Crafts of Rajasthan - Kundan and Meenakari

In 1735, the Surana family of jewellers came from Delhi to Jaipur, at the invitation of Maharajah Sawai Jai Singh II. They remain one of Jaipur's most renowned jewellers, offering both traditional and modern styles of jewellery. Today they are the 7th generation of jewellers!

A typical combination of meenakari (enamelling) and jadai/ kundan (embedding) work.

What you see above is a restored, traditional piece, called 'Aad' (neck choker). It would require inputs of 5 skilled specialists:
- the designer (chitera)
- the goldsmith (sunar)
- the engraver and enameller (meenakar)
- the gemsetter (jadiya)
- the stringer (patua) 

Often, opposite sides of a piece of jewellery will be decorated with Meenakari work and Kundan work respectively. The ornament then can be worn either way.

The art of "kundan" or "jadai", i.e. the art of embedding, was introduced into India by the Mughals. Gold foil is used as the base, and precious stones (diamonds, rubies, emeralds etc) are embedded into it. The glittering effect is fabulous, because the foil enables more light to reflect off and through the stone. Try wearing kundan and standing near candle-light or any kind of lights. It looks brilliant.

Meenakari (enamelling) is the art of decorating a metal surface by fusing colourful mineral substances to it. The technique also came to India from Persia during Mughal times. The salai (pattern) is engraved/carved onto the gold object with a steel stylus, creating walls or grooves that will hold colour. The meenakar then fills colourful enamel powder into the grooves - cobalt oxide for blue, copper oxide for green, etc. They apply each colour seprately and melt the powder in the heat of a furnace, so that it becomes liquid and spreads evenly in the groove.The heat-resistant white is applied first, and red is applied last. Finally, the object is cleaned in a tamarind solution and polished.

In the 16th century, Raja Man Singh of Amber invited master enamellers from the Mughal palace at Lahore to Jaipur. Today Jaipur is the center of Meenakari production. Flower, foliage and animals are the most popular motifs, and traditional Mughal colours like red, green and white are dominant in Jaipur's meenakari work. Meenakari work though is not limited to jewellery. You will find it being used in everything from palace decoration to regular shoe-pieces. These beautiful meenakari elephants are a great option to take home.

The famous blue pottery of Jaipur

Look at these colours! This is Jaipur's famous blue pottery, which came to India from Persia, via Kashmir, in the 14th century. The Mughals also began using them; primarily in the form of tiles to embellish monuments. Through the Mughal influence, it travelled to Jaipur. The rulers of Jaipur were partial to blue-glazed ware. Blue tiles were used in the building of the city of Jaipur, but they disappeared soon after. 

 In the 1960's, Kripal Singh Shekhawat of Jaipur revived the art of blue pottery which had become dead. Kripal Singhji, a trained artist, researched and brought back the methods of creating blue glaze. He created innovative designs and also came up with new shades of green, yellow, brown, black etc. For his tremendous contribution to blue pottery, he was conferred the “Padma Shri” in 1974 and was also honoured with the title “Shilp Guru” by the Government of India in 2002. His family continues the tradition at Kripal Kumbh, and you can purchase pottery from them if you visit Jaipur.

The photo below was taken in a workshop in Sanganer, a crafts village near Jaipur. Sanganer famous for its paper factory, block printing workshops and for some pottery workshops. 

New Jaggery, Old-time Sweets, Kolkata

Since winter is here, let's talk about nolen gur  The subtle fragrance and taste of nolen gur — or new jaggery — is unlike any ingredient used in traditional Bengali sweets. And if the winter is as cold as it should be, the richness of the date palm juice and the consistency of the gur produced from it increases. My favourite blogger Sayantani has a wonderful article here about winter sweets made with nolen gur. Her photos, like the one here, are gorgeous as usual.

http://www.ahomemakersdiary.com/2011/01/nolen-gurer-sandesh-bengali-cottage.html 

Of Weddings, Fish and Turmeric, Kolkata

Turmeric is not only auspicious, it also has healing properties. In the gaye holud ceremony, the bride and groom are bathed in turmeric and gifts are exchanged. Among the gifts given to the bride is fish dressed up as a couple.

Glory of Modhera and Patan

-By Deepa Krishnan

These are images from a long day trip to two major cultural centres, Modhera and Patan. 

Modhera is about 2.5hrs northwest from Ahmedabad. It is famous for its spectacular Sun Temple, built in the early 11th century by the Solanki dynasty. Solanki rule is said to be the golden period of Gujarati architecture. 

Patan is much older than Modhera, having been founded in 746 AD. It is one of the largest structures of it's kind, majestic with statues of gods and apsaras adorning its pillars. 

The spectacular Rani ni Vav stepwell is entirely an underground structure, with seven storeys, each carved with amazing sculptures. 

(Photos courtesy Vandita Pant and Gujarat Tourism)

If you'd like to check out more pictures of this excursion, check out our Facebook page at the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.344094102337053.82695.344085065671290&type=3

Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary

By- Deepa Krishnan

The Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary is 1.5hrs drive west of Ahmedabad. Spread over 120 sq.kms, it is the largest wetland bird sanctuary in Gujarat.

The huge lake and the extensive reed beds and marshes support rich aquatic life and plants, and thus provide the perfect habitat for birds. Over 225 species of birds have been spotted here, of which 140 are water birds.

The best time to visit Nal Sarovar is in winter when migrant birds appear from various parts of the world. Thousands of migratory waterfowl flock to the shallow areas of the lake and the ponds on the outer fringes of the lake. Birding is usually done on foot as well as by small hand-punted boats.

Popular waterbirds include flamingoes, cranes, ducks, gulls, terns, kingfishers, shovellers, cormorants, egrets, herons, ibis, etc. Apart from waterbirds, you can also see birds of prey, bee-eaters, rollers, doves, lapwings, coucals, parakeets, fly catchers, starlings, mynahs, bulbuls, sunbirds, wagtails etc.

Photos courtesy Gujarat Tourism

Fort St. George in Chennai

The ‘white-town’ of Chennai, like the white town of  Mumbai and Kolkata, was the part of the city where Europeans lived and worked. These parts of the city were often better planned and cleaner than the ‘native-town’.

Officially known as Fort St. George, this white-town was the first English fortress in India, founded in 1644. The city of Chennai grew around this fort. Today it is the administrative headquarters for the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu state.

 

The first building to be seen on entering the Fort through the sea Gate is the Neo-Classical Secretariat, which is today the seat of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Behind it lies the Legislative Council Chambers. With their handsome Classical lines and facades embelished with gleaming black pillars, these impressive buildings, built between 1694 and 1732, are said to be among the oldest surviving British Constructions in India.

Photo source: Wikipedia

The Red Palace

Lal Mahal, the Red Palace is where the Maratha hero Shivaji grew up. The original Lal Mahal fell into ruins and the current Lal Mahal is a reconstruction of the original (although it's architectural veracity is not established because very little is known about the original Lal Mahal).

This place has many stories associated with it, mainly the story of Shaista Khan, whose fingers were cut-off by Shivaji. Shaista Khan was a Subhadar of the Mughal army, who occupied Lal Mahal, and Shivaji made a daring guerrilla raid to recapture his childhood home. Shaista Khan escaped by jumping through a window / balcony, but lost four fingers in the process.

Yakshagana performer, seen in Chennai

What you see below is a Yakshagana performer in costume. 

Yakshagana is a theater form that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form. The art form is popularly performed in the Malnad district of Karnataka. This performer was in Chennai, perhaps at the invitation of the people at Dakshina Chitra. 

Traditionally Yakshagana is performed at night, from dusk to dawn. Its speciality lies in the fact that the music is considered to pre-date classical "Karnataka Sangeeta". In recent times however, there has been a growing voice of complaints against the 'distortion' of the Yakshagana traditions. Some people disapprove of the imitation of popular-cinema dances, playing new percussion instruments, the display of commercial banners on the stage, and the colloquial language that is sometimes used.

As always, the question is - should the art forms change, to appeal to new audiences, or should they stick to the traditional format? Should we think of this as the evolution of the art form, or death of tradition? 

Archaeological Museum, Varanasi

Archaeological Museum at Sarnath - an absolute must-see place with Ashoka's Lion Pillar as well as several other findings from the site. This is the very first ASI museum in India.

Skanda, The Warrior God, Thanjavur Brihadeeswara Temple

This sculpture shows the warrior god Skanda in a temple carving at the Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur. Here he is shown riding his mount, the peacock, with his two wives flanking him. In other common representations he often has six heads, and holds spears or bow and arrows. He is also called Kartikeya, Subrahmanya and Murugan in south India.

Skanda in the centre, with his wives Valli and Deivayanai

In south India Skanda is also known as Murugan. However, it is conjectured that Murugan was originally a separate Dravidian god who has been later assimilated into Shaivaite mainstream. Murugan is a chief deity of the ancient Tamils of South India. Murugan is not only a very popular god among South-Indians, but is also reverred by Sri Lankan Hindus and Buddhists.

Taj Mahal at dawn

A popular myth is that Shah Jahan had planned on building an identical monument in black marble on the opposite bank of the Yamuna. Before he could do so, he was deposed by his son, Aurangzeb. Wouldn't that have contrasted particularly well with this luminescent Taj at dawn? In this photo you can see the early morning soft light as it touches the cool marble.

Wood carving and painting, Varanasi

These oklhis are for placing in weddings. Deepa bought three of them for our Mumbai office.

A lot of decorative and religious stuff, necessary elements of weddings. Deepa had half a mind to sit down there and ask questions about every one of these things!

Arati, Varanasi

Arati at Dashashwamedh Ghat

Evening Arati organised by the Annapurna Temple.

If you hire a boat at this time, you can float diyas on the water.

Varanasi through Deepa's eyes

Dawn on the River Ganges. Truly sublime. 

Walk through the lanes of the old city.

Gangascape

The Association of Barbers in Varanasi.