Handicapped in body, but not in spirit(IMFPA)

One day when I returned home, my son gave an envelope  he had received from the postman. But it was not mine. That was addressed to my neighbour, who had vacated the house. I called her told about this letter and also asked her for their new address to send it to her. She told not to send that , and also told me to keep that as gift from her. Gift!? I just laughed and told her what a gift !  an undelivered letter?!. Uh... She told me to see the contents in the envelope and then tell about the gift. Still I was not convinced, I thought she is making fun.
Whatever, I though gift is a gift, let me see this gift. On that envelope I saw it was written as :

Very interesting! When  I opened the envelope , I could see bunch of  greeting cards. Those are special cards, because they had beautiful paintings printed on those, very beautiful scenery  on them .

 

Very beautiful! 

Some of the cards have floral paintings on them :

 

And one of those had a cute teddy painted on that

 

I was happy to see these cards. On the backside of the card  I saw it was written, "Mouth and Foot Painting Artists" , which raised my curiosity and the website address was also given there - www.imfpa.co.in 

.I read about each of the artists.I was astonished to know that all the paintings were drawn by disabled artists.(Sorry, I can't call them as disabled).

I called my friend again and thanked her for giving these special gift.

 I have decided to buy some cards from these artists, not for charity. They don't need charity. 
Its rightly written on the website " Handicapped in body, but not in spirit". 

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Kerala Cotton saree screen printed

I've been very busy since last month. So could not work on any saree, all the colors were sitting idle :-).  For Dasara I had 2 days holidays. So screen printed on two sarees, one of them is Kerala Cotton saree.

 

On the border printed with Ambari designs and and on the body also printed small motifs of the same designs.

 

Closer view of the motif:

 

Another one is Black color South cotton, with Orange border, printed with two colors:

 

Here is the motif: 

 

And for the  pleats, flower motifs:

 

Still orders from my friends are pending. Hope to complete those soon. Once completed definitely share those designs with you. 

Until then,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Devi idol decoration during Navaratri

During Navaratri , in almost all Devi temples, the idols are decorated and worshiped. Last week I had been to Tiruvannamalai. In the premises of Ramanshrama, there is  a Devi temple "Matrubhootheshwara". This is a shrine of Shri Ramana's mother. There is also a Shree Chakra. When I visited this temple, I could see idol of Devi is decorated as Shri Krishna.

 

Behind you can see a cow, mantap is decorated with Gold, Blue and Maroon. 

Here is the closer view:

 

May the blessings of Shri Devi

shine on you and all your prayers be granted   on this Dasara

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Dolls taking you to era of Ramayana

Already I've posted about the Dasara dolls when I visited a shop,  in  previous post . I entered another shop. At the entrance itself, there were many beautiful dolls. Here you can view those:

 

When I entered the shop, I felt that I was in the era of Ramayana. I'm not writing anything, you just experience the same. These dolls take you to the era of Ramayana:

1. Ramajanma- Birth of Rama(Can you see those cute cradles?:-))

 

2. Taataki Vadha- Rama and Laxmana killing demon Taataki 

 

3. Rama and Laxmana fighting with the demons Mareecha and Subahu

 

4. Seeta Swayamvara

 

Closer view of Seeta Swayamvara

 

5. Rama going for Vanavasa

 

6. Shhorphanakha and Laxmana

 

7. Seetapaharana- Ravana kidnapping Seeta

 

8. Rama meeting Shabari

9. Vaali vadha- Rama killing Vaali

 

10. Raavana and Angada

 

11.  Seeta in Ashokavana

 

12. Kumbhakarna.

 

13. Seeta Agnipravesha

 

14. Shree Rama Pattabhisheka (Crowning ceremony)

Hello...already in era of Ramayana?  Could meet many of the characters of Ramayana? Even I felt the same, when I was in the doll shop. 

Dasara is also celebrated in Devi temples, by decorating Devi in different forms. Last weekend I had been to Tiruvannamalai, where I visited a Devi temple. Idol of Devi was decorated as Shri Krishana. I will share about that in the next post. 

Until then,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Walking down the street of dolls

Now its Navaratri. "Navaratri", is a festival dedicated to the worship of the Hindu deity Durga. There are lots of traditions and customs which are part of Navaratri celebration. One of the customs which mesmerizes me is Gombe Habba- festival of Dolls. This is celebrated in Mysore  and Bangalore region. A few days before Navaratri, market place will be filled with dolls, if you visit major market places, you will see dolls everywhere!
Though we don't celebrate Gombe Habba, I enjoy this festival a lot. Love the colorful dolls.Few days back I visted the market place to see the dolls.I visited 3-4 shops, captured photos of the dolls , sharing with you.
The first shop, had lots of dolls arranged in different shelves. At the entrance these two dolls, welcoming you

 

When I looked below, I could see these beautiful dolls,

 

Among these, the one attracted me the most is the Vishnu resting on laps of Lakshmi. Here it is :

 

When I entered the  shop, I felt like I've entered world of dolls. All the dolls were arranged in shelves, 

Are all of them waiting for buyers, eager to decorate the house? 

Here are closer view of the dolls:

Dolls - Theme Krishna and stories about Krishna

These are very interesting , the dancers performing on drums.

 

One more set, worshiping Lord Narasimha 

 

 

I could see many dolls , arranged to depict different stories. Below is the dolls depicting story of honest wood cutter.

 

Look at these cute Manipuri dolls:

Krishna and Arjuna- Geetopadesha

I wished to buy at least some of them, but I was strictly warned by my family members not to buy any dolls. because already I have so many in my collection. They also threatened me , saying that if I brought any  doll , they would not  allow me to enter the house.So I had to control the urge of  owning some dolls, said bye to these dolls and entered another shop. There I could see dolls arrangements, depicting stories of Ramayana.
I will write about that in the next post,

Until then,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Bidri work- A perfect combination of Black and White metal

Bidri work is a unique metal craft which is found in Bidar of Karnataka (India).

I wish to visit Bidar once and meet some of the craftmen who do Bidri work. One day I will.  Fortunately, I could meet one of the Bidri craftsmen in a craft fest. When I asked him about the process of making Bidriware , he explained it very enthusiastically.

In Bidri work 2 metals are used- Zinc and Silver, which makes beautiful combination of Black and White.
Different items like flower vase, boxes, jeweleries are made with copper and zinc mixture. Then the different designs and motifs are engraved on the surface of the items. On these engraved designs , thin Silver wire is inlaid. You can read  more about Bidri work in this link.

The craftsman also showed me the method of inlaying the Silver wire on the surface of the item.I captured it through my camera to share with you ,

A small statue with design engraved

The craftsman inlaying the Silver wire

 

 

 

                

These are some of the items I've in my collection:

 

 

Kumkuma Bharani with Bidri work on the lid

 

 

 

 

A small elephant

 

 

Bangles with Bidri work

Bidri work displays the beauty of  blend of two opposites- Black and White!

Now Navaratri has started, I've lot to share with you about Gombe Habba , in the coming posts.

Until then,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Lonliness - a pencil sketch

Very rarely I draw pencil sketches. I don't have proper training in drawing pencil sketches.  This the one I drew yesterday- 'Loneliness'. (I have taken help of a sketch book to draw this.)
Though the woman is alone - facing all the sorrows of life , she has a smile on her face. Is the smile  mark of the tremendous strength with which she is facing the sufferings  or the smile resulting from the inner peace  or result of  her decision to accept happiness and sorrow equally  ? Though I've drawn this sketch.....I'm still guessing.......

 

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Hampi Stone Chariot in Bangalore!

I had planned to post about Bidri work. In between visited a craft fest , held at Chitrakala Parishat.
I saw replica of the  famous Hampi Stone Chariot there. Could not wait sharing with you.

Have a look :

 

This is made of cardboard and plaster of Paris. The side view

 

 

Hampi is one of my dream destinations. Since years I've been wishing to visit that place, but somehow could not. Hope to visit Hampi soon. If you have visited Hampi, then you can judge whether this replica is perfect or not. 

In the next post definitely share about Bidri work.

Until then,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana