An ode to kai thari (hand loom)

As a child I often remember I would snuggle into the soft drape of my grandmom or my mom. I would enjoy the softness by rubbing my nose and love how the sari smelt….an earthy soothing smell perhaps of the dyes. It cloaked me in comfort and security when I hugged, snuggled and felt that drape.

As I grew up, I would often wander with a soft cotton worn out saree of my mom. The softness of the cloth acted like a tranqulizer, gave comfort and security just like some hold their teddy bears, I would feel my mom in those soft cotton hand woven sarees  when she was’nt  around.

That soft feel of the mull cloth must have sown seeds for my love for  handlooms or what is called “Kaithari” ( kai is hand and thari is loom) in tamil.

My mom often relied and bought her sarees from  those  Salem weavers who would bring their "kai thari" products in bundles like bedsheets, sarees, blankets towels  and sell home to home. It was so popular in Bangalore those days. So, it was with my grand mom who always bought from  the Rangachari store in Mylapore. She would even buy and send it across to her children and grandchildren. After multiple home wear,  the old  jaded sarees which turned ultra soft but never tore would then double up as baby mattresses for the brood of cousins. Some would even end up as quilts where 4 or 5 sarees stacked up would be handstitched and then fixed with multiple color pieces of cloth. And finally the tattered ones would be sanitized and used as baby nappies also. Those were times when nappy rashes were unheard of. Even thatha's  veshtis (dhoties) were never spared. 

 So many Indian motifs, designs and colors most of them specific and indigenous to their regional clusters holding the weaves,some were loosely held while some were tightly held. Each one had a story to tell about the warp and weft and each one had a liking different to others .  Even now, when my elders like mil, aunts, and mom get together they start talking about the clusters they know of , the weaves, the region, the motifs, the thread counts, etc..and about how the kai thari differs from power loom products. Sometimes, I think their knowledge on such subjects could be material for dissertation on the same.

They have all patronized and still patronize “Kai Thari” and so their love has rubbed off on me.

That is why it is disturbing  to hear that some of the clusters are closing down since it is not viable for livelihood for the weavers. We are loosing traditional master artisans and weavers along with that our heritage too. Unable to make a livelihood, they end up as unskilled labour in cities. With many MNC’s setting up their companies close to the clusters, it is disappointing to read these  traditional weavers  gennext  do not carry on the family tradition and end up as security guards in some nearby automobile company or as   sales staff  in the MNC’s or malls. Some have even turned towards  powerlooms  where the automated machinery cannot recreate the “ heritage textile” and this is no substitution for the cottage industry where one generation hands over the trade to another.

But today with the world concerned about sustainable livelihood, environment friendliness and terms like  fair labour and trade, it is heartening to note that many NGO's and the government too is turning attention to hand weaving after all this occupation leaves possibly very little carbon foot print. This infact is one of my interest. I am mostly present in all these handloom-handicraft expos to encourage these weavers and artisans.

So on our first " National Handloom Day" a salute to all the weavers of our nation who by their magical weaves give us such lovely fabrics which supports our environment. It is my wish that we all unite to buy more products "Make in India" and help the sector to save from extinction. So Glad to celebrate National handloom day #Nationalhandloomday today on August 7.

                Photos taken at Dakshichitra 

I feel like an urban farmer:)

 Today at noon,  I went to my patio to dig out the haldi saplings that i had sown in June last. It is a practice in tamil homes to tie haldi saplings around the pongal pot( i have already blogged about its significance).

It was a overwhelming feeling when i dug out the soil to uproot the tubers of the haldi saplings. 

It  was a feast to my senses, when i felt and smelt the earthy soil combined with the fresh fragrance of the tender haldi tubers with little earth worms wriggling and adding life to the soil.  With each sapling costing around Rs.30 each, i felt proud to have raised 10 saplings with limitations of space , sunlight and pigeon menace, whats more it got its nutrition from kitchen wastes which turned into compost and added soul to the soil. I know its a very small harvest, but i am glad about the little organic harvest:)

I have got to show and share more......my microgreens,  lettuce,  strawberry saplings,  tomato story,  twin bean tale,  amaranthus,  alternanthera,  curry leaf, mint,  chilli tale and more... all grown in upcycled containers  and most from kitchen spice box seeds (except lettuce, SB and curry plant)...let my erratic BSNL get fixed, will share more of my organic mini produce.....with all these i feel like a mini farmer...no....,a macro.....or may be even a nano farmer.....but i am enjoying the little produce and the mixed emotions I go through while the tomato blossoms drop, the chilli flowers form a beautiful red chilli,  when that little bean plant gets affected with aphids, when my yellow capsicum plant sprouts from the seed and the seed coat precariously hangs on to the baby plant.....million mixed emotion of loss, gain, pleasure and pain.

If such a small patch of garden with less or no  investment can give me such a mixed feeling, i sometimes think of the farmers who take loans and face losses after sweating and toiling against man made and natural odds. And after all these odds, when they do reap a harvest, what they get is a paltry sum that does'nt match their efforts. Being a farmer is a tough job indeed!

 

Bravo Farmers!

I could have waited for more days to get a better harvest of haldi, but my idea was to grow the saplings and harvest for pongal to tie it around the pongal pot.

Ganesh utsav - memories and celebrations

One of the most vibrant socio-religious- cultural festival of our country is Ganesh chaturthi. Although this festival is celebrated at the individual family level, it turns into a public (sarvajanik) festival when it is celebrated with the involvement of the locality we live in.

Nostalgia swells everytime i see the  festive Ganesh pandal and the memories come flooding. In Bangalore, where I grew up the festival was celebrated in public parks, on roads, in colonies etc.  During my initial childhood years, I have witnessed one of the oldest utsav’s at Basavangudi National college grounds which is now its 51^st year of celebrations. I have blogged about it here. At home, we immersed the  Lord in Lalbagh lake which was a km away from home. My friend used to carry the lord in a open basket while i rang the bell(ghanti) till the lake. 

 Later during my teenage years, when I shifted to Vijayanagar, the 9^th main Hosahalli park was the venue. The cross road from the first main leading to the 9^th main would be valenced with serial lights, the trees along the avenue along with shops and houses would be decorated with lights  cloaking the atmosphere with festive warmth and glow.   Most residents of our layout would assemble at this park in the evening to witness the cultural programmes. Both the above utsav’s had cultural programmes rendered by famous people.  Politicians, dignitaries and filmstars like kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar, vishnuvardhan, great singers  would grace the occasion. 

Similarly here in Hyderabad, for the past 7 years, I am a resident of a high rise and live in a condominium. We celebrated it in a similar fashion like  the last few years. So popular is the event now that residents who have shifted to various parts of the world write “Miss the event :(” in social sites and on our society forum.

The Ganesh utsav celebrated at our society is marked by a feeling  so intense that it almost resembles a huge joint family. It has the involvement of all families cutting across religion, age and gender. Like every year, this year too the celebration, the camaraderie, the unity, the delegation of work, the participation and help offered to one another made us feel like members of a single family. The whole utsav is a great team work bringing all residents together. This festival is not just about the reverence to the god but it also abounds with community spirit.

                                            

Like last  year, this year too we had cultural evenings starting Monday and it ended on Friday. Lots of practice , time and hardwork went into the utsav. Money came in the form of sponsors and donations. The children were helped by their elders in the culturals not necessarily their parents but by their uncles and aunts in the complex. Apart from the various dances, vocal, instrumental recitals, skits etc., The highlight of course was the dance-drama 'Ramayan' consisting of 40 children, it was choreographed by one of our residents. I wish i could post the photos of Ramayan but i would be intruding into the privacy of my fellow residents. Another highlight on a different evening was when my friend painted a Ganesha in flat 4 minutes while her husband played Shankar Mahadevan's ' Ganeshaya Dheemahi' parallely on keyboard. ( i will try to post the Ganesha painting)  There were no celebrity shows. All the shows were put up by our own resident children and their talent was no less than a celebrity's talent. 

The ‘Conundrum ‘quiz  was  another highlight of the edutaining evening. This time it was won by my daughter and her team of 2 friends. Unlike in 2011, when my son won, this year the contest was open not just to teens but to all generations. So, there were 15 teams with ages ranging from 8 to 80. We moms too partipated and  won the second spot. It was a special and emotional moment to see my daughter overtake me in front of a huge crowd. I was reminded of the Bournvita ad’ Taiyyari jeet ki”. Where the son overtakes the mom in a race and the mom prides in losing to her own son and says “the day he(son) defeats me I will win". This is exactly how i have felt often in recent times.  Our children whom we guide, tutor and mentor when young overtake us with their intelligence, strength and even become our teacher in many instances as they grow. There are many little instances where they overtake me and  I take pride of this fact. Only  this time, they overtook us(moms) in front of a huge gathering and I was happy to lose:)

 On the final day, when the ladoo was auctioned like last year( i blogged here) and the Lord was taken for immersion,  emotions ran high. Children  tearfully bid adieu to the scribe of Mahabharat. Unlike last year, children were also taken for the immersion to Hussain sagar. My son who accompanied the elders felt it was like a picnic in the night, they returned early morning at one.  The involvement, the boisterous fun, the community spirit, the love, the camaraderie all made us feel like members of a huge joint family.

The 5 days of festivity made me think joint families are not passe but redefined as today's gated communities and multistoreyed housing societies albeit only during festive days, else who has the time to stand and stare. 

Check out some photos:

                                            

A glimpse of the conundrum quiz : ( photo courtesy: a co-resident)

                                  Our ganesha getting immersed by a crane in hussain sagar(tank bund side). The chain of lights you see in the background is the 'necklace road' on the other side of the lake. ( photo clicked by my son from his mobile) 

 That's one of the biggest Ganesha of India the 58 feet Ganesha @ Khairatabad. The laddu he holds in his hand is 4000kg and will be auctioned two days from now( photo courtesy: my son) 

A moment of pride @ the parade grounds on R-day

I could'nt rest till i wrote this, that is why despite a busy weekend, i took off time to write this.

Yesterday morning, for the first time,  i watched a  live R-day parade at the parade grounds, secunderabad.  Duirng my school days have been part of the school band, never remember participating in college and then later days R-day meant cultural mornings and flag  hoisting at our children's school  or at the celebrations at our building society.  A few years, i have only watched the  parade on TV but never in person.

For the first time, we had the privilege of watching it live. We got an invitation from Government of AP through my daughter's school. The H and son who were on a family function trip to Bangalore reached sec'bad only by 8.00 due to delay in the bus arrival. But despite all the discomforts and the security checks enroute  we managed to reach the venue - The parade grounds, Secunderabad by 8.40 which was the time mentioned for the invitees to be seated.Yet again,  a privilege  we enjoyed due to our child. My daughter was part of the 50 member contingent selected by her school for the  R- day parade.

 The Governor of AP  led the celebrations by unfurling the national flag and reviewed the colorful parade by contingents of  the IAF, defence establlishments, police, homeguards, NCC, NGC and a few schools.  This was followed by the tableaux depicting the vaiours development and welfare schemes of AP governement.

It was another moment when we were puffing with pride and this time not just because of my daughter's presence but because of the efforts, time, hardwork put forth by my country men. The amount of hardwork, patience, practice, dedication, discipline  all were translated when they paraded past us in such synchronization, that for a moment looked like they were not soldiers or humans but some mechanized robots.Infact for my dot, it was 5 hours of practice from morn 7 to 12 in the hot sun in the parade ground for a fortnight preceding the R-day. Many swooned during the practice, my daughter suffered sun burns,tan and exertion, but they never gave up. It must have been more intense for the armed and defence forces.

 The governor presented best armed contingent award in the end. First prize to EME centre(Army),  second prize to artillery centre.  In the juniors category , my daughter's school picked up the second prize, first prize went to NCC girls and third prize to National Green corps(NGC).

Now, will let my pictures speak, for i have no words in my vocab to express my feeling. Cameras were not allowed inside and i have clicked using my mobile, which takes time to capture and release , so despite focusing, you might find some pictures in half. I am not able to follow up the photos with the contingents name since the name announced did not coordinate with the contingent which paraded in front of me. It was announced only when it passed in front of the Governor.(click on it to feel the event)

The contingent ( far end) stood like these for nearly 4 hours. To avoid giddiness and maintain glucose levels, many were chewing gums

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                            And now the tableaux presenting various state welfare schemes

Rajiv arogyasri, health program

                                                 Rythu sri - a welfare program for the mechanization of farming

 a special tableau depicting  the year of telugu language and culture. the front of this tableau is captured in the pic above this.(3rd prize)

'Mana bhiyam' means 'our rice' scheme where rice is offered at re 1 for BPL family. Don't miss the one rupee coin above the sack of rice.

                              State forest department bagged the first prize in tableau

                                   A program to harness solar energy and conserve power by state energy dept

                                              second  prize winner (animal husbandry)

                                        Tableau of the minority commission department

                        AP tourism tableau depicting the temple of Lepakshi

                                                            The decorated amar jawan memorial