A busy morning as I rush to work, crossing busy streets and crowded pavements, I am inundated with a multitude of sights, sounds and smells. I can smell fresh samosas and automobile exhaust in one breath. But one sweet fragrance that greets me at every little pause is that of the incense. The purifying aroma [...]
“Godhuli”… long shadows of dusk, a cloud of dust covering the orange horizon and the sounds of tinkering bells, announcing that the cattle is returning home.
Our villages have always had a strong relationship with animals, be it for farming or cattle raising. There are festivals especially for animals, such as Govardhan Puja, or Camel races, [...]
Bright colourful clothes, beautiful large eyes, nimble limbs dancing in front of an enthralled audience… this is not a dancer performing, but the puppet moving with the deft fingers of the puppeteer.
Kathputli is an ancient and one of the most popular performing arts of Rajasthan, a state in western India. The word “kathputli” derives from [...]
Patola is an exquisite and wonderfully intricate silk textile of India, believed to have originated in the 7th Century AD. Patola silk textiles are produced by resist dyeing of warp and weft threads before weaving, a complex process known as double ikat which is also practiced in other parts of India and abroad. However, Patola [...]
In the pleasant chill of January, when the sun enters Capricorn, the sky gets filled with vibrant colours and the air is full of “kaipo che”; this is Uttarayan in Gujarat, INDIA.
The name Uttarayan comes from joining two different Sanskrit words “Uttar” (North) and “ayan” (movement towards). Uttarayan, or Makar Sankranti is the day [...]
A storytelling tradition
“If you can’t go to the temple, the temple will come to you.”
Much before cinema and animations, storytelling was in such forms that would bring the storyteller and listener together in their mesmerising worlds of mythical heroes and gods. The Kaavad was one such method of storytelling, which also had a [...]
(Ajrak / Ajarak / Ajarakh / Ajrakh)
When the world is buzzing with “sustainability” and “environment-friendly” as the newest big trends of the future, for many centuries, innumerable crafts have existed in harmony with nature. Some things so subtle that they do not glare out, yet so vivid that one cannot help but appreciate the aesthetics [...]
