Instant splurge on 'Maati'.....Thank you 'Once Upon A Tea Time'!

Woke up this morning quiet miffed & muddled at the mundane routine of playing mother, wife and God knows what else.

The day began with on a ‘not so happy note' with my husband over my toddler followed by unnecessary banter over regular daily fusses. This was post my morning cup of chai (thank God), got lil boy ready for school and then felt miserable that I have changed so much as a human being...sulk...sulk...sulk! Just while I did manage to bring down my daily pace to a near zero on the meter gauge this post by 'Once Upon A Tea Time' brought by a ray of hope.

Sulk bubble 1 burst when I read that this beautiful shop called Maati (meaning Earth stands for the essence of nature and earth that’s imbibed into all handmade crafts in India) Crafts was only about 100 meters from my home (that's a big high for anyone remotely aware of Mumbai n distances)! So next thing was a quick shower and post my breakfast I was in my car driving to Maati...

Sulk bubble 2 burst the moment I stepped into the store. Greeted by dokra metal craft (I am very fond of this craft) from Madhya Pradesh (most popular in this n neighbouring states like Jharkahnd), textiles from Rajasthan, Kutch, Chennai and clay pottery as well! Yippie...all under one roof and so close to home! By now I was feeling partially rejuvenated but completely unsure of how much will I buy! There were beautiful ceramic magnets in the form of colorful butterflies and bugs. Little artifacts like sheep, turtles, Giraffe's (cutest of the lot) and elephants all in clay glazed ceramic finish; some amazing kurti's and sareer's; Flower pots, dinner/heat and serve ware, teapots n cups; bedspread, silk cushion covers, material.... WOW!!!!

Fresh daisies

Claypot, the kind I like!

Sulk bubble 3 burst when I picked up a couple of flower vases, a beautiful ceramic aroma decanter and a vegetable die bedspread for the house. On my way back I picked up some flowers (rajanigandha/tube rose, a stalk of red glad and some white daisies) all set to get the house ready for my beloved husband...a kind of mid week surprise...stuff I'd love doing when I was just a few years younger!!! :D





Displayed at another angle. This time with the aroma decanter.


 

The second vase for my Budha corner.

Well...expensive way to burst the sulk bubbles but hey, ian't that the way most women feel good?

Once upon a tea time, you just made my sulk day into a memorable one. Thank you!

Signing off feeling 'not as miffed' anymore!!!









Reaching out!

Bloggers who inspire me...

Almost 7 months into active blogging I am now a big fan of a few extremely talented blogger. I thought that writing a small post on them is the best way to extend my appreciation towards their work.

Aesthetically written articles (home or artifacts or spaces or personal grooming) seems to be my foremost topic of interest and who else can but make an impact other than Kamini from Once upon a tea time as well as Frangipani Decor

My fatigue buster blogs are Deezden, A cup of chai, Art n Light, Habitually chic, Amitpatty, Matsya and so many others that keep me company through the days.

When it comes to food everyone of the blogs is so yummy but of them I guess 3 hungry tummies, Kitchen tantra and Bong mom's cook book help me put together a meal effortlessly!

There is so much talent around each of these blogs that one can't stop at just 'being inspired' but keep blogging further...

It has been the most exciting blogging journey thus far and I am so looking forward to more in the future.

Acrylic on canvas-2: Habitat

This is my second painting in the current series. I have named it habitat. This is the stage just before the larger responsibilities in life hit us (my earlier painting post is the stage post this). Life is full of freshness, fertility and aspirations which know no bound. Tried to bring out this feeling with my colours.

Habitat- August 2010

Rain and garam chai- a trip down memory lane...

Woke up this morning to the kind of rains that I love watching while cosily perched on my red chair in the balcony. The raindrops seem to be in such a hurry and the wind only helps as much with bringing in all but chaos in the rush hour!

..and while I sit enjoying the tease play comes my mug of garam chai! My husband is famous with his chai making skills and both of us can sit chatting for hours on multiple cups of this warm concoction.

Come monsoons and chai takes in first place to any kind of drink. A trend which has been part of my growing up years too! 

My school would plan a week long (if we were lucky) trek every monsoon and we'd all wait for this event to happen all year long. The trek would typically happen at Sinhagadh, a fort destination about 90kms from Pune. The trek up from base camp would be about a couple of hours. We'd climb, wade through trickling baby streams, slip in the slimy forest muck, walk through a small strip of land precariously planted at the edge of a steep fall into the valley and seldom sit to catch our breath around a reasonably large water stream gushing down the terrains! This sit down would intersperse with a light snack and a drink of 'CHAI'. A memory which is beyond any tell tale. Cold from getting wet in the rain, tiered of climbing the steep but heightened levels of enthusiasm to taste the adventure and just while the determination would begin to simmer came along the much awaited drink of chai! :) 

Wild mushrooms particularly would be my point of fascination during these treks. Their shapes, the way they'd all cluster together to make some amazing shapes, some which would grow out of barks of tree trunks and a few that would grow amidst corners of a row of stone carved stairs.

They all seemed to thrive so effortlessly in this moisture...

Another chai memory is of younger day's when it would pour outside (Pune would be chillier during monsoons compared to winters) and my Mum would make this extra large, over-size egg omelet with toast OR sausages with macaroni for brunch and a steaming hot pot of tea, the only time when we'd be allowed having tea at home. We'd polish off this feast inside the warmth of the blanket while watching the rain outside the window.

When in college my drop in attendance typically happened during the monsoons. A favorite activity with friends was to ride out on bikes and soak ourselves wet. These drives were amazing with the beauty of the terrains at its full glory we'd look for amazing chai tapri's (local stalls) where we'd warm up around the stoves while the chai got made n then warmed further with a drink of chai... We did this day in n day out! Miss those days!!!

So the chai stories continue to date and I am so looking forward to the warm plate of bhajji's with masala chai when Mumbai comes to a stand still this monsoon!

 Amar chai 'Gorom Cha'!!!

Bharatanrityam OR Bharatanatyam

My expresion of taal perhaps matured because of the wonderful dance form that I have been associated with as a child. Jogging back my memory, going for the regular weekend classes felt such a burden during those growing up days. I'd rather wear my sneakers and play base ball than toast in the sun while cycling down from home to the class, of course not to mention the hammering which one got for not stepping right at the beat of my guru-ji's taal!

A few memories that make you the person you are.

The quest around the dance form has deepend ever since. Today I am back to training under a new guru and feel a renewed rigor with which I pursue my talent. Determined that I will reach my arangetram this time I am readying myself with knowledge beyond the practical. I am reaching out to various sources of content to deepen my historical knowledge of this beautiful dance form.

Bharatnatyam is the one of the oldest classical dance form of India which originates from Tamil Nadu and is also popularly known as the 'fifth' veda. As the name depicts it is the combination of Bha-bhava, Ra-raaga & Ta-taala which gave rise to its name.

The spiritual symbolism of Bharatanatyam is a manifestation of the ancient idea of celebration of the eternal universe through the celebration of beauty of the material body.  It consists of elaborate gestures (Mridu Angaharas, movements of limbs), sentiments (Rasas), emotional states (Bhavas). Actions (Kriyas) are its soul. The costumes are charmingly beautiful and love (Sringara) is its foundation.

Some of the well-known interpretations of dance form are by Padma Subrahmanyam that were based on 108 (karana's) brief movement phrases describing specific leg, hip, body, and arm movements accompanied by 52 hasta mudras (hand movements) described in the Natya shastra and other scriptures, and from depictions of the movements in sculpture in five South Indian temples, notably the Chidambaram temple which contains depictions of the full set. Some other Bharatanatyam gurus, such as Adyar Lakshman (Kalakshetra school) and Sheela Unnikrishnan (Mangudi school), as well as the Kuchipudi guru C.R.Acharya have also attempted to reconstruct all the 108 karanas, which were often significantly different from Padma Subrahmanyam's interpretations.

Due to the significant variations in the depictions, and due to the vague textual descriptions, most traditional Bharatanatyam schools considered Padma Subrahmanyam's interpretations as incorrect, which forced her to name her own style as Bharatanrityam rather than Bharatanatyam.

While there are still some elderly devadasis who perform all the 108 karanas, in most contemporary Bharatanatyam or Odissi schools only 50-60 karanas have been transmitted by parampara up to date.

Apart from that, performing of the same karana differ greatly across different classical Indian styles. Currently, as regards the exact technique, there are no established standards and no universally agreed upon interpretations of the texts and sculptures.