by a chef and chilled beer on-board the boat makes it even more enjoyable. You can spend the night on the boat, out in the middle of the water, surrounded by serenity. Kerala backwaters are a network of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast of Kerala state in southern India, as well as interconnected canals, rivers, and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 kilometres (560 mi) of waterways.

                                                        Madurai, Tamil Nadu:

                                                          Ancient Madurai is home to the most impressive and important temple in South India, The city of Madurai is more than 4,000 years old, and has remained a major center for Tamil culture and learning. Its skyline is dominated by the 14 colorful gopurams (gateway towers) of Meenakshi Amman Temple. Covered in bright carvings of Hindu gods, the Dravidian-style temple is a major pilgrimage site.

                                              Mysore, Karnataka:

                                          Mysore (or Mysuru), a city in India's south-western Karnataka state, was the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947. Mysore has an impressive royal heritage, with the city's main tourist attraction being the imposing Mysore Palace. The palace blends Hindu, Islamic, Gothic and Rajput styles. Mysore is also home to the centuries-old Devaraja Market, filled with spices, silk and sandalwood. Mysore is located in the foothills of the Chamundi Hills about 145.2 km (90 mi) towards the southwest of Bangalore and spread across an area of 152 km2 (59 sq. mi).

                              Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu:

                                                              Rameshwaram is a peaceful little pilgrim town in southern Tamil Nadu, brought to life by the constant stream of pious devotees that come to bathe in its holy water, get a puja done to purify their karma, and visit Ramanathaswamy Temple. This is where Lord Ram got Lord Hanuman to build a bridge across the ocean to rescue Sita from her abductor, Ravan. Adam's Bridge (also referred to as Ram Setu), a chain of reefs and sandbanks, is said to be the place where the bridge was located. It's about as remote as you can get, and almost connects India with Sri Lanka. In this area, not far from Rameshwaram, are the eerily crumbled and windswept remnants of Dhanuskodi, a town destroyed by cyclone in 1964. The approach to Rameshwaram is dramatic, with two long bridges (one for trains and one for other vehicles) linking it to the mainland.                                                   Periyar National Park, Kerala:

                                                                Periyar National Park, also known as Periyar Tiger Reserve, is in the mountainous Western Ghats of Kerala, southern India. Periyar is known for its herds of wild elephants. They can be sometimes be seen by the side of the lake on boat safari. This wildlife sanctuary is home to tigers and a significant elephant population, as well as rare lion-tailed macaques, sambar deer, leopards and Indian bison.

                                                 Gokarna, Karnataka:

                                                                Gokarna is a town on the Arabian Sea, in the south-western Indian state of Karnataka. This small and remote holy town has four of India's most secluded and pristine beaches (Kudle Beach, Om Beach, Half-moon Beach, and Paradise Beach) nestled nearby. Each has its own appeal. The town is also home to beaches such as palm-lined Gokarna, in the center, plus Kudle and Om farther south.

                                         South India Famous Culture

South India (contained Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu) truly has a particular culture that separates it from the remainder of the nation. Perplexing sanctuary engineering, verifiable remnants, palm bordered channels, otherworldliness and shoreline will give you a changed and fascinating excursion. Southern Part of India has seen numerous Dynasties and in this way speaks to various Cultures. It is as yet immaculate, green and unadulterated.                                             Traditional clothing: South Indian ladies generally wear the sari while the men wear a sort of sarong, which could be either a white dhoti or a brilliant lungi with common batik designs.                                                      Cooking: Rice is the staple eating routine, with fish being a fundamental segment of waterfront South Indian suppers. Coconut is a significant fixing in Kerala or Hyderabadi biryani is additionally exceptionally unique in Telangana. In Andhra Pradesh is portrayed by the pickles, fiery fragrant curries and the liberal utilization of stew powder. Dosa, Idli, Uttapam and so forth are famous all through the area. Beach front regions like the territory of Kerala and the city of Mangalore are known for their fish. South Indian espresso is commonly very powerful, and espresso is a favoured beverage all through the Malabar locale. Tamil Nadu is notable for its Idli, Dosa, Pongal, Sambhar, Vada, and Puri, which are the regular breakfast in Tamil families. Among the Malayalees, Appam, Puttu, Upamav, Malabar biriyani are a portion of the basic dishes. In Karnataka, Bisibele shower, Kara shower, Kesari shower, Raggi mudda, Udin Vada, Bene Masala Dosa, Paper Dosa are a portion of the normal dishes. Music: Country people music to the modern Indian Classical Music of South India is known as Carnatic music and generally reverential, cadenced and organized music by arrangers, for example, Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasaru, Tyagaraja, Dikshathar, Shyama Sasthri, and Swati Tirunal. The nadaswaram and the (thavil) were played together in South Indian sanctuaries to make a periya melam group. Dance: The South Indian culture is praised in the intricate move types of South India Koodiyattam, Bharatanatyam, Oyilattam, Karakattam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Thirayattam, Theyyam, Bhuta Kola, Ottamthullal, Oppana, Kerala Natanam, Mohiniaattam and Yakshagana. The Bharatanatyam is the festival of the everlasting universe through the festival of the magnificence of the body. Kerala Backwaters: Cruising along the palm-bordered trenches, known as the backwaters, is a standout amongst the best activities in Kerala. Indian sustenance cooked by a culinary specialist and chilled brew on-board the pontoon make it much progressively pleasant. You can go through the night on the pontoon, out amidst the water, encompassed by peacefulness. Kerala backwaters are a system of salty tidal ponds and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea shore of Kerala state in southern India, just as interconnected trenches, streams, and bays, an overly complex framework shaped by in excess of 900 kilometres (560 mi) of conduits. Madurai, Tamil Nadu: Ancient Madurai is home to the most amazing and significant sanctuary in South India, The city of Madurai is over 4,000 years of age, and has remained a noteworthy place for Tamil culture and learning. Its horizon is ruled by the 14 bright gopurams (passage towers) of Meenakshi Amman Temple. Shrouded in brilliant carvings of Hindu divine beings, the Dravidian-style sanctuary is a noteworthy journey site. Mysore, Karnataka: Mysore (or Mysuru), a city in India's south-western Karnataka state, was the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947. Mysore has a great imperial legacy, with the city's principle vacation spot being the overwhelming Mysore Palace. The royal residence mixes Hindu, Islamic, Gothic and Rajput styles. Mysore is likewise home to the hundreds of years old Devaraja Market, loaded up with flavors, silk and sandalwood. Mysore is situated in the lower regions of the Chamundi Hills about 145.2 km (90 mi) towards the southwest of Bangalore and spread over a zone of 152 km2 (59 sq. mi). Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu: Rameshwaram is a serene little explorer town in southern Tamil Nadu, enlivened by the consistent stream of devout enthusiasts that come to wash in its blessed water, complete a puja to clean their karma, and visit Ramanathaswamy Temple. This is the place Lord Ram got Lord Hanuman to manufacture a scaffold over the sea to protect Sita from her abductor, Ravan. Adam's Bridge (additionally alluded to as Ram Setu), a chain of reefs and sandbanks, is said to be where the extension was found. It's about as remote as you can get, and nearly interfaces India with Sri Lanka. Here, not a long way from Rameshwaram, are the frightfully disintegrated and desolate remainders of Dhanuskodi, a town pulverized by typhoon in 1964. The way to deal with Rameshwaram is emotional, with two long extensions (one for trains and one for different vehicles) connecting it to the terrain. Periyar National Park, Kerala: Periyar National Park, otherwise called Periyar Tiger Reserve, is in the rocky Western Ghats of Kerala, southern India. Periyar is known for its crowds of wild elephants. They can be some of the time be seen by the side of the lake on pontoon safari. This untamed life haven is home to tigers and a noteworthy elephant populace, just as uncommon lion-followed macaques, sambar deer, panthers and Indian buffalo. Gokarna, Karnataka: Gokarna is a town on the Arabian Sea, in the south-western Indian province of Karnataka. This little and remote heavenly town has four of India's most detached and immaculate shorelines (Kudle Beach, Om Beach, Half-moon Beach, and Paradise Beach) settled adjacent. Every ha its own allure. The town is likewise home to shorelines, for example, palm-lined Gokarna, in the inside, in addition to Kudle and Om more distant south.

Getting an E-visa for your expedition to India is now quick and easy.  Indian visa can be applied for the same.

About the author.

The author has worked with clients for her passion of article writing for over four years. Her educational background in engineering sciences and professional development has given her a broad base from which she can approach and write on many topics with vast knowledge. Her writing skills have been appreciated, encouraged and enhanced by many.

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Carpe Vita and Dhoni

1. For seafarers: Carpe Diem

Eschew dry land and go for plush live-aboard options with the Carpe Diem fleet of three ships. The newest and largest is the Carpe Novo, which boasts 12 cabins, all with ensuite bathrooms, over three decks and can accommodate up to 22 guests. A team of local dive instructors will accompany you on a range of seven–10 day itineraries, such as the one to Central Island – popular for its opportunities for manta ray and whale shark sightings. As well as diving and snorkelling, you can also try surfing and paddle-boarding or even help environmental groups with ongoing conservation projects.

Como Maalifushi features overwater villas and beach suites

2. For wave chasers: COMO Maalifushi

With up to 20 pristine surf breaks within a short speedboat ride, COMO Maalifushi in the southwestern Thaa Atoll provides the perfect jump-off point for both beginners and salt-crusted surfers who’ve seen it all. To help you do it in style, luxury surf company TropicSurf has a permanent set-up at the resort from April to October each year.

Ross Phillips, founder of TropicSurf, has ridden some of the world’s most revered breaks, but says the Maldives is his favourite spot. “There are just so many waves here,” Phillips says. “The swell from Antarctica peels around the islands and gives them this predictable shape and a long ride.” TropicSurf has had a presence in the Maldives since 1999, when Phillips says you could have counted high-end wave-hunters on one hand. But that was before resort-based surfing swept the nation.

Each villa at Como Maalifushi comes with a pool

At COMO Maalifushi – the first and only resort on the Thaa Atoll – you’re far from the madding crowds and in a prime position for the predominant swell direction (translation: you’re pretty much guaranteed waves). This is the new frontier of luxury surfi ng – which means a customisable and exclusive experience. In reality, that can include anything from a lesson for first-timers in the glassy lagoon through to your own private charter aboard the resort’s 21m yacht, Cameron, to surf perfect waves without a soul in sight.

For those who just want to eat, sleep and surf on repeat, a “surf pass” gives you access to daily jaunts out to secluded breaks on three atolls. “People come here just to surf Farms [break],” guide Adam Webster says. “For a little wave, it’s got a spicy take-off but a happy ending.”

Mantaray Tree House by Porky Hefer

3. For art lovers: JOALI Maldives

This luxe 10ha retreat located on its own private island, Muravandhoo in the Raa Atoll, has distinctly artistic leanings thanks to founder and owner Esin Güral. “I’m always interested in modern, innovative, authentic and unique works of art and design,” Güral says. “For the art concept, we worked with a young team [Zeynep Ercan and Ala Onur, the curators of Istanbul-based art collective No LaB] trying to reshape the white wall concept and curate unique experiences.” Their vision translates to an impressive assemblage of handpicked art pieces showcased throughout the grounds of the property.

A great way to experience these is to tour the resort by bike or on foot using JOALI’s art map, which highlights artists and their works. These include South African architect and designer Porky Hefer who is responsible for the Manta Ray Tree House – a striking woven creation, elevated five metres above the ground – as well as New York-based sculptor Misha Kahn who worked with Maldivian craftsmen to create the Underwater Coral Sculptures – an installation made with a mix of mosaic tiles to represent the effects of coral bleaching that guests can dive among.

Explore the Rannamari wreck while checking out the marine life

4. For explorers: Angsana Ihuru

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the sinking of the Rannamari, a sand dredger which was brought to Angsana Ihuru in 1999 to be used as an artificial reef. The wreck has since become home to local marine life 28 metres under the sea. To mark the occasion and spread awareness about conserving marine life in the Maldives, Angsana Ihuru and its sister property Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru are organising a 10TO10 dive event from 10 to 14 June. The event, which will be live-streamed, will see their in-house team of dive instructors and up to 100 guests explore the site.

The Muraka is the world’s first underwater hotel villa (Photo credit: Justin Nicholas)

5. For Bond villains: The Muraka

The Muraka made waves when it opened in late 2018, and for good reason. This exclusive two-level, three-bedroom villa is the first underwater abode in the Maldives, with the bottom storey fully submerged five metres below the Indian Ocean. The curved acrylic dome affords extraordinary underwater views, which you can enjoy from the comfort of your bed.

6. For wind riders: Maafushi Dive

A little unexpected, perhaps, but the Maldives is actually one of the best places in the world to try your hand at kitesurfing. There are sheltered lagoons aplenty, but these low-lying atolls are still exposed enough for the wind to propel kiteboarders at speeds of 15 to 20 knots.

“We’re very lucky because practically every lagoon is good for kitesurfing as they’re sheltered by a faru (reef wall). The sandbanks are also good, because you can get one side with flat water and the other side with waves… so if you’re more advanced you can jump the waves and do stunts,” says Asim Mohamed, who runs Maafushi Dive and organises the annual Raalhu Gudi kitesurfing festival, which kicks off on 18 June.

“My favourite gear for the Maldives is the foil – a fast, relaunchable kite you can launch and land on your own, without a buddy – not just because it’s very effective… it allows you to absorb even more of the beauty of the Maldives because you can stay out for longer,” explains Youri Zoon, Dutch kiteboarding world champion and co-organiser of Raalhu Gudi.

Anantara Kihavah provides full moon dinner and stargazing package

7. For stargazers: Sky

The Maldives’ proximity to the equator means you can actually see the stars in both hemispheres from SKY, at the Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas. It features the country’s first overwater dome observatory housing a research grade 16” Meade LX200 telescope with 360-degree movement and a viewing capacity of 30 million light years away. The resident astronomer helps guide you through the wonders of the night sky.

The tour also includes additional activities throughout the trip, including snorkelling, night fishing, and cultural dancing

8. For water babies: SwimTrek

SwimTrek offers eight-day tours of the Maldives where guests swim up to 5km per day, spending evenings aboard the spacious MV Sharifa. “The great thing is the way it caters for both experienced swimmers and those new to open water swimming,” SwimTrek participant Mimi Munro says. “We do the same routes, but slower swimmers and those who want to look at the coral get dropped off earlier. It is challenging, but there’s no pressure – if you want to laze about on the boat, [you can].”

9. For aspiring scientists: Six Senses Laamu

Reaching out to the next generation of environmentalists, this resort has designed a junior programme geared towards six- to 16-year-olds. An in-house team of marine biologists mentors budding conservationists in a range of programme specialties such as data collection and survey conducting skills through on-the-ground field (well, in this case, beach) research.

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru has 103 villas

10. For wellness devotees: Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

This 103-villa property set among 18 hectares of jungle offers a complete immersion into Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old system of medicine developed by the sages of India, throughout your stay.

The 1.2ha Spa & Ayurvedic Retreat complex is grounded in a strong natural healing philosophy and encompasses open-air treatment cabins, an Ayurvedic village filled with fluttering prayer flags and fragrant herbs, as well as a yoga therapy centre, which specialises in personalised programmes. One of their two Ayurvedic physicians – who hail from Kerala and are certified in Western medicine – will give you a consultation and dosha analysis, then oversee your entire seven-, 14- or 21-day Ayurvedic immersion, assisted by the yoga instructors, chefs and therapists.

Words by Jalean Wong, Sarah Harvey, and Celeste Mitchell

Illustration by Twisstii

SEE ALSO: Get ready for the annual gathering of manta rays in the Maldives

This article was originally published in the June 2019 issue of SilverKris magazine

The post A fresh take on paradise: A Maldives holiday for every kind of traveller appeared first on SilverKris.

[altughuner-blog]

Kerala us the most loved tourist destination of India. Popularly known as God’s own country, it is a dream holiday destination for the domestic as well as international tourists. How can you visit such a lovely state and not bring back the Kerala souvenirs to keep the memories alive?

I have visited the state multiple times and every time something has come back with me. This shopping guide for Kerala Souvenirs has been compiled over many trips. Having said that, there are many more that are still in my ‘to be brought’ list.

Kerala Souvenirs Shopping Guide

Spices of Kerala

The state is best known for its spices. I am sure you would have visited some spice garden in the state and discovered the vines of black pepper and shrubs of cardamom. Remember people from around the world landed on the shores for these very spices. So what better Kerala Souvenir than the Spices.

Being a consumable, you can buy spices guilt free. You can also relish the fact that you bought your spices, right at the source.

Spices that you should pick include Black Pepper, Cardamom, Cloves, & Cinamon. You can get your hands on Vanilla too if you are lucky.

Spice Masala Flavors

While my recommendation would be to buy the spices and mix them at home, you can buy pre-mix masalas too. A specialty includes small bottles of spice flavors. You can put 2-3 drops in your Chai to get the desired flavor. It is great for travelers who like their tea flavored with Ginger or Tulsi or Mint.

Kerala Souvenirs for Foodies

Banana Chips

You can not visit Kerala without getting addicted to the yellow banana chips ubiquitously available in the state. As a vegetarian and a connoisseur of savories, Banana chips are my favorite. You can find them anywhere, you can eat them straight from the packet and you can easily carry them back home.

Anyone who receives Banana Chips from the state will bless you 🙂

Tapioca Chips

Tapioca, also known as Casava is consumed across the country, mostly as Sabudana. Nowhere else you make chips out of them, except in South India, and especially in the state. This thin white crisps are a little hard and do not really have a taste of their own. So, make sure you get the ones with ample salt and spices.

Like Banana chips, Tapioca chips are easy to carry souvenir from the state.

Halwa

This Halwa’s come in various hues, but the most popular is the dark one, that looks like a well-settled jelly. The dark color comes from the jaggery used to prepare it. Other ingredients include rice flour, coconut, dry fruits like cashew nuts and the spices like cardamom. It is a bit heavy to eat, but it is heavenly too.

Taste a bit and pack it as a souvenir for the foodies back home. Thank us later.

Tea and Coffee as Kerala Souvenirs

If you have visited Munnar and walked through its lovely tea gardens, there is no reason for not picking up the local Tea right from its gardens as a souvenir. I recommend that you visit a tea factory, watch the processing of tea leaves. Equipped with the knowledge of tea varieties, go ahead and take your pick.

If you do not live in South India, you can also pick up filter coffee powder here.

Art Souvenirs

Kerala has 2 classical dance forms and numerous folk art forms. You would get a glimpse of no matter which part of the state you travel through.

Kathakali Masks

Miniature Kathakali Masks – Favorite Souvenirs from Kerala

Kathakali, the classical dance drama of the state, known for its elaborate and colorful face masks. The real dancers take hours preparing for being on the stage in elaborate makeup and costume. If you can see the green room of a Kathakali performance. You would not be able to come back without a Kathakali mask as a souvenir from Kerala.

You get these masks in all shapes in many different materials. I have the one made in coir. The smallest ones come as keychains.

Netipattam

Kerala is an elephant country. In good old days, man and elephants peacefully co-existed. Elephants used to be a part of the temples. For ceremonies elephants used to be elaborately decorated. Nettipattam is what used to adorn their foreheads. They are intricately carved. The old ones can be seen in the museums.

Netipattam from Kerala

The smaller versions are some of the favorite Kerala souvenirs that tourists like. You can see rows of Nettipattam in any souvenir shops. Traditionally, they are golden in color with colorful binding around them and a bell hanging at the bottom.

Many people buy Netipattam to hang in their cars or on the walls. Check out some on Amazon.

Nettur Petti

Nettur Petti Image – Kerala Tourism

The Nettur Petti is a traditional jewelry box in wood with brass work on it. The more elaborate ones may also have paintings done on them. What makes Nettur Petti stand out among the other jewelry boxes that you may have seen is its shape. The bottom is rectangular, but the top is almost pyramidical with a carved brass piece on top. Sometimes they look like a miniature replica of temples.

You would need some space to keep Nettur Petti in your home. As and when I buy one, I would like to keep my miniature collection in it, that I can open and show to any visitor.

Check out some nice designs on this website.

Mural Paintings

Kerala temples have a unique painting style with a dominant rust orange color. I have seen them at Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum and at temples in Kalady.

Saraswati painted in Kerala Mural Style

You can buy the re-creations of temple paintings or modern paintings that use the same style of paintings. At an exhibition, I bought small wooden pieces painted in the Kerala style painting as jewelry. I love wearing those pendants that in a moment port me back to temples of the state.

Painted Bamboo Lockets

Thankfully, there are many artisans who are keeping this painting form alive and thriving.

Wooden Boats

Narrow long boats that compete in the annual boat race are the signature boats of Kerala. You can see them in the backwaters. Many high-end hotels and resorts use them to showcase the fishing culture of the state. Now it is difficult to carry a real boat back home. You can buy a miniature boat as a souvenir.

I have a boat that is full of spices, combining two key mementos of the state.

Coconut shell artifacts

Coconut shell artifacts can be found in the whole coastal belt in India. However, the products and the style of carving changes with each place. Check out the bowls and other small artifacts made with a coconut shell. A perfect eco-friendly souvenir to pick.

Sea Shell Artifacts

Just like coconut shell products, seashell products are found in small and big souvenir shops. Now, it is advisable not to take the seashells away from the sea shores, that is where they belong. On the other hand, remember that small vendors selling them on the beaches earn their living by selling them. Take your call.

Traditional Kasavu Sari

Imagine Kerala women, and in all probability, you think of them in off white Saris with golden border. Well, they are wearing the traditional Kasavu Sari. These Saris come in two different variants – one as a normal Sari. Another is the Mundu set, which is kind of 3 piece Sari. Check out some of them.

Kerala Kasavu Sari on a Mohini Attam Dancer

Most Saris are hand woven cotton, and the border could be pure gold if you can afford it. Designer versions have some pattern or color added to the border and palla. The dominant color is always off-white or ivory and gold.

Kasavu Mundu is available for men as well.

Aranmula Kannadi

Aranmula Kannadi – the traditional metal mirror

Long before the days of glass mirrors, how did people see themselves. Well, they had handmade metal mirrors, that not just help you see yourself, but are a piece of art in themselves. Aranmula town is where it is traditionally made. As per local beliefs, it has been used since Vedic times. Other legends call it the mirror of Parvati.

The alloy used had a secret recipe. The mirror is framed in a metallic frame in different shaped and is usually intricately carved.

Not an economical souvenir, but definitely a true blue Kerala souvenir to carry back. The range starts from Rs 3000/- onwards. Check out some of them on Amazon.

Coir products

Coir Making near Alleppey

The coir making is a huge small scale industry in the state. When you take a backwaters tour, you can see people making ropes from the coconut fiber. This raw coir is mostly used as an industrial product for things like mattresses. However, you can pick up small baskets or masks made of coir.

If there any other that I missed in this post. Do let me know in the comments.

The post Top Kerala Souvenirs You Can Shop At The God’s Own Country appeared first on Inditales.

[mredlich21]

I’ve been tossing around the idea of doing a post that tries to put Bahubali 2‘s all India success into context.  And then both T.J Stevens and Cerusee indicated that they would be interested, so the poor Samarth-Mukherjee family has to wait another week for me to finish them, because I want to try a brief history of “regional” films.

Non-Usual Disclaimer: Hindi film is my area, I know all kinds of things about Hindi film, but I only have the tiniest knowledge of non-Hindi films from India.  So I will do my best, but forgive me if I miss things.

  Indian film did start in Bombay, everyone agrees on that.  The actual film is disagreed on, it was either Raja Harischandra in 1913 or Shree Pundalik in 1912.  But either way it was in Bombay where it started.  And then film spread very very rapidly through out the rest of India, with multiple film centres popping up for each language.

And it wasn’t just a matter of different languages.  Because a language isn’t just a language in India.  You might as well say that the only difference between Spain and Sweden is language.

Bengali films tended to be literary, complex social issues and characters and so on.  Marathi films had a kind of hearty earthy comedy.  And the Telugu films were epic historicals.  And so on and so forth.

In the silent era, there was some travel between industries, since it was a simple matter of swapping out intertitles to open up films between language groups.  But there wasn’t as much travel as you would think, audiences liked what they liked, and it wasn’t just about the language the intertitles were in.  It was about the stories being told, familiar stories from childhood, and the architecture, and the character names, and everything else.

(remember my epic Devdas posts?  remake after remake after remake?  Because each audience wanted a version in their own language.  I didn’t even talk about the Telugu version!)

Sure, there were cross-overs.  Bengali to Hindi was a common one in that era, Devdas and Parineeta.  But the cross-overs tended to increase as there was actual mass migrations of ethnicities.  So, after the Bengal famine, more and more Bengali filmmakers moved to Bombay, along with massive groups of refugees, and the Hindi industry shifted to accommodate them.  And there was an influx of Urdu poetry and the creation of the “Muslim Social” genre after Partition, when masses of artists from the Lahore industry, along with more refugees, suddenly found themselves part of the Hindi audience.

(Chaudvin Ka Chand, in Hindi and Urdu, set in Lucknow, and produced and filmed in Bombay)

But, as we all know, the south was something different entirely.  Bengali and Hindi, Urdu and Hindi, dozens of other smaller regional languages and societies had elements in common.  The audience members shifted back and forth across borders, and so did artists.  And a Hindi audience could vaguely follow a Bengali film, the architecture wasn’t that different, neither were the clothes or the religious festivals or any of the rest of it.  It wasn’t the same, I definitely don’t want to say it was the same.  But it was similar.

But the south, that was something different.  Just as Bombay attracted artists from all over the north of India, so did Chennai/Madras start attracting artists from all over the south.  And while the Tamil audience was not the same as the Telugu audience, they were similar.  Much more similar than Tamil and Bengali, say.

I’m not talking about actual film styles here.  Or not only about film styles.  Bengali social dramas with strong female characters share a lot of Venn diagram elements with Tamil social dramas with strong female characters.  But it’s the little things, the kind of pictures on the walls, the colors used in the costumes, the way of doing hair, it’s all just different if it’s not from your home region.

(Two strong 1970s heroines, but one is Tamil and one is Bengali and they look totally different.  In little bitty ways)

And you combine that with the genre differences that are there, and it is all just too different to cross-over.  If you are raised on Telugu historical epics and action films, with heroes wearing lungis and heroines who never wear Salwars, with mustaches on the men and heavy eye-liner on the women, and Bharat Natyam dancing instead of Kathak, than any other kind of film from anywhere else in India just isn’t going to feel “right”.

And so by the 1950s, Indian film had settled down into a nice segmented audience with a nice segmented map.  Tamil films and Telugu films played side by side, each taking one half of the southern regions with the occasional blurry areas that they shared.  Bengali films stayed fairly firm and steady in the East.  And there were the smaller areas, each with their own little personalities, Bhojpuri and Malayalam and all the others.  Tiny hidden gems.

And thinly smeared all over north India, like butter that can’t quite cover the toast, was Hindi.  Every other genre has this strong identity, specific to particular ethnicities, but Hindi kind of doesn’t.  There’s quite a bit of Punjabi in there, and some Marathi, and a touch of Bengali, a little Gujurati, and this that and the other thing.  But it is a rare Hindi film that makes you go “yes!  That is exactly and specifically what it was like to grow up in my hometown!”

(Chashme Baddoor was one of those rare Hindi films that actually felt like it was in a real place, and then of course it got remade as a ridiculous sex farce)

Hindi played down south too, just not as much.  But it did play at least.  If you wanted to, you could see a big release anywhere in India.  Unlike the southern films, which would rarely make it out of the southern half of the country, and even more rarely overseas.

And this was life from, say, 1950 to 1980.  Everyone had their regional language films as a main course, with Hindi as a side dish.  And in most areas in the south, you had your local films as a dessert on top of the Tamil and/or Telugu main course.  Languages like Malayalam had their own industry, but they weren’t bringing out films every single week, if you wanted to go to the movies each Friday, you would primarily be watching Tamil/Telugu and the release in your own language would be a special occasion.  And then there would be Hindi, if there was nothing else, or if there was something really remarkable, you might as well watch it.

And then in the 1980s, things started to shift.  Not artistically at first, but technically.  VHS came in.  Suddenly if you had grown up in Madras and were now living in Delhi for work, you could just rent a movie from home instead of suffering in some Hindi theater.  And if you were living in New York, you no longer had to suffer through some Hollywood film, you could rent a Hindi film from back home too.

(Aw, I’m all sentimental for VHS now!)

Hindi film went from being spread very very thinly all over India to being spread even more thinly all over the world.  The flavor kind of got sucked out of it, you know?  It became truly “Indian film” with no real specific identity.  And I say that as someone who loves Hindi film!  But if I watch it, I might pick up a few words of Hindi and a basic idea of the Ramayana and see Marine Drive in Bombay about a million times.  But I will never really get an Idea of what it is like to live in a village in India, or on the streets of a city, or the political history of the country, or the artistic traditions, or any of the rest of it.

There was a lot of other stuff going on in the 80s too of course.  Amitabh had kind of taken over the industry, with his action films, and the women and children were being driven out of theaters, there was a general artistic decline.  And, this is my personal theory, but I think this artistic decline was self-perpetuating because great art attracts great artists.  If I am a filmmaker in, say, Kerala.  And I am watching amazing films coming out of Bombay in the 1970s, the heyday of Salim-Javed and Yash Chopra and all those other brilliant people.  Then I will think “boy, I want to go to Bombay and work with these people!”.  But if I am that same filmmaker in Kerala in the late 80s and I am watching the current Hindi films, one repetitive chauvinistic action film after another, I am going to want to stay where I am and work with all the other interesting people who are staying in Kerala as well.

(I really need to watch Aalkkoottathil Thaniye again.  Also, this kind of deep character drama is what Kerala was making while Hindi films were cranking out Amitabh movie after Amitabh movie)

And so, in the 1980s, for the first time those regional films started to chip away at the traditionally solid Hindi audience.  Tamil and Telugu hits started making waves in Bombay.  And being remade in Bombay.  Boney Kapoor, that’s how he made his money to start with, going down to Chennai and funding some southern stuff, and then taking those same scripts and remaking them in Bombay for the Bombay audience.  Taking some southern stars along as well.  Sridevi, of course.  Also Mithun Chakraborty.  Kamal Haasan and K. Balachander, on the slightly more artistic side, also made their way north in this era.  And the Hindi industry started running scared.

Look at the old Agneepath, for example.  It was supposed to be a major Amitabh hit.  But not only was Mithunda brought in as a second hero, his character was aggressively southern, a desperate attempt to grasp at the audience that Hindi films could feel slipping away.

  But there was nothing to worry about, really.  It was just a natural shift of the industry.  Hindi films were in an artistic funk, and were confused by the new reality that forced them to fight a bit harder to keep their audience.

And then it all got sorted out in the 1990s.  Hindi films firmed up their domination globally, and started to find their new home in India in the slightly higher priced theaters, making going to the theater an experience again, something that no VHS tape could compete with.  And regional films firmed up their audience as well.  And found their own global presence, I’m sure we have all heard stories of how big Rajnikanth is in Japan.  And obviously Tamil films rule Malaysia with no competition able to break through, and I am sure there are various other older pockets around the world I don’t know about.

This is also the era when the 3 biggest artistic breakthroughs from the south came up to Bombay.  Which kind of proved that the boundaries were firm, I mean, we don’t talk about how Yash Chopra was a Punjabi filmmaker in the same way that we talk about Mani Ratnam as a Tamil director.  Because he went back home, you know?  He made Roja, it was dubbed in Hindi and released all over the country and became a massive hit.  The first film (so far as I know) to do that.  And then Ratnam went back home to Madras and kept working there.  Heck, his production company is called “Madras Talkies”!  And Ram Gopal Verma did the same thing, came up north to make Rangeela, massive hit, and Satya, massive hit, and then kept shuttling back and forth between Hindi and Telugu films, never really landing on one more than the other.  And of course AR Rahman has made his commitments very clear, 3 Tamil films to every one Hindi or English.  Mostly, we know the boundaries are firm because these are called “crossover artists” and their films are “crossover films”.  Which means there must have been a border for them to cross over.

(If you want to know more about Ratnam and Rahman, you can check out my post on them)

And this brings us to the 2000s!  When everything changed again, some more.  Firstly, there was that global audience.  It had just started to spread in the 80s/early 90s.  But by 2000, it was firmly in place.  Hindi films played in mainstream theaters all over the world.  Non-Hindi films were slowly following their lead.  They both started the same way, small community groups renting out church basements and playing reels they’d shipped over through some funky little distributor.  And then slowly getting big enough to rent a theater in a multiplex and sell tickets, and get the reel from a real grown-up distributor that had started investing in Indian film.  And finally getting so big that regular American theaters and distributors were dealing directly with Indian producers.  Only, Hindi films started out like that in the early 90s, and non-Hindi films started out like that about 5-10 years later.  They have been running to catch up ever since and just in the past few years, they finally have. (if you want to know more about the global audience, you can check out my thesis.  And if you want to know more about Hindi film history in general, check out my book)

Let me back up for a second to that 50s-80s era when every language group had its own set audience and Hindi film kind of filled in the gaps.  One huge thing to remember about this era is that there were no “all India hits” of the way we have them now.  Because there were no all India releases.  It was a simple matter of the number of prints made up.  Back then, dozens of prints were a big deal.  Now we are talking about thousands upon thousands of prints.  Bahubali 2 supposedly took up 80% of all screens in India.  I don’t believe that for a second, by the way, but just the fact that the producers feel comfortable making that kind of a lie tells us how big the releases are now.

So when I say “Hindi film filled in the gaps”, what that meant was that some Hindi print that had started out in Bombay and months later slowly made it’s way to Madras would be used to fill in an empty screen in a theater that was mostly playing first run Tamil stuff.  Hindi film didn’t release all at once everywhere it the country and unite the entire audience with one story.  No, it was more that some poor tired print would make it’s way very very slowly over the course of several years from Bombay to Madras to Calcutta to Hyderbad to Delhi, with a little jaunt over to New Jersey, and then maybe Egypt or Jamaica, and finally take its poor sad self over around a tour of the hinterlands of India, with whole reels missing and the sound cutting out and half the audience having already seen it somewhere else but still ready to watch it again.  This was an “all India hit”.  A movie that could play and replay for decades anywhere in the country.  Not a film that released simultaneously in every theater everywhere.  If you are talking about a film like that, arguably the non-Hindi films were more likely to do total coverage of an area.  Just because they weren’t spread so thin.  You could take those same 30 prints and manage to fill every major theater in the region, and every person in the region could watch the same thing opening day.  Or at least opening month.  Unlike Hindi, where those 30 prints would be split between Bombay and Delhi and Calcutta and Chandigarh and a handful of other cities.  And only one or two theaters in those cities.

Now, coming back to the late 90s/early 2000s.  Hindi film all of a sudden had soooooooooooo much money (blah blah, liberalization and industrialization and some other stuff you can read about in my nepotism post).  And it started shifting from the idea of an “all India hit” being a film that could play and replay all over the country as it slowly traveled, to the idea of a hit that released all over India simultaneously and did equally well everywhere.  And then, shortly after, a film that released all over the world and did equally well everywhere.

(Hum Aapke Hain Koun, first film to really crack the NRI market.  By giving them a generalized happy family version of India)

And it worked, for a while.  Because Hindi film had a lot of experience in appealing to everybody.  Like vanilla ice cream.  It’s not necessarily anyone’s favorite, but no one really hates it, you know?

But now Hindi film is beginning to hit another one of those draggy periods of artistic funk.  And it’s lost track of it’s audience again.  India as a whole is getting terribly divided.  It’s the multiplex revolution, theaters that used to be a place where everyone watched together, maybe some in upper and some in lower stalls, but at least all in the same place, are now getting completely segregated.  And Hindi film seems only able to appeal to the multiplex audience.  It’s easier that way.  Once you have gone to an English medium school, and then an international college, and now work for a multi-national corporation, all the rough edges are sort of scraped off and everyone is the same whether you grew up in Bombay or Hyderabad or New York.  And you can all enjoy some movie with an NRI hero living in London, and a heroine who is a fashion designer, and dialogue that is half English and half very high class Hindi.

But no one else can enjoy those movies.  It’s not just that the lower classes in India can’t relate to the characters, the second generation in America can’t either.  Or the negative generation in America.  “Negative” meaning the uncles and aunties and mothers and fathers who are brought over on Visas.  It’s just the middle generation that gets some enjoyment out of the films.  They’ve gone too far, gotten too neutral until they are less vanilla ice cream and more, I don’t know, skim milk.  You still don’t hate it, but you don’t exactly enjoy it.

And thus, the rise of the non-Hindi films!  Because they still have some flavor to them.  And suddenly instead of Hindi films filling in the gaps in other regions, the other regions are filling in the gaps in the traditionally Hindi territories.  Which, now, means London and New York and Sydney along with Bombay and Delhi.

One thing to remember, Bahubali excepted, is that the non-Hindi films still aren’t really breaking out of their regions.  It’s just that the borders of their regions have expanded.  Punjabi immigrants ended up in Canada and Australia, their films play really well there.  Southern immigrants landed in America, Telugu and Tamil films do well here.  Malayalam films do well in Dubai.  But Punjabi doesn’t play in America, Telugu doesn’t play in Canada, and so on.  The Global hit is as much an illusion as the All India hit.

(You see how this is a Punjabi territory for film?)

My interpretation of the current trends, again Bahubali excepted, is that things are bubbling back down to a healthy level.  The future of Hindi films isn’t in Sultan and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, but in Badrinath Ki Dulhania and Dum Laga Ke Haisha.  Hindi films can use their slightly higher degree of gloss and budget and so on to make movies that most people can enjoy.  But they can keep their aim smaller, lower budgets and fewer screens, not trying to please everybody and ending up pleasing nobody.  Go back to being the films that play very very well in some places, and can be more or less enjoyed everywhere, in between people watching their “real” movies.  Whether they are watching their “real” movies in Toronto or Chicago or London or Kochi.

Hindi Film 101 One-Off: Bahubali 2 and the Future and the Past of All India Hits I've been tossing around the idea of doing a post that tries to put Bahubali 2…

[topfygad]

Where To Go in 2020: For the Love of Water

Look past Goa and Pondy—go rafting in Pancheshwar in Uttarakhand, bar-hop in riverside Mahé, and swim in a little-known island within the Andamans.

India Itinerary 2020 Ocean NGT Employees | POSTED ON: December 20, 2019

  There are a number of roads and bridges connecting some villages however most of Munroe Island remains to be navigable solely by boat, creating an expertise way more intimate as in comparison with the extra touristy Alleppey. Picture by: Hoshner Reporter

Munroe Island, Kerala

As an alternative of Alleppey

Drifting down the backwaters of Alleppey, on an enthralling, typically luxurious, houseboat, stays the quintessential Kerala expertise. However if you’re on the lookout for one thing extra offbeat, extra Indiana Jonesesque, then pack for the slender lagoons of Munroe Island. A cluster of eight tiny islets interconnected by an internet of slender canals within the forested backwaters of Ashtamudi Lake, Munroe Island, to some extent, evokes scenes from the Sunderbans, as dropped at life within the pages of Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide. There are after all no man-eating tigers right here, solely waterways flanked by coconut and pepper plantations, prawn farms, cheerfully painted properties, every with a bit boat parked exterior, and the few odd pan-beedi retailers.

There are a number of roads and bridges connecting some villages however most of Munroe remains to be navigable solely by boat, creating an expertise way more intimate as in comparison with the extra touristy Alleppey with its wider canals and enormous, motorised boats. In Munroe, however, someplace between gliding alongside channels shaded by thick mangroves and palms, barely large sufficient for 2 barges to go, tuning into the calls of the Malabar trogon, attempting to identify water snakes stir beneath jalebi-like ripples, you get the texture of the famed Kerala backwaters—minus the commercialised chaos.

Find out how to go:

Munroe is 79 km/ 2 hr drive, and a brief boat journey from Thiruvananthapuram. Board at Perumon ferry level, about 12 km from Kollam, the closest city.

–Hoshner Reporter

  Kasargod, Kerala

As an alternative of Alleppey

The backwaters of Kasargod in North Kerala affords is unperturbed vistas and a traffic-free journey. Picture by: Neil Mcallister/Photolibrary/Getty Photos

Houseboat cruises alongside Kerala’s palm-frocked, mirror-like backwaters maintain an iconic standing amongst travellers. Whereas the backwaters of Alleppey (Alappuzha) in South Kerala has been the much-loved poster boy, no person likes a dreamy afternoon interrupted by honking boats. What the Valiyaparamba backwaters of Kasargod in North Kerala as an alternative affords is unperturbed vistas and a traffic-free journey.

Hop aboard Bekal Ripples, the area’s premium houseboat, and snake by means of the sleepy backwaters previous islands of coconut timber whereas gorging on scrumptious Moplah delicacies. The wealthy heritage of the Mappila Muslim group interprets on plate as spice-rich dishes equivalent to mand and alissa, and desserts like kalathappam and ada. An in a single day cruise additionally presents the chance to be docked in the midst of the water, in contrast to in Alleppey the place boats come nearer to the shore. This a part of Kerala is broadly famend for its mussels and oyster preparations, whose farming could be seen first-hand.

Past its meditative waters, immerse your self within the distinctive tradition of the Malabar area, none extra alluring than a ritualistic Theyyam efficiency, a mélange of dance, music, and mime. Within the neighborhood lies the colossal Bekal Fort, whose distinctive location—towering over the Arabian Sea and surrounded by a spotless seaside—makes for clutter-free photograph ops.

Find out how to go:

Kasargod is greatest accessed by way of Mangalore, linked by prepare and flight to main Indian cities. Cabs (52 km/1.5 hr) could be employed from each stops. Choices of keep are in loads, with Taj Bekal Resort Neeleshwar Hermitage providing unbridled luxurious. Tyndis Heritage, a boutique journey operator, is among the many many that may curate a visit of this character to this idyllic location.

–Vikas Plakkot

  Dandeli, Karnataka

As an alternative of water sports activities in Goa

On the subject of water-based journey actions, Dandeli within the Western Ghats is sort of a mini-Goa, minus the din and the haggling. Flowing by means of Dandeli, the turbulent Kali river could be touted to have a few of India’s greatest rapids for a hair-raising white-water rafting expertise. Greatest executed with a gaggle, one can select from between a 9 kilometres/four hours run and a crisper four kilometres/2 hours jaunt, relying on time and health stage.

Alternatively, give your muscular tissues a severe exercise by kayaking within the man-made Supa reservoir, set to background scores orchestrated by unique birds. One other exercise on supply is zorbing, the place one rolls alongside the water floor locked inside a clear plastic ball—not one for the claustrophobic. Within the evenings, chill at a jungle camp within the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, simply organized by means of Jungle Lodges & Resorts. All water sports activities could be pre-booked on Dandeli.com. October to March is the perfect time to go to, due to breezy climate and teeming birdlife.

Find out how to go:

Dandeli could be accessed from the gateway hubs of Goa and Hubli, each linked by prepare and flight to main Indian cities. Dandeli is 125 km/Three hr from Goa, and 73 km/2 hr from Hubli—cabs can be found at each airports. www.junglelodges.com

–Vikas Plakkot

  Pancheshwar, Uttarakhand

As an alternative of rafting in Rishikesh

White water thrills in India are synonymous with Rishikesh, the nation’s unofficial rafting capital. An awesome different for rafters in the hunt for offbeat stretches—and a superb problem—is Pancheshwar in jap Uttarakhand.

Journeys kick-start on the confluence of the mighty Kali river—named aptly after the fierce goddess—and the Saryu. Itineraries often embrace a three-day run stopping in a single day within the villages of Chuka and Parigaon, and ending on the metropolis of Tanakpur, the place the river is often known as Sharda. The 70-kilometre stretch opens up landscapes like in a movie reel: pristine valleys which have hardly ever been explored, turbulent rapids, and huge, silent stretches of seashores the place you’ll be able to camp out, ought to an in a single day breather beneath salt-and-star skies attraction. To prime all of it, rafters straddle the border between India and Nepal by means of the Kali’s size on this journey. Flanked by dense forests on both facet, it has fast grades progressing from two to a few and 4 over the times. It tapers to smaller rapids once more in direction of the top because the river widens. The luxurious solitude, barring military personnel and the odd traveller, implies that when you style an expedition on the Kali, it’s powerful to return to the rapids (and crowds) of Rishikesh.

Find out how to go:

From Delhi, take a prepare to Kathgodam after which rent a taxi to Pancheshwar; you’ll be able to cut up the 12-hr journey with an in a single day cease close to Kathgodam. Being a river on the border, rafting on the Kali requires particular permits that ought to be pre-arranged by your agent.

–Shikha Tripathi

  Pamban Island, Tamil Nadu

As an alternative of Havelock Island

Situated within the ecologically wealthy Gulf of Mannar, Pamban’s lush with coconut tree-lined seashores and crystal-clear waters. Picture by: Hoshner Reporter

Need to money in on aquamarine waters with out coughing up the large bucks for, let’s say, the Andamans? Pamban is your house. Situated within the ecologically wealthy Gulf of Mannar, it’s lush with coconut tree-lined seashores and crystal-clear waters. On Pamban’s menu are kitesurfing, snorkelling, diving, kayaking and windsurfing. Gorge on contemporary seafood, and discover all that abounds its floor and the (marine) life under… pearl oyster, sea horse, barracuda.

Take a day to discover the bustling, 17th-century Rameswaram Temple. Mentioned to have the longest corridors on the earth, it flaunts a thousand ornate pillars; a rewarding go to even for the non-religious. The temple city itself teems with crumbling outdated wood properties wealthy in character, and stellar vegetarian thalis. Don’t depart with out a darshan of Dhanushkodi. Perched on Pamban’s tip, solely a strait away from Sri Lanka, it’s a ghost village (the settlement was worn out in a single day by a cyclone in 1964). Immediately, apart from a number of forlorn constructions and cerulean waters, what Dhanushkodi affords is a satisfying sense of seclusion.

Find out how to go:

From Chennai trains ply to Pamban by way of the century-old rail bridge, the longest sea bridge till Mumbai’s Bandra Worli Sea Hyperlink got here up. You may also fly to Madurai from the place Pamban is 170 km/Three hr drive away.

–Hoshner Reporter

  Diglipur, Andaman and Nicobar Islands

As an alternative of Havelock Island

Diglipur in northern Andaman is blissfully underexposed—to date. Plans for an airport are underway. So go earlier than the world does, and if you happen to do, count on top-notch pure wonders. The dual islands of Ross and Smith, separated by a svelte sandbar, are Diglipur’s largest draw. Cowl the sandbar on foot, pausing for a swim or some sea-watching. Plan your hours effectively, authorities solely allow three.

A hike contained in the Saddle Peak Nationwide Park takes you to the very best level within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at 2,400 ft. Kalpong, Andaman’s solely river, flows by means of this forest. On the park’s foothill, Lamiya Bay Seashore is ideal for idling. The close by Kalipur Seashore is a turtle nesting floor, claimed by lots of of olive ridley, leatherback and hawksbill by means of December to January. The Alfred Caves echo with fruit-eating bats and contained in the jungles of Shyam Nagar thrive mud volcanoes. Craegy Island, a brief swim from Kalipur, is excellent for snorkelling… colleges of parrot fish, stingray, angel fish and moray inject the blue waters with colors you’d discover in a bag of confetti.

Find out how to go:

Port Blair, a ship or a brief flight from Chennai, is the closest hub. The 298 km/12 hr journey from Port Blair to Diglipur winds by means of the disputed Andaman Trunk Street, the place buses ply, albeit beneath safety. A extra accountable possibility, is to take a ship. The Aerial Bay Jetty close to Diglipur connects to Port Blair by sea thrice every week. Some islands want permits, so do test upfront.

–Edwina D’souza

  Mahé, Puducherry

As an alternative of Pondy’s French frills

In Mahé (prime), one can discover a much less touristy model of Pondy with classic bungalows, well-known church buildings, spooky outdated graveyard; Stroll round Tranquebar (backside) to discover the 18th-century, Indo-European Protestant Zion Church and New Jerusalem Church. Photographs by: Olaf Krüger/imageBROKER/Dinodia Picture Library (road), Vishyvarne/shutterstock (coast)

At first look, Mahé seems to be nothing however a busy stretch of freeway lined with low-cost bars—its standing as a part of the liberal Union Territory of Puducherry is what units this 3×Three sq. kilometre city aside from the encompassing liquor-prohibitive Kerala. Right here, one can discover a much less touristy model of Pondy: classic bungalows, test; some well-known church, test; spooky outdated graveyard, it’s proper there.

Mahé simply opened its first heritage resort, Villa De 1945 (villade1945.com) which brims with teakwood and Belgian glass home windows, however in contrast to motels elsewhere charges begin at Rs3,000 and one can spend leisurely evenings sipping tea on an enormous balcony.

Mahé’s small bars are of great worth: drinks are principally offered at MRP whereas grub consists of contemporary seafood and Malabar-spiced non-veg for a mean Rs150 per plate. Bar-hopping favourites embrace Cee Cee’s in an oldish bungalow and the International Liquor Palace—proper by the Mahé Bridge, the latter affords views all the best way to the Arabian Sea. Tax-free liquor procuring is one other pastime—go online at Maveli Wines on Railway Station Street the place a bottle of tequila is Rs1,090, Jim Beam Rs1,250.

Find out how to go:

Mahé lies on Nationwide Freeway 66 between Kerala’s Kozhikode and Kannur districts. The closest airport is in Kannur, 35 km/1.5 hr away.

–Zac O’Yeah

  Tranquebar, Tamil Nadu

As an alternative of Puducherry

Go away the Frenchified flavours of Puducherry behind, and transfer additional south to Tranquebar, on a quiet nook of the Cauvery delta coast. The patois on the lanes of this seaside city is rustic Tamil, however with scattered remnants of a Danish rule that got here sandwiched between the Tamil Chola–Pandiya kingdoms and the British.

The most important attraction at Tranquebar is Dansborg Fort, a 17th-century Danish fortress, which is not too long ago renovated and has a museum with an fascinating assortment of outdated maps and artefcats on the highest ground. Stroll across the metropolis to discover the 18th-century, Indo-European Protestant Zion Church and New Jerusalem Church, the small Maritime Museum, and the Ziegenbalg Museum Complicated on Admiral Avenue the place you’ll discover probably India’s first printing press. Stroll down the slender Goldsmith Avenue to discover a row of conventional Tamil properties renovated by the Indian Nationwide Belief for Artwork and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Come night, be part of the locals on the seaside for decent fried molagai bajji (inexperienced chilli fritters), or watch the sundown close to the brightly repainted 14th-century Tamil Masilamani Nathar Temple, devoted to Shiva.

Find out how to go:

Whereas Puducherry is the closest airport (120 km/Three hr), a extra scenic drive is from Chennai alongside the East Coast Street (270 km/6 hr).

–Charukesi Ramadurai

  Suryalanka Seashore, Andhra Pradesh

As an alternative of Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam affords a superb dose of Vitamin seaside. Proceed southward alongside the identical stretch that hugs the Bay of Bengal and also you’ll see one other vibrant seaside, which, though widespread, remains to be not the place vacationers wind up in droves. In ambiance, Suryalanka Seashore is an in-between, neither forlorn nor too frenetic. Situated within the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, solely a six-hour drive from Hyderabad, it’s principally frequented by locals who reside near Bapatla city.

The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Improvement Company has constructed 12 cottages alongside the periphery of the seaside to supply a seaside resort expertise, one which, at Rs2,500 an evening, is pleasantly reasonably priced. Blue waters, latte-brown sand, a clear shoreline… Suryalanka is certainly a really perfect weekend getaway, good to swim, sunbathe and, most of all, decelerate. Must you get uninterested in doing nothing although, there’s one thing you are able to do: binge on barbequed palm shoots and toasted peanuts, which distributors on the seaside by no means appear to expire of. And people are simply munchies. For the principle course, the resort’s in-house restaurant serves some imply barbecue and prawn curry.

Find out how to go:

From Hyderabad, take an in a single day prepare to Bapatla. On the railway station, both take a shared autorickshaw, or rent an unbiased one to take you on to the APTDC resort, bang on Suryalanka Seashore (9 km/15 min drive; tourism.ap.gov.in).

–Swetha Dandapani

  Honnavar, Karnataka

As an alternative of Gokarna

Honnavar (prime) is an ideal getaway for individuals who wish to dip their ft within the surf after a morning hike; Manapad (backside) has a novel shoreline which has been shaped by a number of layers of lava accrued over centuries and presents stunning wave formations. Photographs by: Prashant Sankaran (bridge), Sindhuja Parthasarathy (church)

An hour’s drive south of Gokarna lies a small port city located on the Karnataka coast. Honnavar is the title of this settlement cradled between the ocean and the hills. An ideal getaway for individuals who wish to dip their ft within the surf after a morning hike, additionally it is a much less hipster different to Gokarna.

The township of Honnavar is a beautiful mixture of modern-day facilities with old-world village allure. Forests skirt the city space and it’s dwelling to many tribes who nonetheless retain their conventional lifestyle. Furthermore the Sharavati river flows by means of it and makes for a spectacular fall into the Arabian sea.

Aside from walks on the seaside, guests with inexperienced thumbs may wish to spend time on the BuDa Folklore NGO, which works with the world’s river and forest tribes. The NGO welcomes volunteers to take part in actions like paddy planting or kokum fruit harvesting. Friends can even be taught conventional crafts like weaving baskets, cook dinner conventional meals over firewood, and work facet by facet with the tribes. Free from the trimmings of noisy, pollution-laced metropolis life, Honnavar is a refreshing change.

Find out how to go:

Honnavar is a 460 km/9 hr drive from Bengaluru. The closest airport in Dabolim, Goa, is a 178 km/four hr drive away.

–Maitreyee Chowdhury

  Manapad, Tamil Nadu

As an alternative of Kanyakumari

Skip touristy Kanyakumari, and provides Manapad, a quiescent coastal village in India’s far south, a attempt. The clear blue seas, naturally shaped dunes, shallow lagoons, fishing boats docked within the tiny islets of the ocean, stunning church buildings steeped in historical past and the gregarious individuals of the fishing village make a go to to this hamlet a surreal expertise. Manapad has a novel shoreline which has been shaped by a number of layers of lava accrued over centuries and presents stunning wave formations, making it an excellent spot for surfers and kite boarders.

Manapad is the place St. Francis Xavier arrived in 1542 to start his missionary service. The Holy Cross Church, constructed near the ocean atop a sand hill in 1581, has a relic fragment believed to be from Jerusalem and the cross is publicly displayed for hundreds who attend the Exaltation of the Holy Cross pageant, held between September 1-14 yearly. If you happen to go to throughout Dussehra, make a detour to the Kulasekarapatinam village close by, to witness the fascinating celebration of Goddess Kali’s victory over evil on the Mutharamman Temple.

Historical past buffs, stroll throughout the coast exploring the wealthy heritage of the place, strolling to the Previous Saint Francis cavern, Holy Cross Shrine, and St. James Church. And for sunrises and sunsets rivalling these in Kanyakumari, head to the Holy Cross Church. The mesmerising view from right here stretches throughout the blue lagoon and sea.

Find out how to go:

From Chennai, take a prepare to Tiruchendur. Then rent a taxi to Manapad, which is 17 km/30 min away. Alternatively, you could possibly fly to Tutucorin and rent a taxi or a bus to Manapad (50 km/1.5 hr).

–Sindhuja Parthasarathy

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source http://cheaprtravels.com/where-to-go-in-2020-for-the-love-of-water/

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Traditional craft of India: Handicraft on stamps

Handmade crafts made and designed by the artisan are defined as a handicraft. If we further elaborate Handicraft, it is an art solely created by hand without using any kind of machinery!  The process of making handicraft requires a different type of goods and skilled people who can convert decorative items out of papers, clays, wood, rock, fabric and much cheaper and easily available tools from nature. It is essential to have the favourable geographical condition and skilled labours for the rich tradition of making handicraft for cultures and societies throughout the world. Hence, India has a rich and continuous tradition in creating handicrafts and its antiquity can be traced to the Harappan Civilization. Throughout this vast land, variety of technique, craft and motif are used to create handicraft depending upon the cultural, climatic and geographical diversity. India is privileged enough to possess some very highly skilled artisans and also has managed to preserve these artisan’s art. Till date, many rural communities earned their livelihood from the creative pieces of handicrafts; each state of India has its unique style of handicrafts creation. India is said to be the mass manufacturing base for 80 per cent handicraft supplied all over the world due to its popularity and high demand in the international market.  The fame of these indigenous goods is so prevailing these years that India Post has issued series of commemorative stamp illustrating theme Handicraft on stamps to mark this immortal masterpiece which is unique in its own traditional and cultural ways.

As mentioned above, all of the 28 states of India have developed and flourished their own small and large scale industries of handicraft manufacturing.  These colourful masterpieces are the major attraction landmarks used by the locals to attract tourists. It is also a souvenir to remember the unique culture and tradition of a region.

    Dhokra

Dhokra is the lost wax casting technique on non-ferrous metal. This casting technique has two methods of casting solid casting and hollow casting. The traditional metal smiths practising this art belong to the Dhokra Damar tribe from West Bengal and Odisha.  This casting technique is found all over India as the Dhokras of Central and Eastern India travelled south as far as Kerala and north as far as Rajasthan.

The technique also gets its name from the same tribe. The evidence of Dhokra metal casting is traced to the Indus valley civilization for over 4000 years. The dancing girl found in the excavation of Mohenjo-Daro city is one of the earliest artefacts created by lost wax metal casting technique.

In 2002 India Post issued a commemorative stamp in the series of Handicraft on stamps. The stamp depicted a metal bull cast from this technique; in 2018 the Alidabad Dokra of Telangana was given Geographical Indicator tag.

Thewa Art

The traditional jewellery making technique practised in Rajasthan also known as Meenakari.  The ornamentation of this jewellery is done in gold on the coloured glass surface. The technique of making this design is the closely guarded secret passed from father to son.

Though it was developed in 1767, it is believed the art was invented in 1707 by Nathu Lal Sonewal. It received the patronage of the Maharaja of Kishangarh (Princely state) Samant Singh. It was famous among the Kings of Mewar but it flourished during the Mughal period.

India Post issued a set of four stamps in 2002 commemorative series Handicraft on stamps, one of the stamps depict Thewa art ornaments: a plate and a locket with green and red coloured glass with the old metal intrinsic and delicate design over it.

Cane and Bamboo Work

This handicraft has a widespread tradition all over the country. The history of this handicraft can be traced back to the 2nd century AD. The furniture created by cane and bamboo features lucidness and comfort due to aesthetic beauty and appeal.  It covers the wide expanded land rich in the natural recourses such as Assam, Sikkim, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

The classical literature has talked about the huge bamboo and cane forest in these areas. Ptolemy talks about the hills and marshes of eastern India and referred the uses of these materials for building bridges in the area of Assam. In Hashacharitra, Bana also gives evidence about the highly developed craft sent by King of Assam Bhaskara Varma to Emperor Harsha. The goodies were carried in the baskets of variously coloured reeds, thick bamboo tube and birds in the Bamboo cages.

This handicraft is mostly a household or cottage industry product. No mechanical process is used to produce it. This craftwork has provided part-time employment to cultivators in the lean season and full-time employment for the highly skilled artisans who produce the finest decorative baskets and Chalani.

In 2002 India Post has issued a series of four stamps in a miniature sheet. These stamps depicted different handicraft; one of them features the Cane and Bamboo work. The stamp features a flower pot and jar made of cane and bamboo.

    Zardozi

Zardozi is an elaborated embroidery design often created using gold and silver thread. Along with it, precious stones, pearls and beads are also added to the design. This embroidery has a wide range of application. There are historical records that prove that this embroidery was applied not only on clothes but also on household artefacts, textiles and animal trappings. The royals used it on the walls of the royal tent, scabbards, wall hanging and also on types of equipment of royal elephants and horses.

Zardozi is derived from the Persian term ‘ Za’ meaning gold and ‘Dozi’ meaning embroidery. This excellent craft reached its pinnacle during the Mughal period during the reign of Emperor Akbar. Sadly during Aurangzeb’s rule, the patronage stop and the artisan moved to Punjab and Rajasthan in search of work.

Zardosi embroidery work is mainly a speciality of Lucknow, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Delhi, Agra, Kashmir, Mumbai, Ajmer and Chennai. In 2017 India Post issued a stamp depicting a carpet made by the technique of Zardozi embroidery.  In the same year, India Post also depicted a fan of Rajasthan made by the Zardozi designs in “the fan of India series.”

Pitera Dura

Pitera Dura is an art of carving on a stone. It is mostly used in designing mosaic: it is a work of art done on a hard stone with the different pieces of coloured stones. This art highly illustrates the pictures out of pieces of coloured –stone. This resulted in decorative mosaics that were used in table-top and small wall panel. The pietra dura is an art technique of lapidary marquetry. The works in pietra dura often represent floral motifs, plants, or natural settings. More recently this technique is used to represent geometric shapes.

The words “Pietra dura” come from Italian, it means “hard stone”, but also “semi-precious stone”. This art signifies the hardness and durability of the material used in the work. The stone used in this are quartzes, chalcedonies, granites and various colour-stone. The technique of pietra dura is a Florentine invention on the end of the 16th century, at the time of the Medici.

India Post issued a sheetlet of 12 stamps in 2017 to celebrate New Year featuring the Indian handicraft on stamps, along with sculpture and architecture. The 11th stamp of this block depicts the tabletop showing the famous Pietra Dura.

 Terracotta Art

Terracotta is one of the oldest craft which has taken shape through thousands of years and has developed gradually with the passage of time. The word ‘Terracotta’ means baked sand and as the name suggests, it is used to refer to items made out of earthen clay.

The first example, in India, of advance terracotta craft is found during the excavations of Indus Valley cities. The rich culture of the Sindhu Sarawati civilization had many variants of the pottery and other terracotta products like toys, bangles, seals and beads.

One can boldly claim that every household in India be it rich or poor utilize at least one product obtained from pottery like pots and picture for storage water, earthen pots to grow plants and flower as well as beautiful lamps or Diyas.

Many states in India like West Bengal have a rich traditional Terracotta art. One of the most exquisite examples is the pattern panels of the temple of Bisnupur. The Banknur Horse is also associated with Bengal terracotta art.

The well-known propagator of this art is the state of Madhya Pradesh. The tribe of Bastar makes a beautiful design and intricate statues of animals such as horses, elephants and birds. Other than these two states Gujarat is famous for its hand-painted clay products. Tamil Nadu consists of Aiyanar Cult with popular life-size terracotta figures.

To sustain and commemorate this famous art that is widespread over the continent, the Indian Government established the Sanskriti Museum of Indian Terracotta in New Delhi where terracotta art from each and every state of India is displayed.

India Post has also issued a stamp commemorating this craft of India in 2010. The stamp illustrates the terracotta doll from the craft museum. India Post has issued many such series illustrating the Handicraft on stamps.

The Indian subcontinent has high esteem and value for its craft tradition since aeons. This tradition is followed in India still today due to its high cultural value and preservation. The restoration and sustenance of this traditional handicraft have been a combined effort of the Indian government and many contemporary artists and designers. To further encourage and make it a successful career and profession for many, the institute of Craft and Design are established in Jaipur. Yet these efforts are not enough because the actual creators of this art are on the decline. The cost of material and larger-scale production of handicraft is not affordable for the many artisan communities. Hence the value to this product increases and demand has decreased. As the trends are improvising hand-made stuff have a gradual rise in the market making Indian handicraft a timeless commodity. This unique aspect had increased the appeal of the craft and a gradual rise in its demand is seen in recent years due to its style, antiquity and ethos.

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Badass Indian Brides Who Broke Stereotypes At Their Wedding

New Post has been published on https://healingawerness.com/getting-healthy/getting-healthy-women/badass-indian-brides-who-broke-stereotypes-at-their-wedding/

Badass Indian Brides Who Broke Stereotypes At Their Wedding

Saumya Gaur May 29, 2019

Women are always asked to behave in a decorous manner. Be it their manner of speaking or the way they walk, or the clothes they wear — everything must be done in a ladylike manner. This unsaid code of conduct becomes more stringent when they become brides. So, it’s no wonder the acceptable or encouraged way for a woman to be on her wedding day is one where she is decked to the nines, coyly throwing glances at her betrothed, while accepting the blessings of her well-wishers.

Therefore, when we think of a bride, and a desi bride at that, we visualize a blushing bride dressed in a resplendent lehenga. But there are a few real-life brides, who broke away from this stereotype and did their big day in their unique style, and that too, while rocking that bridal finery! Today, we are bringing you stories of such badass desi brides who reinvented tradition, in their unique way. Keen to know how? Read along.

1. This Bride Who Stalled Her Wedding Celebrations To Take An Exam

TimesofIndia

For many women out there, the decision to get married represents a personal crossroads of sorts where they have to choose between their career and personal life. But it wasn’t the case for this badass bride who showed everyone that with it’s possible for women to have it all. HR Swetha’s examination for Company Law and Accounts happened to fall on the same day as her wedding. However, instead of choosing one over the other, Swetha, her husband Naveen, and their family members devised a unique way out. On the day of the exam, the couple got married early morning following which Swetha went to the examination center to take her exam. Talk about dedication!

2. This Bride Who Proved That All That Glitters Is Certainly Not Gold

Indianexpress

While it may vary from one community to others, but the Indian obsession with the precious metal of gold is very real. One occasion where this obsession crosses all limits of sanity is a wedding! Sruthi Krishna decided to buck this trend by swapping the traditional bridal gold jewelry in favor of one which was made from cereal and grains! And this woke bride didn’t just stop at that. Instead of having a gala wedding, she went for a quiet court affair, where her main witness was a transgender LGBTQ activist, Sheethal Shyam. She said that she took this decision to give women and other un-empowered groups the power to be an official authority.

3. This Bride Who Had Her Single Mother Do Her Kanyadaan

shotstoriesbyvarunsuresh / Instagram

In our cultural context, when it comes to tradition and customs, women are often given perfunctory roles. They seldom perform any authoritative role, more so when they happen to be single. Quashing this trend was this bindaas bride who took a stand against the narrow-minded patriarchal norms by having her mother, perform her kanyadaan. This ritual is usually done by the bride’s father, and when Sandhya had her single mother, Raji Sharma perform it, it symbolized the special role she had played in her life. We are all for this desi bride’s progressive aesthetic!

4. This Bride Who Asked For This Unique Mehr

Indianexpress

In today’s world when women insist on getting a prenup before tying the knot don’t you think it’s very unusual for a bride to ask for her mehr to be in the form of books? Mehr is an obligatory payment in the form of money, possessions, promises, etc. which is promised by the groom to his bride. It is often paid in terms of gold or cash. But Kerala’s Sahla Nechiyil didn’t want her wedding to be defined by the amount of gold she got in her wedding, so she asked for something she could truly appreciate — books! According to Islamic tradition, mehr is the right of a woman, and by exercising this right in her own terms, Sahla set a great example for other hopeful brides.

5. This Bride Who Mounted The Ghodi For Her Own Baaraat

TimesofIndia

Why should boys have all the fun? Perhaps this is the thought that was racing through this desi bride’s mind who decided to take out her own wedding procession. Instead of waiting for her groom to show up with band, baaja, baraat, Rajasthan’s Jiya Sharma, showed up on the ghodi herself, with her friends dancing in the baraat behind her!

Not only was this bold move supported by her in-laws and her groom, but they concurred with Jiya that it sent out a strong message in support of women empowerment. We applaud Jiya’s move of dismantling the patriarchy from within by reinventing tradition!

Sassy, socially woke, and full of swag — these bindaas brides perfectly embody the spirit of their millennial generation. By reinventing the archaic and orthodox wedding traditions, they proved to the world that it’s possible to homage to your culture in a modern and socially conscious way.

Which of these brides won your heart? Share your views with us in the comments section.

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Source: https://www.stylecraze.com/trending/brides-who-broke-stereotypes-at-their-wedding/

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Old age Blues……

An elderly relative passed away today. She was 92 years old and had lived a full life. She was lucky to have all her children living in Chennai. She’d take turns to stay with them for a few months in a year. Her grandchildren are married and she has been blessed with 8 great grandchildren. She lived hassle free life with her children taking proper care of her. However, her death raised a question in my mind. How many of us are lucky to have at least one child nearby to come rushing when we need them? I am afraid - thanks to technology - that with the world getting smaller, the gap between parents and their children has hopelessly widened.

A look around me tells me a different story from that of the aforementioned lady. Elderly couple lead lonely lives waiting for weekly calls from their children. Very often the weekly calls become monthly ones. Reason?? Well, in foreign shores weekends are busier than weekdays with everything from stocking the refrigerator to washing clothes is squeezed into the available 48 hours. Children have their dance/music/karate/swimming classes and while one parent takes care of the shopping the other escorts the children to one or the other of these classes. Apart from this they organize birthday/Deepavali/Christmas parties as well as play dates for their children. Who can blame them if calls to their parents are postponed?

I am not blaming anyone. When my children were growing up I just wanted them to have good education. Good education gave them good opportunities and helped them spread their wings. I could not deny them a bright and prosperous future that awaited them. Visits to their homes have been eye openers. Their life is as much a struggle as mine was forty years back. Luckily for me, I had my job and a select group of friends who doubled up for family. So I have learned to lead my life in a productive manner. I cannot bring myself to complain having seen their busy schedule. 

Most of the time I am okay. I accept that this was what I had wanted. There are however times when I feel depressed. Like when my husband fell ill or when I had to deal with my arthritis. Waiting for my Kerala style massage at Arogya bhavan I could not help remembering the time when our house was full of people and I was attending to five sick people in our one bedroom flat. Here, I was driving myself to the clinic from college and driving home once the massage was over. There seemed no point disturbing my husband and asking him to wait at the reception area for an hour although he would have gladly come over if I had wanted him to.

 Who is responsible for this situation? Was it wrong to educate our children? Or was it wrong to want them to reach for the skies? I see that I am not alone. I have several friends and relatives who go globe trotting to spend time with their children. But they almost always wish to return to their niche. They don’t feel inclined to stay anywhere else for longer than necessary. 

Adjustment problems tend to crop up in spite the best effort from both groups. Children exposed to an alien culture are unable to bond the way we did when we visited our grandparents. And with gadgets replacing story times the next best option is to get computer/internet savvy and focus one’s attention on a gadget of our own instead of poking one’s nose into their lives. 

I don’t know if I am being pessimistic or cynical. Maybe a bit of both. The best thing to do would be to get involved in some activity and keeping one’s self busy. We have in our township two ladies - nearing eighty years of age - who head NGOs and find no time to brood. I am in awe of their enthusiasm and plan to assist them in whatever way I am able to. After all happiness is just a state of mind. 

While I think can manage my old age and the loneliness that is bound to follow by blogging and interacting wth virtual as well as actual friends I worry myself sick when I think of my husband who is a loner and depends solely on me for company. He is not into the social media and TV shows make up for social interaction. He watches a few Tamil serials and very often on returning home from college I can hear him talking while I climb up to my 3rd floor apartment. If you think he’s entertaining friends you are mistaken. He is so involved in the TV program that he is literally in conversation with the characters in the serial and very often seems to know what would be said next!

I have no problem with that except that he doesn’t know a single phone number except mine and when in distress and I am unavailable he cannot call a single person to help. What if I fall ill and need medical aid? We have a doctor in the complex but my husband won’t know to look for his number in my cell phone! He is so laid back and is happy to let me handle things like drawing money from the ATM or booking tickets online. In America I don’t get to use my i Pad because he uses it to watch his favorite shows and read the newspaper. So it is evident that he can become net savvy when he wants to. But apart from that he couldn’t care less. 

My friend has a different take in the matter. She says that her husband would take care of things while she took it easy just like my husband. When her husband died an untimely death she had to learn things the hard way. May be she is right. Why should I imagine that I am indispensable and he would not be able to manage without me? Maybe he would when it came to that.

But my question is does it have to happen only if and when tragedy strikes? Why not before?

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