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How a Conservationist’s Love for Chittara Art Led Her to Empower the Community Behind the Art Form

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Bengaluru may be Geeta Bhat’s hometown, but her heart is docked in Northern Karnataka. A conservationist and founder of Center for Revival of Indigenous Art, Geetha works tirelessly to promote the folk traditions, the arts and crafts of the Deevaru community that lives in the region.

Geeta’s tryst with the community began with her discovery of Chittara, an art form practiced by the community’s women.

Chittara 3
Image source: Facebook
“I have always been interested in folk arts and often pitched as an art volunteer,” she says. “I saw my first Chittara art at an exhibition and it was love at first sight.” Intrigued as she was, Geeta found little information readily available on the subject. Not one to give up, she explored on her own and found the information she needed, gradually making her way to Sagara village, home to the Deevaru community.
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Since then, Geeta has promoted the community through various initiatives, contributing to the revival of the art form that has been declining over generations.
“Chittara is done by the community’s women and is deeply personal — there’s one specific variety that must be created by women before their wedding ceremony,” Geeta says while praising the geometric precision, use of natural dyes and other intricacies of the folk art form. “The Deevaru have never tried to commercialise their art. I have tried to interpret the designs in murals and silk fabrics, but I don’t want to tamper with the authenticity of the art form.

Like many other rural and tribal communities around the country, the traditional ways of the Deevaru people are slowly vanishing in the face of poverty and modernization.

Chittara 5 Geeta says, “Finances are a major concern, as is the lack of interest among the younger generation. They would rather watch television than master the art form, and motivating them can be quite difficult.”
Geeta and her organisation strive to offer fresh incentives for the Deevarus to preserve their heritage and cultural artefacts. “There’s much more to the community than Chittara art,” says Geeta. “The community has its own distinctive forms of silver jewellery, mat making, embroidery and textiles. The Deevarus may not be literate, but they are educated in their own way and engagement with their environment.”
CFRIA periodically organises exhibitions, workshops, and events, and develops a sustainable business model for the community. “CFRIA organised the first International Chittara exhibition in Japan and has also presented papers in three international conferences,” Geeta says. The varied products made by the community are also available in select outlets in Bengaluru.

Geeta is deeply invested in more than simply bringing the community’s art forms or craftsmanship into the limelight.

Chittara 6
Image source: Facebook
Sagara, and the other villages in the region, have long been isolated from developmental projects. Much remains to be done in the region to provide the locals with new means of livelihood and uplifting their way of life. CFRIA has numerous plans for the areas in and around Sagara, including a community centre to teach the art and generate livelihood, a resort for travellers to visit the community and engage with them, museums, a cafe and an amphitheatre. However, these are still long-term goals, as the large funding required to execute these projects remains a major challenge. However Geeta remains optimistic. “I will set it up some day,” she says.
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In the meantime, she is gearing up to start filming a documentary on the community later this year. “Making a documentary is quite expensive as well, but I have recently received some funds and will finally be able to start the project,” she says. Not surprisingly, Geeta wants the movie to look beyond Chittara and be a cinematic record of the community’s traditions. “I want to document the lives of the community in all its beauty,” says Geetha, resolute in her mission to promote the little-known cultures of Karnataka. To get in touch with Geeta Bhat, click here.

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Maharajas, Myths and Mysteries: The Fascinating History of India’s Jewels and Jewellery

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Spanning a legacy of 5,000 years, the jewellery of India is a striking expression of the country’s aesthetic and cultural history. The small number of jewels that have survived from different periods and different parts of the country, references in literature, texts on gemology, myths, legends and chronicles provide evidence of a tradition without parallel in the world.

The history of jewellery in India is, to a large extent, the history of the country itself.

[caption id="attachment_86225" align="aligncenter" width="600"]traditional-to-contemporary-4 Antique jewellery of India[/caption]
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For more than 2,000 years, India was the sole supplier of gemstones to the world. Golconda diamonds, sapphires from Kashmir and pearls from the Gulf of Mannar were coveted and drew merchants across land and sea to India. For the rulers, jewels were a statement of power, prosperity and prestige. But for Indian women, jewellery was, and is, in many parts considered a social and economic security, the value of which will almost always appreciate, never depreciate.

The story of India’s fascination with jewellery begins 5,000 years ago in the Indus Valley.

[caption id="attachment_86227" align="aligncenter" width="800"]indus-ornaments Ornaments excavated from Indus Valley Civilisation sites[/caption]
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At that time, India was the largest manufacturer and exporter of beads to the world. India was also home to the diamond and invented the diamond drill, which was then taught to the Romans.The craftsmen of the Indus Valley Civilisation used semi-precious material like carnelian, agate, turquoise, faience, steatite and feldspar, fashioning them into tubular or barrel shapes, decorating them with carvings, bands, dots and patterns, or setting them minutely with gold. Going by the jewellery they made and wore, the ancient people of the Indus Valley Civilisation were an extremely sophisticated lot with a finely developed aesthetic sense, backed by intricate engineering skills. Take for instance the necklace excavated from Mohenjodaro now on display at the jewellery gallery of the National Museum in Delhi.

The necklace, dating back nearly 5,000 years, is lined with pendants of banded agate and jade beads suspended by a thick gold wire that passes through a perfectly drilled hole in each bead.

[caption id="attachment_86224" align="aligncenter" width="960"]12237_10152676313699846_8123964370109800447_n Jewellery from Indus Valley Civilisation[/caption]
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But it's not just technological prowess that one marvels at. What's also remarkable is the continuity of design. The sheet gold forehead ornament, for instance, is of a shape that you will find women still wearing in different parts of India. The Rajasthani borla is a close approximation, as is the ornament that Didarganj Yakshi, one of the finest examples of ancient Indian sculpture, wears prominently in the middle of her forehead.
Yet despite the relative simplicity of these early pieces, Indian jewellery was about to become much more complex in its style and workmanship. In the 2,000 years after the decline of Mohenjodaro, the Indian craftsman had polished his skills immensely. So there's delicate filigree work on gold, embossing work and detailed micro-granulations on the pendants of a pair of large earrings that date back to this period.
Also Read16 Fascinating Facts about Mohenjodaro and Indus Valley, a Civilisation Far Ahead of its Time
The sculptures at Bharhut, Sanchi and Amaravati and the paintings at Ajanta depict a wide range of jewellery worn by man and woman, by king and commoner.While Silappadikaram, an ancient Tamil classic of the Sangam era, talks of a society dealing in gold, pearls and precious stones, the chronicles of Paes, a Portuguese traveller, describes the dazzling jewellery worn by the people of the Vijayanagar empire.

The temples of south India, central India, Bengal and Odisha too were home to a veritable cornucopia of the jeweller's art.

[caption id="attachment_86223" align="aligncenter" width="640"]jewellery Temple jewellery[/caption]
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Initially, these intricate pieces were crafted solely with the purpose of adorning the idol. However, with the passage of time, dancers who regaled audiences at the temple with their renditions of devotional pieces began to wear imitations of the jewellery style adopted for the idols. Along with the spread of Bharatnatyam, temple jewellery became an accessible style and soon made its way into the world of trousseau and heirloom pieces. Temple jewellery is generally large and chunky, with figures of various gods and goddesses in gold fused to or forming the pendant on pearl string necklaces. Shiny rubies and emeralds are set in these pieces in attractive patterns that catch the eye while some pendants also resemble the ‘gopuram' or temple entrance towers in design. Representative pieces of this sort signified the wearer's special relationship with gods and the mythic universe.

This supernatural potency ascribed to jewelry is exemplified by the navaratna, an amulet or necklace set with nine types of precious stones, which together symbolize the nine gods of the Hindu universe.

[caption id="attachment_86222" align="aligncenter" width="700"]navaratna-jewelry-1 A navaratna necklace[/caption]
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The advent of Mughal rule further embellished the world of Indian jewellery. The fusion of Indian and Central Asian styles and patterns resulted in a great outburst of ornamentation, elegant and exquisite, and of a lush extravagance never seen before. Although traces of enamelling in jewellery (the reverse side of each jewel is covered with intricate enamel work) have been found at the ancient town of Taxila, this technique reached its zenith only under the Mughals.

In fact, Mughal patronage provided the platform for the development of existing traditions in jewellery making, as well as the creation of innovative techniques.

[caption id="attachment_86220" align="aligncenter" width="484"]article-2595387-1CC5569C00000578-362_634x428 This intricate pendant was created in the late 16th century for the Mughals.[/caption]
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Ancient Indian designs were gently modified to incorporate various geometrical, floral and nature-inspired designs. The combination of crescent and stem - earrings had a small stem at the top of a crescent from which a fish was suspended, and further led to a bunch of pearls - became a regular feature of Mughal jewellery. The kundan method of setting stones in pure gold was also perfected by artisans in the Mughal period. Here, the gold used for jewellery was fused at room temperature. Another technique that was developed by the Mughals was the inlaying of stones with gold.

Precious metals with hammered relief decoration and enamelling, the incrustation of jade with patterns, with stem-work of gold and leaves and flowers in stones, were techniques that produced a treasure of designs.

[caption id="attachment_86221" align="aligncenter" width="509"]article-2595387-1CC55B7500000578-170_634x737 (1) The Mughals loved spectacular pieces such as this rigid collar-necklaces which is studded with gems and is designed to cascade down the neck.[/caption]
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The repetitive colour palette of green, red and white in Mughal designs corresponds to the intensive use of emeralds, rubies and diamonds. As much as these gems were a symbol of the opulence and dignity of the empire, they were also treasured as protective talismans. Emeralds were enormously popular with the Mughal Court, whose emperors referred to them as "Tears of the Moon."

One of the most treasured jewels in Indian history, the Taj Mahal Emerald, is an exquisite hexagonal emerald intricately carved with stylised flowers that mirror the decor of the Taj Mahal.

[caption id="attachment_86214" align="aligncenter" width="600"]TreasuresfromIndia5 The Taj Mahal Emerald[/caption]
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The Jadau technique is believed to have been brought to India by the Mughals but Indian artisans of Rajasthan and Gujarat perfected the craft and added their unique touches to make it their own. The process of Jadau-making involves beating or heating pure gold until it is pliable, creating a frame and motif, filling lac in the hollow frame and setting precious stones in the appropriate spaces. Once the stones are set, using only heated gold and no other adhesive, the jeweller proceeds with the meenakari work, patiently working on the piece one colour at a time. This time-consuming process results in a stunning piece of jewellery that was, and still is, fit for kings. The much-loved Karanphool Jhumka also evolved during this period, with each region having its own special embellishment added to the basic flower-shaped ear ornament. The Asaf Jahi Nizams of Hyderabad were also famed for their legendary jewels. The last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan (once called the richest man in the world by the TIME magazine), had an unbelievable collection of jewels.

He gifted the stunning Nizam of Hyderabad diamond necklace to Queen Elizabeth II when she married Prince Philip.

[caption id="attachment_86213" align="aligncenter" width="829"]__Necklace The Nizam of Hyderabad necklace[/caption]
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The Rockefeller Sapphire, a Burmese blue sapphire of 62.02 carats, also belonged to the Nizam of Hyderabad before it was acquired by John D. Rockefeller in 1934. Then there is the Jacob Diamond, the enormous diamond that was apparently used as a paperweight by Mir Osman Ali Khan after he found it inside his father's slipper. Also among the Nizams' jewels are fabulous head decorations, known as aigrette or sarpech, from the word sar for head and pech for screw. Veritably dripping with fine gemstone drops, the sarpech was worn by the Nizams as a turban ornament. Just one of these contained more gemstones than most people could afford to acquire in an entire lifetime. [caption id="attachment_86210" align="aligncenter" width="736"]25695a340ca220f72687db024344cf2c Nizam's sarpech[/caption]
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Other remarkable pieces in the Nizams' collection include a seven-strand pearl necklace, known as satlada (meaning seven strings), which contains approximately 465 Basra pearls. The pearls are from the city of Basra, in modern-day Iraq. Pearls from this region have been treasured for hundreds of years, for their perfectly spherical shape, silvery-white color and beautiful iridescence. There is also the paizeb, anklets made from hinged gold panels studded with gemstones that were worn by the women of the royal court of the Nizams.
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During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Indian jewellery design began to absorb influences from the country's colonial rulers. Design evolved and the cultural narrative became yet more complex, as renowned European jewellers like Cartier began to create pieces for the maharajahs, setting Indian stones in India-influenced pieces made in Paris.

Cross-cultural influence worked the other way too: Cartier's famous "tutti frutti" style was based on the floral motifs of South Indian jewellery, complete with sapphires, emeralds and rubies.

[caption id="attachment_86215" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]an_important_multi-gem_and_diamond_tutti-frutti_bracelet_by_cartier_d5678573_001g Cartier's 'tutti frutti' bracelet.[/caption]
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The story of Indian jewellery is incomplete without a mention of two of the most famous gems in the world - the Kohinoor and the Hope Diamond. Entrenched in history, having been passed down by some of the greatest rulers of massive empires in the Indian subcontinent, the Kohinoor is a priceless diamond the size of a ping pong ball. According to legends, in the 13th century, the diamond was found in Guntur, in Andhra Pradesh. Currently housed in the Tower of London in the United Kingdom, the diamond's ownership has been much disputed by four countries - India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Britain. Read more about its journey here.
One of the most spectacular gems in the world, the Hope Diamond is a lustrous blue gem weighing 45.52 carats. The largest blue diamond in the world, the gem is rumoured to be a cursed stone that brings ill luck to its owner.  The stone was discovered in India and is believed to have been plucked from a sculpted statue of a goddess in a temple. In 1668, King Louis XIV of France bought it from a french traveller before re-cutting it several times to the gem that today adorns a chain of 45 white diamonds, surrounded by 16 alternating pear-shaped and cushion-cut white diamonds.
[caption id="attachment_86208" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Untitled design (16) Hope Diamond (left) and Kohinoor (right)[/caption]
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To know more about Indian jewels and the fascinating stories behind them, visit the Alamkara gallery of the National Museum in Delhi. It has the most extensive collection of jewellery in India. From the beautifully tumbled agate bead necklaces of Mohenjodaro and Harappa to the fabulous jewels adorned with images of gods and goddesses to the magnificent items that once reposed in the treasuries of the Mughal emperors and the maharajas, the collection spans all the important periods in Indian history.

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An Indo-Tibetan Sustainable Fashion Label in the Himalayas Promotes Zero Waste and Slow Fashion

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The Tibetan community has lived in India for decades and Dharamsala is the seat of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Yet, the community continues to remain in the sidelines, rarely emerging in mainstream media apart from stories of protests and activism. That’s what makes Tenor Sharlho so interesting — fashion designer, entrepreneur, crafts connoisseur, whose fledgling initiative in India is slowly but steadily grabbing attention.

Tenor is the founder of Sharlho, a sustainable label that interprets traditional Himalayan craftsmanship in contemporary designs and provides jobs to local artisans.

Sharlho 1 Tenor’s own story is a personal story of struggle and success, not unfamiliar to the Tibetan community living in India. Struggling with political tensions in Tibet, his parents sent him to India at the age of five. Away from his family, he grew up in a Tibetan boarding school in Dharamsala.
“I loved working with my hands and creating things rather than academics and so for my further studies I chose fashion design,” says Tenor. After getting my degree, I worked in the industry for a short period of time but felt discouraged at the way things worked in the industry and also missed the mountains I grew up in. So I packed my bags and moved back to Dharamsala where I set up my small company. I called it Sharlho after my family name.”
The quintessentially Himalayan label offers a mix of clothing — mostly jackets — and accessories for children and adults. The designs reflect various crafts traditions, and the base materials are sourced from around India as well as Bhutan and Tibet. “Most of our materials are natural fibres sourced from villages around the Himalayas,” says Tenor. We provide employment for local people and create contemporary designs. I have always been attracted to ethnic patterns, and raw materials originating from Tibet and the Himalayas. I take a lot of inspiration from this when I design.

True to his affinity for the mountains, Tenor set up Sharlho at Ramnagar, a village close to Dharamsala.

Sharlho 3 Tenor’s initiative brings a new vitality to the area. “Ramnagar has a relaxed atmosphere making it a great environment for working and creating,” he says. The Sharlho team comprises a mix of full-timers and freelancers, and many of the employees have moved from bigger cities to settle here.
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The Sharlho boutique is located in Mcleodganj, which has emerged as an immensely popular tourist destination in recent years. Tenor admits the location limits his access to a wide customer base, but his activities are strongly geared towards community development.

Sustainability is a priority for Tenor, who promotes zero-wastage by using leftover materials to make small accessories and stuffing for cushions.

Sharlho 5 In recent years, the fashion industry has begun acknowledging the need for sustainable practices and slow fashion. Sharlho embraces these values as its core principles.
“Today, big brands tend to focus on making big money in short periods of time without much consideration to how that affects the environment, workers as well as the consumer,” says Tenor. “Slow fashion focuses on creating timeless pieces allowing more focus on quality and ethics. It can bring about change by contributing to the local community, providing jobs and preserving ancient techniques.”
Running an independent, crafts-oriented label comes with its own challenges. Tenor highlights a major concern, “These days the young generation doesn’t want to pursue the traditional crafts that their elders have preserved and survived on and so many of these skills are lost. This makes it increasingly difficult, and expensive, to source authentic craftsmanship.”
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Despite the challenges, Tenor wants to continue working with local, indigenous people, sourcing unique materials and crafts and expanding on that. “Hopefully, it will help preserve ancient skills and techniques as well as make my products unique and timeless, one-of-a-kind pieces,” he says Sharlho is slowly making its way out of Mcleodganj market, and into the hearts and wardrobes around the country. For Tenor, his label is a homage to his multi-faceted identity. “Like me, many Tibetans living in our community were born in Tibet but raised in India, and identify with being both Tibetan and Indian. I like to think that my use of local materials with Tibetan patterns is a reflection of us Tibetans living in India.” Check our Sharlho on its official website. To get in touch with Tenor, click here.

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Govt Subsidy for Padma Shri Mallesham’s Innovative Asu Lakshmi Machine Will Greatly Help Weavers

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The government has announced that it will be subsiding the Laxmi Asu machines invented by Padma Shri Award winner Chintakindi Mallesham, so weavers can flourish with their craft without worrying about the costs. The Asu is an arduous process, which is done on traditional ‘tie & dye’ Pochampalli silk sarees, and it generally takes up to 6 hours on the weavers' machines to get it done on one saree.  Mallesham, whose mother used to be a weaver in this craft, developed a machine that cuts the process down to just an hour, enabling artisans to monetise their work better.

However, for some weavers, even that initial investment of Rs 25,000 for the machine could be too much. Despite Mallesham's efforts to subsidise the costs through crowd-funding efforts, he still often falls short of the people and the families he wants to help in total.

weaver 1
Image source: Facebook
Mallesham spoke to the Times of India about his own efforts, saying, "I went for the second round of crowdfunding as I wanted to help more weavers. My target is to reach 600 more families. After the first round, I raised Rs 4 lakh. I have decided to help 28 weaver families in Bachhanapet mandal in Jangaon district. They will be given the machine at 50% subsidy." But that was before the government stepped in.
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While details are yet to be announced, the scheme from the Central government will fall under the `Hathkar Ka Samadhan Sahayata Yojna' and according to government officials, there will be no cap on the number of weavers who can benefit from and avail this scheme. And now, very soon more families and weavers will be able to afford weaving their dreams.

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TBI Blogs: Meet the Man Keeping the Prehistoric Art of Bone-Carving Alive in Rural Uttar Pradesh

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Despite challenges of several kinds, a 70-year-old man is credited with keeping the art of bone carving still alive in the Barabanki region of Uttar Pradesh. Nishita Banerjee recently met him and learned about his craft and trade. Abrar Ahmad, wearing his crisp white kurta, says that he was the first one to introduce bone carving in Mailaraihanj, a small village in the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh. There is no one in the village who can refute his claim. He lives in a small house with a brick kiln roof which holds several valuable mentions in the history of handicrafts in India, including the State Handicraft Award that he won in 2009. The art of bone carving goes back to time immemorial. It is considered to be an important pre-historic art, which marks the domestication of human beings. It all started with using bones and ivory as hunting tools in prehistoric days.

Over the centuries, using bones for tools has been replaced with using bones for artefacts in contemporary times, due to the availability of more sophisticated weapons, and a ban on poaching of animals.

[caption id="attachment_86092" align="aligncenter" width="1958"]Bone Carving Abrar Ahmad at his bone-carving workshop.[/caption] The process of bone carving involves intricate hand-eye coordination, and there are several layers to the process before it finally transforms into a decorative craft item. From making his own carving tools, called titli, to maintaining extreme precision while carving, Ahmad shows sheer dexterity and nothing else. Without the use of any graphs or machines, he makes a masterpiece every time. In Barabanki, he says, most designs are inspired by the Awadhi architecture, which comprises of jali work and bel-patti. Bones and horns—extracted from animals that have naturally died—are first beaten and given shape.

Ahmed then carves them using different tools, gluing each piece to another, and eventually creating a decorative item, such as a lamp, or even a jewellery box.

[caption id="attachment_86097" align="aligncenter" width="1469"]Jewellery Box A bone-carving jewellery box made by Ahmad.[/caption] Today, people know Mailaraiganj village for Ahmad’s karkhana (workshop). Often, “Ustaad Sahab”, as the villagers popularly call him, even hosts craft tourists at his house. Recently, even the State Ministries of Minority Affairs and Handicrafts recognised the efforts of Ahmad. In his 70-year life, he has spent more years in bone carving than in anything else, yet he earns less than a daily wage labourer. The demand for products has fallen tremendously over the years. The nature of the market and the tastes of people have also changed. With reduced last-mile reach, not every craftsman has direct access to fairs, exhibitions, and bigger markets, and so profits are becoming smaller by the day. This is the reason that many from the younger generation are no longer willing to take up bone carving, and many other crafts-based vocations.

With smartphones in hand, people in cities prefer to shop online with ease, even if they are paying three times more than the value of the product.

[caption id="attachment_86101" align="aligncenter" width="1469"]Abrar Ahmad artefact Ahmad shows an artefact that he has carved by hand.[/caption] However, Ahmad believes that his art is going to mark a comeback in the market. Under the Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD) Scheme, Ahmad has initiated a training centre for young artisans. He has selected more than 50 students across the district to train. The Digital Empowerment Foundation will now train him in using digital tools to carve with even better precision. He’ll also learn how to experiment with designs, and use social media channels and eCommerce portals to sell products online.
Images sourced from Vimages.
(The author is a Gandhi fellow, and an alumna of Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi. At DEF, she works with handloom weavers and craftsmen to introduce digital interventions in their vocations, in an effort to revive traditional art & craft and improve their livelihood.) Help DEF make digital tools available to marginalised rural populations of India by donating your old devices here.

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Move Over Cricket. Here’s Why the Indian Ice Hockey Teams Need Your Attention Right Now

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“India is obsessed with two things—cricket and Bollywood,” says Mithun L Bajaj. He is hardly far from the truth. Few things bring together Indians faster and better than a heated game of cricket or the latest 100-crore club contender from B-Town. However, it comes at the cost of many other sports and art forms that struggle for their share of encouragement and support. Mithun, a filmmaker, is drawing attention to such a sport via, what else but a movie (no, not a B'wood production).

With his documentary movie Fighting on Ice, Mithun wants to put the spotlight on India’s little-known ice hockey players.

Yes, you heard that right! India has a secretly thriving culture of ice hockey, a Winter Olympic sport, though Mithun wouldn’t be very surprised if you have never heard about it. “I interviewed many people during the movie and, while they knew about hockey and football, five out of six had no idea that we have ice hockey in India.” Fighting on Ice sets out to change this equation. Mithun’s movie on the country’s burgeoning ice hockey culture takes the audience to the heart of the action: Leh-Ladakh. Leh is home to Karzoo Ice Hockey Rink, the world’s highest natural rink for the sport. The region is also home to numerous local men’s and women’s teams.
“The movie focuses on the captains of both the women’s and men’s teams, the assistant captains, and the coach and general managers, among others,” says Mithun. “We have shot the team playing with Canada for the Indo-Canadian Ice Hockey (in the Himalayas) tournament and the CEC Cup Ice Hockey Championship. The movie also explores their love for the sport, their dedication, and their need for support from people and the government.”

It was, in fact, an interview of Tsewang Gyaltson, captain of the men’s national ice hockey team, that got Mithun started on his venture.

Fighting on Ice 4
Image: Ice Hockey Association of India (Facebook)
Armed with a degree in film-making and script writing from Australia, Mithun spent much of 2016 laying the groundwork for the movie—liaisons with the hockey association, pre-production, setting up interviews, and finally travelling to Ladakh in the winter to interact with the players and shoot them in action.
“The temperature drops to minus degrees in winter, and we had to take breaks every 30 minutes of shooting. I had a camera assistant with me, but I was directing as well as shooting. I had to think about everything and concentrate on the shots without feeling distracted by the cold,” Mithun says.
For an independent, self-funded project, finances certainly pose bigger challenges than any amount of cold. Currently inviting contributions through crowdfunding, Mithun hopes that the funds will help him hire a crew, invest in post-production, and shoot international championships in Thailand and Kuwait, in which the Indian teams for men and women will be participating.
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He hopes to complete shooting for the movie by the middle of this year, and start by sending the movie to film festivals. “We will continue with festivals till early 2018 and then I hope to release the movie via Netflix and Amazon Video,” he says.

Mithun hopes that Fighting on Ice will help showcase the talent of India’s ice hockey players and their sportsmanship in the face of severe challenges.

Fighting on Ice 3 “Every sporting team needs time to develop and get better — the Indian cricket team didn’t start winning overnight,” says Mithun. “The players in our ice hockey teams are very talented. They need about eight months of practice, and all they get is two months before major championships. If they get enough practice, they can start winning.” Awareness is the first step towards securing better facilities and opportunities for the players, asserts Mithun. While private sponsors tend to fund more popular sports like cricket, it is important that the government builds a platform for other sports as well.
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Fighting on Ice is an attempt at generating awareness for a little-known game in a country that continues to lag behind at sports. Mithun says. “Nobody even thinks about ice hockey in India—yet these players are already talented. If they have the support and start winning tournaments abroad, wouldn’t it be a proud moment for all of us?” Contribute to the Fighting on Ice crowdfunding campaign on Ketto. To get in touch with Mithun, click here.

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Remember All India Radio’s Iconic Jingle? It Was a Jewish Refugee Who Composed It!

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Before TV and FM radio made a high-decibel entry into our lives, All India Radio (AIR) was what people tuned in to for their daily dose of entertainment and information. For decades, its most recognisable sound was the iconic jingle that announced an upcoming broadcast. Listening to Akashwani's signature score at the break of the dawn is a memory, ranging from vivid to vague, most Indians have and treasure. radio
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However, while the nostalgic value of AIR's signature jingle remains undisputed, few Indians know that it was composed by a Czech man: Walter Kaufmann. The director of music at AIR, Walter was one of the many Jewish refugees who found a haven in India after fleeing Europe to escape the Nazi onslaught. Born in 1907 in Karlsbad in the former Czechoslovakia, Walter graduated from the Staatlich Hochschule für Musik in Berlin in 1930. He the pursued a PhD in musicology at German University in Prague, though he refused to pick up his degree when he found out that one of his teachers, Gustav Becking, was the leader of the Nazi youth group. From 1927 to 1933, he conducted summer seasons of opera in Berlin, Karlsbad, and Eger. [caption id="attachment_86832" align="aligncenter" width="446"]HIGH-PRIORITY-mehli-verga-and-mario-the-melody-trio At the performance pictured here, Walter Kaufmann is at the piano, Edigio Verga is on cello and Mehli Mehta is playing the violin.[/caption]
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In 1934, worsening war conditions and Hitler's fascist rule forced Walter, originally from Austria-Hungary, to move to Bombay. On his maiden trip to India, the 27-year-old German musician arrived with a return ticket in hand - he had clearly not anticipated that he would end up spending the next 12 years in the country! Within a few months of landing in Mumbai, Walter founded the Bombay Chamber Music Society, which performed every Thursday at the Willingdon Gymkhana. Thanks to his mastery over Western music, he also managed to get the job of the Director of Western Music at the AIR. During this period, he stayed at Rewa House, a two-storeyed bungalow off Warden Road (now Bhulabhai Desai Road) in Bombay. By May 1937, the Society had given 136 performances of works by old masters and modern composers. Membership of the Society was open to all music lovers, with full membership costing Rs 15 a month, and a discounted rate of Rs 5 a month for students, working women and missionaries. [caption id="attachment_86841" align="aligncenter" width="640"]VictoriaTerminus1950 Bombay in the 1930s[/caption]
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Around that time, the shift from silent movies to talkies helped Walter establish himself as a musician in the Hindi film industry. He composed the background score for several films - Mazdoor (1934), Jagran (1935) and Prem Nagar (1935) - by Mohan Bhavnani whom he had met in Berlin. He also lectured at Sophia College. Walter's reason for coming to India was simple: "I could easily get a visa," he explains in one of his letters (quoted by Agata Schindler in her essay in the book, Jewish Exile in India: 1933-1945)In the same letter, he describes how he initially found Indian music "alien and incomprehensible." But the musician in him wasn’t willing to give up.
"As I knew that this music was created by people with heart and intellect, one could assume that many, in fact, millions would be appreciating or loving this music…I concluded that the fault was all mine and the right way would be to undertake a study tour to the place of its origin," he wrote.
To this end, he embarked on a study of Indian classical music, which took him across the country. His intense research in the field resulted in well-detailed books such as The Ragas of North India, The Ragas of South India : A Catalogue of Scalar Material and Musical Notations of the Orient: Notational Systems of Continental, East, South and Central Asia.

Walter's stint at AIR from 1937 to 1946 also gave him the opportunity to learn from some of India's greatest classical musicians while allowing him to observe some of their quirks.

[caption id="attachment_86842" align="aligncenter" width="647"]radio-mos-1_060816035100 All India Radio and its legendary speakers.[/caption]
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In another one of his letters, quoted in Schindler's essay, he describes:
"Most of the older artists refused to accept their remunerations in the form of cheques. They insisted upon receiving bare coin. It was interesting to note that some of these great and wonderful musicians would bring along with them a young boy, a son or a nephew, who was able to count the rupee coins reliably. The old artist and his young helper would settle on the floor outside the studio and carefully count the money received which had come in a little cloth bag."
Other than his books, Walter's interactions with the world of Indian music resulted in a series of operas, ballets, chamber music works, film scores and most importantly, one of the most iconic tunes that rules Indian airwaves to date — All India Radio's (AIR) signature jingle.

He centred the composition around the raga Shivaranjini, played on a single violin by Mehli Mehta (noted violinist Zubin Mehta’s father) over a tanpura's harmonic drone.

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Walter's other famous compositions from the period included Ten String Quartets, Three Piano Trios, Indian Piano Concerto, Six Indian Miniatures and Navaratnam, several of which were performed by the Bombay Chamber Music Society. In addition to his job at AIR, Walter also directed India's first radio opera, Anasuya, which made its debut in 1939. The plot drew from the ancient European legend of King Cophetua, an African ruler who falls in love with a young beggar, but the story was transposed to a mythical Maratha state. In Walter's version, the African ruler became Maharaja Asok (played by Leo D’Souza) and the young beggar Penelophon became the eponymous Anasuya (played by Eva Manes). Anasuya was well received by critics who hailed Walter for marvelously blending Western technique with Eastern mood. Like many of his other works, Anasuya too was a product of the musician's affinity for experimental music. He often defended the genre enthusiastically by lamenting the fact that people generally tended to criticise modern music without giving it a proper hearing. A few years later, in 1946, Walter left India for England. His engagement with Indian culture influenced his life and work even after he left the country. After spending some years in England and Canada, he moved to the US in 1957, where he joined the School of Music faculty at Indiana University in Bloomington. Here, he continued to write extensively about Indian music before passing away in 1984. On July 23, 1927, the then-Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin, said the following words at the inauguration of the Bombay Station of Indian Broadcasting Company.
"In India's remote villages there are many who, after the day's work is done, find time hanging heavily...and there must be many officials whose duties carry them into out-of-way places, where they crave company of friends and solace of human companionship. To all these and many more broadcasting will be a blessing and boon of real value."
His words still hold true to a large extent. From broadcasting crop updates for farmers to soothing jingles to tide over the morning blues and live traffic alerts for the hassled commuter, the radio has been an inseparable friend for many. Even today, people in the remotest parts of India find peace in the company of a transistor playing All India Radio, with Walter's mellow jingle signalling the arrival of news and entertainment.
Also ReadRetro Radio: 8 Iconic Broadcasts From AIR’s Golden Era You Shouldn’t Miss!

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If You Think Art Is Elitist, Chennai’s New Public Art Initiative Will Definitely Change Your Mind

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When was the last time you went to an art gallery? The painter Edgar Degas once said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Yet, not many even get an opportunity to see — and appreciate — art in galleries or partake in conversations about art.

In Chennai, a new Wall of Celebration hopes to democratise art by transforming public spaces into pop-up art galleries.

Splatter Studio
Image source: Facebook
The public art project is due to be launched on February 14 and is the initiative of Splatter Studio, a Chennai-based art studio. K. Senthil Ram,the gallery’s owner, says, “We never wanted to be a conventional art gallery—we encourage different forms of art and want everyone to enjoy it. Wall of Celebration is an extension of our mission. It was, in fact, my wife Sruthi who suggested the idea a long time ago, and we have built on it." The first wall of celebration will be launched at That Madras Place, a restaurant in Chennai’s Adyar neighbourhood where Splatter Studio is also located. The display will be up for two weeks. Senthil hopes to expand the project to other restaurants, hotels and resorts, and even parks and airports. “We also hope to set up the project in other cities in the long run.”
“I commonly hear people say that they either can’t afford art, or understand it,” says Senthil. “It’s a challenge, not just for me but all gallery owners. The only way to break these notions is through education. We curate our art to make it possible for everyone to appreciate. One can certainly appreciate the colours and compositions and that’s a gateway into understanding it better.”
Pricing is also a concern for Senthil. “Art isn’t always expensive. We want to encourage people to invest in art intelligently — our paintings are available at a fraction of the cost, it supports young artists, and some of these artists may go on to be big names.”
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India has a long way to go, says Senthil, when it comes to supporting and encouraging young artists. Proper infrastructure and a robust education system are the need of the hour. The Wall of Celebration aims to be a platform for young artists and to encourage the public as well. The initiative is open to all artist or photographers who can apply to have their work displayed. Senthil hopes that more spaces will be open to hosting such exhibitions and established artists will gradually step up. You can follow the Wall of Celebration on Splatter Studio’s Facebook page. To get in touch with Senthil, click here.

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Young, Artistic & Charitable: A Unique Art Fest Brings Youth Together to Give Back to Society!

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An initiative taken up by Karmyo, Good Graffiti Fest aims to raise awareness about social good among youth through art. Art has a way of inspiring people, and is often considered the best medium to convey a social message. Good Graffiti Fest aims to do just that. The festival was started in 2016 by Karmyo, an early-stage social startup, with the objective of bringing youth of the city together and inspiring them to give back to the community.

Urban Haat in Navi Mumbai will see the second edition of the festival take place on February 18 and 19.

“The first edition of the Good Graffiti Fest took place last February. It was a very informal setting; we invited 25 artists from different fields who painted live at the festival. Even without a big team or a lot of publicity, we had a footfall of over 1,000. When we saw how inspiring those two days had been, we decided to organise the festival this year at a bigger scale,” says Anshumaan Bansal, co-founder of the festival.
This year, the theme of the festival is: Impact starts with I. Through various artistic pursuits, the fest will inspire the attendees to give back to society in different ways. Volunteers of several NGOs will be present at the venue to interact with people and guide them about getting involved with different causes.
Also read: This Initiative is Helping Rural Artisans Create Masterpieces by Collaborating with Modern Artists
“The fest has many events like graffiti artwork, painting exhibitions, live art demonstrations, kids' art competition, workshops, storytelling, motivational talks and music spread over the weekend,” informs Anshumaan.
One of the highlights of the festival is a series of motivational lectures by 12 social entrepreneurs like Bani Das of Kranti, Shveta Raina of Talerang, Ashish Shrivastava of Shiksharth and Suhani of Saral Designs to name a few.

The fest is platform for upcoming artists to showcase their talent and to inspire people to become socially responsible.

[caption id="attachment_87084" align="aligncenter" width="448"] Graffiti wall at the Good Graffiti Fest 2016[/caption]
“It's an interesting amalgamation of creativity & inspiration! We, at Karmyo, are looking to gradually build a global community of socially responsible citizens. We envision creating a mobile platform, where users would be offered different opportunities to give back, like fundraisers, volunteering and social events,” says Deepika Goyal, co-founder of the festival.
The festival is open to all. To raise funds for the logistics and other requirements of the festival, Karmyo is currently running a crowdfunding campaign. The profits gained from the campaign and the festival will be donated to NGO Shiksharth that works in the field of education in tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.
Also read: Leaving a Mark: This 82 -Year-Old Woman Has Been Using Stamps to Create Art for 4 Decades
To know more about the festival, visit its official website here, and the Facebook event here. To contribute to the fundraiser, click here.

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How a Tea Taster Became One of the Biggest Names in Indian Advertising

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“Dum laga ke haisha… Zor lagake haisha!”

If you have lived through the 90s, chances are you will recognise these lines immediately. After all, who hasn’t seen the iconic Fevicol ads that splashed on television screens in those days? How the ad came to be is an interesting story, and more fascinating is the story of the man who coined that iconic copy.

Piyush Pandey is one of the most illustrious names in Indian advertising, and his story shows that creativity truly has no boundaries.

Image source: Flickr
Piyush may be the man behind many an iconic campaign in the country, but this maverick began his career far from the glitz and glamour of advertising. A professional cricketer, he also worked as a tea taster for Goodricke Group. However, advertising intrigued him. In 1979, at the age of 24 he quit his job to take up a position at Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai. He was interviewed by then head, Rangan Kapur, and offered a job—not in the creative team, but as an accounts executive. A move like that might throw many off their path, but Piyush took it in his stride. In an interview to Verve India, he mentioned how he would write copy on the sly.
“The first one was for Sunlight Detergent Powder. I remember it had Supriya Pathak saying Sunlight ki daam bas itni aur chamak…chamak dhoop si (Sunlight costs so little but gives you whiteness as bright as sunlight).”
It took six years for him to make the transition into creative writing, but Piyush persisted.

Piyush conceptualised many well-known ads, perhaps none more than Fevicol, which won him an Abby and an A&M Magazine award.

In those days, Fevicol wasn’t a very important account for Ogilvy, and Piyush was a new copywriter on the project working for a low-budget product called Fevitite Rapid. In an article for Scroll, Anvil Alikhan who worked at Ogilvy in those days, recalls how Piyush came up with a 10-second concept for a tug-of-war, with a chant of dum laga ke haisha. The campaign didn’t work out, but a few months later Fevicol scrapped its primary ad to adopt the tug-of-war concept. Piyush is also also the man behind the famous ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ song as well as ads for Luna Moped, Dairy Milk and Asian Paints. In all his humility, he has often said that his iconic lines were captured from conversations and popular culture.
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In 1994, at the age of 40 and following a series of spectacularly successful campaigns, Piyush was appointed O&M’s national creative director. Piyush is credited with not just great ads, but also for revolutionizing advertising at his agency and across India. As a child growing up in Rajasthan, he was exposed to an abundance of Hindi literature and music in his family. Incidentally, his sister is the singer Ila Arun and Prasoon Pandey, another successful ad man, is his brother.
“Hindi was what we spoke at home; Hindi was what we emoted in. So Hindi comes most naturally to me, just as I’m sure Bengali comes naturally to Bengalis and so on. It’s just that some people choose to leave their own language behind, and that is the biggest mistake they make,” Piyush told Verve India.
His advertising career began at a time when the popularity of television changed the way campaigns were made, and Hindi gained popularity as a medium of advertising communication. Elitism was giving way to messages for the masses. Piyush didn’t just participate in the change — he shaped it.

With path-breaking campaigns, Piyush has won countless awards and accolades along the way.

Image source: Twitter
His campaign for Cadbury was awarded ‘CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY’ at the Creative Abbys while Fevikwik clinched a similar award from Ad Club Mumbai. After winning double gold at Cannes in 2002, he was appointed President of the Jury at the Cannes Advertising Awards in 2004. He became the first Asian in 52 years to hold the position. He was inducted into the Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide board in 2006 and in 2010 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). In 2012, he also became the first Asian to receive the Clio Lifetime Achievement Award by Shelly Lazarus in New York. He has the distinction of being declared the most influential man in Indian Advertising by The Economic Times for nine consecutive years. In 2016, he received the coveted Padma Shri for his contributions and achievements.
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A running joke goes that lifetime achievement awards are usually a sign for people to hang their work boots and retire. But no award has put a stop to this creative mind. Piyush has, since then, acted in movies and authored the book Pandeymonium: Piyush Pandey on Advertising. Over the years, Piyush’s exemplary work has broken barriers and creative boundaries with aplomb. As Amitabh Bachchan said about working with the ad man, “My own personal experiences in working with this most vibrant mind have been educative and enlightening.” It’s easy to forget that Piyush didn’t start in advertising nor did he come with special qualifications. Yet he harnessed his talent, seized every opportunity (some on the sly) and changed the Indian advertising industry forever.

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TBI Blogs: In a Small Village on the Rim of the Rann of Kutch, a Family Is Keeping an Ancient Craft Alive

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Many traditional Indian arts and crafts have been lost due to lack of support for the artisans. Now, a family from a small village in Kutch is trying to keep the rapidly dying handicraft of Khavda Pottery alive, despite a lack of external support. The art of Khavda Pottery started during the Indus Valley Civilisation, in the region of present-day Kutch. The gold and beaded jewellery, terracotta toys and bronze figurines, and seals with symbols found at the sites reflect the objects we use till this day. One such object, unchanged through millennia, is the earthen pot, an ubiquitous object seen all over the country. In the small village of Khavda, Bhuj, Gujarat, for generations, craftsmen have been making earthen pots with the same process and designs as those seen in the Indus Valley excavations. Khavda is a small village at the rim of the Rann of Kutch. It has skilled craftsmen like Abdul bhai, whose forefathers migrated here from Sindh a few hundred years ago.

They craft a wide variety of vessels, such as matka for water storage, plates, diyas, boxes, ketli, and kulhada to keep buttermilk.

Save Khavda Pottery Rahimabehn at work on a Khavda Pottery water bottle. While the men do all the throwing in this pottery craft, the women handle all the surface decoration, which, in this northern Kutch village of Khavda, is primarily in the form of painting. The potter gets mud from a specific acre (a lake) area near their village. It is called “Rann ki Mitti”. This soft clay is shaped into a pot on a potter’s wheel and left to dry in the shade, then Kumbhar women use red, black, and white clay-based paints to decorate each piece of pottery with distinct community-specific designs. After a while, the pot is cleaned and put in the sun to dry, and then baked in a furnace powered by simple and locally available fuels of dry wood and cow dung. The vessels are coated with a thin wash of geru (red color). The pots of Khavda get their red colour from Geru, a type of soil (ocher/umber), and the black-and-white dots and stripes are also made with natural materials. Unfortunately, this traditional Khavda Pottery craft of Kutch is diminishing. Out of the ten families who used to practice this craft, there are only two left. The other families have been forced to shift to other livelihoods. Their pottery items used to be made for the local market, but the demand for of these items has decreased dramatically. They have lost the battle against plastic, steel, and Chinese products of everyday use. Today, the artisans are dependent on external markets. Abdulla Kumbhar, his wife Rahima Behn, and their children are one of the two families that continue the Khavda Pottery traditions in spite of very meagre incomes and extreme hardships in the harsh environment of North Kutch, Gujarat.

Their work environment includes the harsh temperatures of Kutch combined with the smoke, dust, and back-breaking work to burn wood for the bhatti, or pottery baking kiln.

Save Khavda Pottery Abdulla and Rahimabehn’s modest home in Khavda. The Heart for Art Public Charitable Trust helped Abdulla and his family get additional income recently by conducting several consumer workshops in Pune where close to 100 art & craft lovers participated in paid workshops, and also bought a lot of their products. While talking to the couple, the organisation found that they have contemplated leaving the craft and doing other things, but have stayed on to keep the craft of our country alive. When asked what will help them stay in the craft, their answer was “regular business and help with infrastructure needs”. The Trust is now working on getting regular business for their family in several ways, including taking their products into more exhibitions, doing more consumer workshops, etc. It has also started a fundraiser online to help fund the family’s infrastructure needs. Their requirements are quite basic really, that they have been doing without for all these years:
  • Additional Pottery Wheel to add to the single (unwieldy) wheel that they now have
  • Support their children’s education
  • Repairs of the roof of their home to be able to store the finished pottery
  • Eco-friendly Gas furnace to bake the pottery items
  • Basic Healthcare

They are the last custodians of a dying art form, and need all the help they can get!

Save Khavda Pottery The smoke-filled chulha bhatti the family uses today. You can help Heart for Art support this family’s needs. Donate to the fundraiser online now.

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TBI Blogs: The Next Time You’re in Jodhpur, Visit the ‘Chappalon Wali Gali’, and Help Empower Artisans in Need!

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In the narrow lanes of the historical city of Jodhpur, a community has been creating the signature Jodhpuri chappals tirelessly for generations. Art. The term is vast and enveloping, a gamut of expressions. It is extremely difficult to define art in its entirety. It is highly appreciated in galleries, traversing through paintings, murals, and sculptures, and at the same time, unexplored, found in hundreds of nooks and crannies of ever-so-vibrant India. Art is created everyday by hundreds of artisans, unknown and unheard of. In one of its documentation trips, Project Kalayatra navigated through Jodhpur’s Sardar Market to discover a community of artists creating one of India’s favourite footwear—the Jodhpuri chappals. The history of footwear in India can be traced back to the Vedic period. To put it in easy terms, Indians have been wearing shoes and sandals, forever. In the midst of the evolution to international brands and unconventional designs, there have been things closer home, which still find abundant space in our hearts and wardrobes alike.

Jodhpuri chappals, enclosed in multiple hues, are the protagonist today.

[caption id="attachment_86708" align="aligncenter" width="4272"]Jodhpuri chappal's sole creation Beginning of the tale—soles for the Jodhpuri chappal. (Image: Project Kalayatra)[/caption] A walk through the “Chappalon Wali Gali” behind the city’s Clock Tower leads to a narrow nondescript lane. Awaiting no second glances, the lane looks like any of the hundreds winding around Jodhpur, famous for its 15th century Mehrangarh Fort. “Chappalon wali gali” literally translates to “the Footwear Street”.

Lined on both sides are a dozen houses, rhythmically constructing their version of art in the form of Jodhpuri chappals.

[caption id="attachment_86723" align="aligncenter" width="4272"]Jodhpuri chappals in multiple hues Myriad of colours. Jodhpuri chappals are some of the most vibrant footwear created in India. (Image: Project Kalayatra)[/caption] The story of Jodhpuri chappals is incredibly romantic. The metamorphosis of plain leather into a completed colourful chappal is incredibly disciplined, as much as it’s beautiful. The process of making the chappal is an example of a well-oiled factory line, where the women and men share equal responsibilities to bring out the finished product. The leather received from various parts of the state is treated and then worked on by the men, who learn the art from their fathers, and have been doing so for generations.

The soles and covers are turned into sturdy shapes to fit various kinds of feet and sizes.

[caption id="attachment_86711" align="aligncenter" width="4272"]Artisan stitching the pattern for the Jodhpuri chappal Artisans, irrespective of their gender, contribute to the craft. (Image: Project Kalayatra)[/caption] Now, the women take over with their nimble fingers, creating the beautiful embroidery which makes the Jodhpuri chappal so distinct from the various footwear coming out of other parts of India.

Cooing to the infant on her lap, sought by the whistle of the pressure cooker every five minutes, an artist, from under her ghungat (veil), embroiders three to four pairs of chappals, every day.

[caption id="attachment_86712" align="aligncenter" width="4272"]Embroidery on the Jodhpuri chappal This intricate embroidery fetches them ₹30 a pair. (Image: Project Kalayatra)[/caption] Jodhpuri chappals have adorned feet for years. Middlemen picked them from these streets, and send them in huge numbers to shops in bigger cities, especially to the metros. Suppliers provide them to the hawker at the pavement and dozens of e-commerce websites, alike. The cost of a Jodhpuri chappal ranges from ₹300-500 when bought from any of these sellers. The artists usually receive as low as ₹30 to embroider one pair of Jodhpuris. For years, they have worked under clouds of economic disparity, and it’s not unknown to them. Quite contrary to the morose atmosphere one would expect, these artisans overwhelmingly display happiness, punctuating their everyday juggling of work with smiles.

There is an infectious camaraderie of sharing a common goal to create a craft.

[caption id="attachment_86713" align="aligncenter" width="4272"]Last step for the finished Jodhpuri chappal The final step of creating this beautiful peace of art. (Image: Project Kalayatra)[/caption] What sets this community apart is their pride in accepting themselves as heirs to a skill passed on to them for generations. The younger artists have migrated to cities (as is the story with many art forms in small cities and villages), yet many have returned to their community in recent times. Unknown to many, more often than not, economic support plays second fiddle to the appreciation and encouragement that the artist seeks. In the last few years, some resident history guides have brought sets of tourists and visitors to the chappalon wali gali, and the difference is evident in the faces of these artists. There is no prominent support for financial independence from any individual, organization, or the government.

The artists themselves seek no aid, and are vocal about the fact that all they need is a chance at fair trade.

[caption id="attachment_86715" align="aligncenter" width="4272"]The last touch before packing the Jodhpuri chappals, out for sale Finishing touches, before they head to the market. (Image: Project Kalayatra)[/caption] A little effort can go a long way. Whether you are a tourist, visitor, volunteer, or shopper, one can script a significant role in this movement. Jodhpur is visited by tourists all year-round. Inculcating these artists and other existing art forms as a part of the tourist trail can be amply beneficial. A visitor to Jodhpur can contribute by taking half a day out of his/her schedule to spend time with the artists. After all, chappalon wali gali is central to Jodhpur, and easily accessible. Volunteering to help or learn the trade, and buying directly from the artisans or organizations who support fair trade for the artists, is another positive. It is heartening to see the comeback of Indian indigenous art in the lives of many Indian shopping enthusiasts. India is a kaleidoscope of handicrafts.

Exploring, learning, and being aware of this is the first big step to indigenous art conservation.

[caption id="attachment_86717" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Promotion the Jodhpuri chappals, our own way Embracing an indigenous Indian art form means welcoming it into our lifestyle. (Image: Project Kalayatra)[/caption] The city of Jodhpur owes as much of its glory to history as it does to the various art forms which have originated and thrived here. This includes the Jodhpuri chappals, the Bandhini sarees, leather bags, camel bone sculpting, and so much more. All it needs is an effort to explore and discover that little extra which is usually unheard of. This vibrant city welcomes explorers, connoisseurs, artists, story tellers, and wanderers,to experience art rarely found in books. If you know any artisans/art forms that are little-known and in need of assistance, contact Project Kalayatra via email.

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These Slum Kids Had Never Been to the Movies. So the Movies Came to Them

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It all began in 2014 when Shreya Soni was on her way to watch a movie. At a traffic signal, she met a group of street children (with whom she had already built a rapport and used to often share her food) who asked her where she was headed that day. She clearly remembers that their response to her movie plan was that they had never seen a movie. “This sentence of theirs stayed with me for weeks and it truly bothered me that in a city like Delhi, these kids had such minimal access to the cultural diaspora,” says Shreya, who has spent one decade in Hyderabad, one decade in New Delhi, half a decade in London and is now back to being a Delhi-dweller.

So instead of sitting on this, the Economic honours graduate decided to set up a learning workshop on an experimental basis and bring the movies to these children, if they couldn't go there, and thus was born Picture Wala, “a moving entertainment circus that travels to different parts of the country to entertain the kids on streets and slums”.

Source: Facebook
Aimed at providing disadvantaged children access to mediums like movies, music, sports, stories, theatre, art, craft, and comedy, and help channelise their energy and thoughts towards something meaningful, the Picture Wala organises entertainment workshops that are designed to be effective tools and mediums of subtle education, awareness and inspiration. “After a screening process and having conversations with the children and their parents, we adopt a basti for 12-18 months. During this period, we organise workshops that would help children develop soft skills,” Shreya says, adding that they have adopted two bastis till date – one near Safdarjung Development Area, and other in Andrews Ganj (both in south Delhi) – and work with children from 4 to 15 years of age.

She, however, adds that they first try to build a relationship with the parents and earn their trust before going ahead with their project in the area. The parents too have full access to their sessions and workshops.

“Initially the parents did not see the benefit of sending their children away for three hours when they could earn some money by begging in that time, and were slightly challenging to convince. But tons of persuasion and reasoning got some parents to cave in and we had 35-40 children at the first Picture Wala movie screening,” Shreya says, adding that the number of children has only increased with every progressive skill building workshop.
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Shreya, however, clarifies that they do not impart education to the children and only help children develop social skills. “But if the children need help with their studies, we are always there to help and guide them,” she adds. Elaborating on the type of movies screened, she says that “the children love watching inspiring movies Iqbal, Hawa Hawai, Bhoothnath, and Fandry, where the underdog comes out as a hero despite his challenging circumstances.” She shares that they were recently also shown Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal, which the children thoroughly enjoyed.

The children are also taken on excursions, and have been to the Science Museum, Delhi Photo Festival and an ISL football match.

Ask her about her experience and association with the children and Shreya says, “It has been a wonderful 18-month association with the children in Andrews Ganj and we will soon be hosting our last workshop of this tenure this month. This has saddened the parents, some of whom have told me how they have observed changes and reforms in their children over time. Some of the kids we have worked with have also shown great improvement at school, which is a wonderful thing.” “Most of the children used to be shy and kept to themselves initially, but now express themselves with ease and confidence. This was the ultimate goal, and it feels great to achieve it.” That’s not all, the Picture Wala has also identified five children from the Andrews Ganj who have shown fantastic skills and potential. “We are committed to sponsoring their higher education once they graduate from school,” says Shreya. To know more about Picture Wala, visit their Facebook page here.

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TBI Blogs: These Initiatives Are Giving Hand-Made Products a Fighting Chance by Keeping Them Affordable

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Why buy handmade? What difference will it make? Who will it impact? These are just some of the questions that need answering when one discusses hand-crafted goods. There are plenty of reasons to support the handmade movement, and many initiatives, taken by both government and non-governmental institutions, to help the same bloom. A handcrafted product is always a harbinger of joy for its maker. For an artisan to whom each handiwork is an exquisite labour of love, every buyer is emblematic of a better tomorrow. The same handicraft possibly fulfills its newfound owner in equal measure, benignly adorning this buyer’s mantle, or ornamenting a wall as a celebrated centrepiece. It’s incredible the way a handmade product travels an economic arc as it journeys from maker to connoisseur. The truth is, the crafts sector is the second largest industry, by income, amongst rural Indians. It is estimated that there are 7 million artisans employed in crafts pockets across the country, out of which 50 % have had no formal education. Dig deeper, and you’ll realise there’s more. 90 % of the women in crafts-producing households are uneducated, and because employment in crafts is unorganised, income is inconsistent and slow. The result? An infinite social spiral that has descended on rural populations.

With low capital and indefinite market cycles, resources have become limited, and incomes have dwindled.

[caption id="attachment_87116" align="aligncenter" width="5760"] Women artisans are an integral part of the craft community, and in many crafts, their role is vital from a technical stand point as well.[/caption] 90 % of the women in crafts-producing households are uneducated, and because employment in crafts is unorganised, income is inconsistent and slow. The government has taken steps to fuel market opportunities available to artisans. Development Commissioners for handicrafts and handlooms have set up myriad emporiums across the country, where regional crafts are displayed for urban buyers. There is also a spread of Weaver Centres in some parts of the country, where handloom weavers can seek market inputs and know-how. The Handloom School, a little treasure tucked inside the town of Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, is one such centre. The institute, established by WomenWeave, runs a year-long programme that imparts skills and provides access and technical know-how to weavers in an effort to contain artisanal talent. The institute’s philosophy is simple—resurrect weaving, enhance employment. “To weave a length of yarn, you need eight weavers, which means you’ve already kindled eight livelihoods,” says Nivedita Rai, Executive Director at WomenWeave. Apart from the Handloom School, WomenWeave delves into weaving towns to promote employment for women.

Having launched a successful project in Jindori, Madhya Pradesh, in 2009, WomenWeave has plans of replicating the programme in other craft pockets in the country.

[caption id="attachment_87117" align="aligncenter" width="533"] The Handloom School provides specialized education to young weavers, and aims at preservation and protection of the crafts.[/caption] Nivedita shares that in the next five years, WomenWeave will strive to breathe life into languishing signature crafts. “It’s incredible to see the difference employment makes to women. Their attitudes change, they discover the power of a bank account, and their standing in the family rises,” she says. “We have a very rich heritage of arts and crafts. Our challenge is to create products that are affordable without diluting this heritage. Socially- and environmentally-conscious decisions have to be made at every step of the making process, and the good part is that every artisan we work with is open to this discussion. They understand it’s a win-win,” says Jaimini Purohit, Co-founder at India Kala, who have created a virtual library of processes employed by artisans in Kutch Weaving, Bagh Handblock Printing, Tarapur Handblock Printing, Warli Painting, and Chanderi Saree Weaving, among many others. They hope this endeavour will help further the succession of handicrafts over future generations by chronicling each step of each craft, and saving it in a digital time capsule for future reference. Aside from conventional intermediaries like aggregators and traders who provide market linkages to artisans, India has seen the growing involvement of high-end fashion houses and couturiers. Under some of the glistening garments designed by Manish Malhotra, for example, lie earthy fabrics handmade by artisans.

Ritu Kumar and Tarun Tahiliani have also assimilated handlooms in their designs.

[caption id="attachment_87184" align="alignnone" width="1920"]Handmade sarees The intricate process of ‘Jodni’ practiced by the weavers of Maheshwar, one of the many processes that are part of India Kala’s virtual library.[/caption] While these designers have disassociated with the handloom label while marketing their brand, another couturier, Anita Dongre, has tailored one of her fashion lines from pure handlooms. Her Grassroots collection, crafted from organic fabrics, has been created and promoted as an artisanal line. This year, for the first time, the Lakme Fashion Week showcased designs by nine artisans from Kutch. The designs were a medley of weaving, bandhani, Rabari and suf embroidery, and Ajrakh prints, breathing Gujarati design into contemporary ensembles. Of the nine artisans, seven represented an institute called Somaiya Kala Vidya (SKV), a design school for artisans, which is a division of the K.J. Somaiya Gujarat Trust, based in Kutch. One of the first design schools for artisans in the country, the institute’s one-year course aims to educate traditional artisans in design and business, building on their existing traditional knowledge. It also equips them to succeed in contemporary markets.

The institute garners visiting faculty from renowned design schools across the country.

[caption id="attachment_87171" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Kutch artisans walked the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week ’17, a first-of-its-kind concept.[/caption] SKV’s Founder-Director, Judy Frater, is an American with an inherent passion for Indian craft. Frater has been working with artisans since 1970, and a serendipitous meeting with the Lakme team in Kutch this year led to the display of her students’ artisanal line during the Lakme Fashion Week 2017. “The team at Lakme was visiting Kutch for participants in their Textile Day, as this year’s theme was Kutch artisans. Somewhere, they heard about me. That’s where it started, and that’s how these designs reached the ramp,” she shares. When asked about how the Fashion Week helped artisans, she reveals, “Artisans are India’s original designers. The Lakme Fashion Week was a great platform for them to be recognised on. Having said that, artisans need to be self-sufficient when it comes to reaching the market. They need to have the right knowledge and skill sets. At SKV, we encourage a culture of co-design. This means that we promote collaborations between designers and artisans as equal partners, in India and abroad.”

As India’s young design community grows larger, Frater feels that perceptions about artisans need to change.

[caption id="attachment_87166" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Judy Frater, or ‘Judyben’, as Kutch’s local artisans fondly call her, has dedicated her life to the betterment of artisans.[/caption]
“Urban students should embrace artisans as fellow designers. Artisanal talent is immersed in creativity. They aren’t labourers who we should deprive of the creative process,” she affirms.
Similarly, Border & Fall, a unique, community-centric, online digital publication for craft and fashion, regularly features a special selection of articles on Indian artisans and their crafts. Mallika Kashyap, who laid its foundation in 2010, speaks of artisans as an intrinsic part of the Border & Fall fraternity. “Many of our agency clients, like Raw Mango and Rashmi Varma, work with karigars. We are always in conversation with them on how to make that equation more equitable. As for the digital platform, we do bring forward artisans’ stories and include them as equals in the design space. This is one step away from the ‘them/us’ narrative that everyone need to move past,” she reflects. Brick-and-mortar and virtual retail formats have been tremendous catalysts in introducing artisanal products in urban circulation. With socially conscious but profit-driven business models, crafts businesses give artisans a deeper foothold in mainstream business. Through them, artisans can work alongside businesses in creating products. These businesses draw market intelligence and have superior logistical networks. These help to marry urban trends with traditional techniques and add some of India’s legacy to the contemporary Indian home. Socially conscious businesses also open doors for craftsmen to financing opportunities, marketing know-how, training, and infrastructure. These businesses often encourage artisans to partake as business owners by offering shares in a profit-sharing proposition.

Simultaneously, a larger proportion of shares are given to venture capitalists and investors who can pump in cash for operations.

[caption id="attachment_87198" align="aligncenter" width="5760"]Handmade Textiles Master artisan Aziz Khatri’s Clamp Dye collection for India Kala.[/caption] With the onset of socially conscious businesses, artisans needn’t look forward to a better tomorrow. As more Indian enterprises include artisanal products in their offerings, a “better today” is finally becoming a reality. Discover more handmade products and support the artisans behind them on India Kala’s website.

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Now, Learn Carnatic Music and Kuchipudi at This US-Based University for Indian Performing Arts

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Now, students in the United States can further pursue their interests in the arts. In a first, the Telugu community in California has set up a US-based university that offers diplomas, certificate programmes and even a two-year master’s programme in Kuchipudi dance and Carnatic music to students.

With a focus on Indian performing arts, the University of Silicon Andhra (UofSA) has adopted a teaching programme which is a mix of virtual classes conducted by experts from India, along with weekend onsite classes.

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“We are fortunate to have eminent faculty with doctorates in Carnatic music and Kuchipudi dance. Faculty of reputed institutions in Hyderabad and Chennai came to the University of Silicon Andhra for a week in January to conduct an orientation programme,” Anand Kuchibhotla, CEO and president of the university, told The Hindu. The university is a progression of the Silicon Andhra Association (SAA), an organisation promoting Telugu language, literature and Indian arts among the US-based Telugu-speaking population, started in 2001 by Anand. The university already has 14 students from 10 states enrolled for Masters, while the 12-month diploma and certificate programme has 12 and 10 students respectively. According to the report, students who have completed their Class 12 can secure admission at the university.

The UofSA began operations on January 30 from a 25,000 sq ft building in Milpitas, California.

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The university's website says that apart from the students, experienced artists looking to start teaching classes in dance or music and teachers who want to add value to their practical experience and help their students, can also benefit.
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In the future, Anand, a resident of San Jose, also plans to introduce courses in fields like biotechnology and computational logistic. Sharing his journey, Anand, who is a native of Andhra Pradesh, says that while he moved to the United States to pursue his dreams, he has always remained passionate about Indian fine arts and his culture. “Indian fine arts, music and dance forms are rich in content and form. But there is no world class journal promoting their study, in-depth research and a new understanding. Only an invigorating university system can encourage teaching, research and publication to enrich and enhance the ancient art forms and knowledge,” Anand said.

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TBI Blogs: Meet the Artists Preserving Jalatarangam, the Ancient Art of Creating Music From Water Waves

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The sound of moving water—be it the waves of a sea hitting the shore, or the gentle flow of a river—has always enthralled the best of us. To commemorate the essence of life, Nazariya brings you Jalatarangam, a percussion instrument that is tuned with water, not strings! Jalatarangam is an Indian melodic percussion instrument that involves numerous ceramic or metal bowls filled with different levels of water, aligned in unique patterns. When the edges of the bowl are stroked, they produce water waves that produce a sound so melodious that one would never really want it to come to a halt. The emergence of Jalatarangam is found in Vātsyāyana’s Kamasutra as playing on musical glasses filled with water. However, today, this instrument has tumbled into anonymity, despite its historical prominence. Being the most traditional Indian classical music, some scholars think that in the ancient period, these were in routine practice around the eastern border of India. The medieval musical treatise of Sangeet Parijaat has classified this instrument under Ghan-Vadya, i.e. an idiophonic instrument in which sound is produced by striking a surface, also called “concussion idiophones”. The Sangeet Saar (manuscript on classical Indian music and dance) considered one with 22 cups to be the complete Jalatarangam, and one with 15 cups to be of mediocre status.

The cups are of varying sizes, made of either bronze or porcelain.

[caption id="attachment_87521" align="aligncenter" width="768"] The bowls used in Jalatarangam.[/caption] Today, artists generally prefer china bowls, numbering around 16 in normal use. The number of cups depends on the melody. In order to play this instrument, the player arranges the cups in a half-circle in front of him/her to be able to reach them all easily. He/she pours water into the cups, and changes the pitch by adjusting the volume of water in the cup. The player then softly hits the cups with a wooden stick on the border to get the sound. However, playing this instrument is not at all easy. It requires a lot of skill to produce music leading to trance.

Sangeet Saar also mentions that if the player can rotate the water through a quick touch of the stick, he/she can achieve nuances and finer variations of the note.

[caption id="attachment_87523" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Jalatarangam, the instrument.[/caption] Poets of the Krishna cult have mentioned the wonders of Jalatarangam in their literature work. Many contemporary players of Carnatic music do attempt to produce Gamak (a fast meend or spanning 2-3 notes, normally deliberately forceful and vigorous, and repeating in an oscillatory manner), often in the face of skewed sounds and lack of required control. George Harrison played the Jalatarangam on the title track of his 1982 album ‘Gone Troppo’. In India, Seethalakshmi Doraiswamy, Shashikala Dani, and Nemani Somayajulu are noteworthy Jalatarangam players. Also, one of the major Jalatarangam pros is artist Kottayam TS Ajith Kumar, hailing from Kerala. His appealing passion towards this instrument led to his creativity in incorporating both melody and laya (the tempo or speed of a piece), thus opening a new style of playing the instrument.

Today, he performs in concerts worldwide and promotes the music of Jalatarangam, which people have forgotten today with the emergence of extensive varieties of music.

[caption id="attachment_87522" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Kottayam TS Ajith Kumar performing in a show[/caption] Jalatarangam is a unique type of music, and the most soothing one as well. We must highlight and promote it to release it from obscurity, and once again leave its audience with ecstasy. The idea of water waves, when laid together with proper techniques, releasing sound that is so alluring, is truly transcendental. This article originally appeared on Nazariya. If you know any artists Nazariya can work with, please send in the details on email.
Featured Image Source: By Sugnandani (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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Remember That Haitian Girl Who Wrote About Racism in Bollywood? Here’s a Second Letter From Her!

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Badey badey deshon mein... Bollywood is thriving in unexpected ways and at the unlikeliest of places. In distant countries, viewers treasure Bollywood's love stories and family sagas. Fans who don’t speak a word of Hindi can sing Bollywood songs and have more knowledge of the Indian film industry than most Indians. Such is the love and affection Fabienne Menoud has for India and its vibrant film industry. A nurse in Haiti, 26-year-old Fabienne is a huge Bollywood fan and has been following the film industry ever since she was a teenager. Fabienne Menoud

Recently, she was in news for penning a powerful open letter about the racism she has faced for being a black Bollywood fan.

In another open letter, she writes about her dream to travel to India, her fascination with Indian culture and her deep love for Indian movies.

Fabienne’s Facebook timeline is peppered with photos of her with several Indian stars.
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Since I was little I was always curious about meeting new people from new countries. So, when my geography teacher introduced us to India and his culture, at first, I was just curious to know about a new country and a new culture. But when she showed us Bend it Like Beckham, and I saw all the wedding preparation and the dance, I found it so beautiful and so nice. When I watched Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, in my mind, I had to understand what the meaning of family is in the Indian culture, how do they approach the birth of a person the death too, but also the religion, the love, everything! Watching Bollywood movies helped me a lot to learn about the celebrations, what kind of music was played, what dances were performed during what celebration. What’s very interesting is each state has its own way to celebrate the same fest, but it is quite similar for the states of the north and quite similar for the states of the south. For instance, on Navratri, the dance you have is garba, and a loft of music with the dhol instrument. The bhangra is a dance from Punjab. Lavani is an Indian dance, like 'Pinga' from Bajirao Mastani, from the state of Maharashtra. But the most famous dance is the Bharatanatyam from south India and the Kathak, where actress Madhuri Dixit-Nene comes to mind. All these different kinds of dance I know because of Bollywood. Or celebrations like Holi, Karwa Chauth, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navarathri, Diwali, Durga puja, Dussehra – all these and more, I discovered through Bollywood movies. The value of the family, the fact that after the wedding, the wife leaves her house to go live with her husband and his family. Rakhi that celebrates the fraternal link between people. These are also things that I learned from movies like Vivaah or Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or Devdas! All of my first connections to India and its culture were through Bollywood. And it’s because of my love for Bollywood that I bought a lot of books about India and her culture. That, and I was also tired of watching Bollywood movie with subtitles and wanted to learn Hindi. Now, India is my dream destination and I have so many places to see! I want to go see the Taj Mahal, the fort of Agra, the palace of wind in Jaipur, the Jal Mahal and the Amber fort. And I also want to go to Mumbai to see Elephanta cave, Victoria station [CST], the Mehboob studios, film city, the Yash Raj studios, and to Mannat and the front of Deepika's house because I’m a fan of hers. Lol!  I also want to go to Goa, to Kolkata, Bangalore, to Manali – and at the end of it all I want to have visited at least 10 states of India! But another thing I want to do to is to assist a wedding in India to be part of the mehendi celebrations! For me, India has so much to offer in knowledge, in culture. This is a country that fascinates me, because of its history, value and culture. This is my dream, but since I want to see so many different places, it’s going to be expensive so I will have to wait a little longer to fulfill my travel dream!
Also ReadFrom Being Abused to Acting as Deepika Padukone’s Double – A Bollywood Stuntwoman’s Story

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A Chartered Accountant With a Dancer’s Soul, This Woman Is Helping Orphan Kids Pursue Their Passion

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Dance is the hidden language of the soul. - Martha Graham
On January 26, 2017, over 50 children from Thayi Mane Orphanage performed in Fulfilling A Dream, a dance programme held to help underprivileged children pursue their talent and passion for the art form. Held at Bengaluru's famous Chowdiah Memorial Hall, the event was the brainchild of Manisha Mehta, a 46-year-old chartered accountant with a dancer’s soul.

The founder of Dancekala, an institute that teaches different forms of dance to kids, Manisha strongly believes in following your heart and this is her way of giving back to the society. Here is the inspiring story of this amazing woman.

Manisha Mehta Born in Udaipur, Manisha spent much of her childhood in Mauritius. She was passionate about dance from a very young age and loved matching her steps to the beats of music. During her formative years, she trained in several dance forms like Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Jazz, Jive and Ballet. However, her favourite dance form was Rajasthani folk, especially Ghoomar, which she used to learn when she returned to Udaipur every year during her school holidays.
"I had a lot of free time and I wasn’t interested in sports, so I tried dancing and fell in love with it. I also have my dad to thank for the wonderful training I got throughout my growing up years," says Manisha.
Noticing her developing interest in dance, Manisha's parents ensured she had access to a good teacher who would teach her dance for three to four hours every day. The talented youngster bloomed under expert guidance and was soon performing on stage and in TV shows. Years passed, Manisha grew up and became a chartered accountant. However, she never lost touch with dance. Even after she married and moved to the USA with her family, she continued to perform professionally. She also began teaching dance to a few children and women of the Indian community.
"Initially, it was a way for me to socialise and get to know new people. Gradually, it struck me how much I loved performing and teaching dance. Also, I realised that I was good at it. So, I began taking a month off from my job every year to teach dance to interested kids. That was 11 years ago, when I had two little children at home," she says.
That was the beginning of Manisha' journey. When she returned to Bengaluru to start her own software company, she continued to teach dance to kids whenever and wherever she could. The turning point came just before she was about to turn 40. A few days before her 40th birthday, Manisha read somewhere, "life starts at 40." And that's when she decided to not just follow her passion, but also to utilise her skills to give back to society. She founded her own dance academy, Dancekala.
"My first class saw over 45 students and presently, there are about 115 of them. Interacting with them and watching them pick up a new skill is one of the most fulfilling experiences I have ever had," she smiles, deeply happy to have followed her dream and to be helping kids follow theirs.

Also Read13 YO Bharatnatyam Prodigy Uses All Her Earnings to Provide Books, Bags & Uniforms for Slum Kids
Manisha had been thinking about collaborating with an orphanage for some time but had not found an organization willing to send kids to her dance academy. When she went to Thayi Mane, an orphanage that educates and rehabilitates destitute children, she was pleasantly surprised to find a former student in charge.
"I had initially thought about teaching 15-20 children from the orphanage. However, when I saw so many children there, looking at me with all that love and hope in their eyes, I couldn't restrain myself from offering to teach three times that number for free. Dance shouldn't be just for those who can afford it," says Manisha.

In a heart-warming gesture, Manisha decided to have the kids from the orphanage perform with her other students at Dancekala's upcoming event on Republic Day.

She also decided to make it a fundraiser, with all proceeds going to the orphanage. All the expenses for the preparations came from her own pockets but Manisha says that it was totally the worth the hard work to see the kids from the orphanage take to the stage for the first time. Manisha plans to teach as many kids from the orphanage for as long as she can.
"While I will be glad if a few of them pursue dance as a hobby, I hope to help the kids, at least some of them, make a living through dance. That would give me the greatest happiness," concludes the kind woman who has shown that it’s never too late to follow your heart, live your passion, and give back to society.
Manisha Mehta has been honoured with Bengaluru’s Urban Achiever award and the Public Relation Council of India’s Shining Star award for her service towards promoting performing arts while helping underprivileged children. To contact her, click here.
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Who is Hunterwali? The Little-Known Story of India’s Original Stunt Queen

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During the late 1930s, the world was reeling under the ripples of the upcoming war, and fictional rescue rangers, superheroes in particular, provided the public an escape into a fantasy world where all the ills of the world were righted by these larger-than-life heroes. The names of the caped crusaders who emerged in this era -- Superman (debuted in 1938), Batman (debuted in 1939), and Wonder Woman (debuted in 1941) -- have become legends and are still with us today.

It was at this time in India that a woman burst onto the screen, first as a princess, then as a masked vigilante, juggling whips, swords, guns, and even pummelling villains with her bare hands.

The year was 1935 and the woman was India's original stunt queen, Fearless Nadia.

Fearless Nadia
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A blonde, blue-eyed beauty, Nadia was a hit with the audience from her first film and reigned Bollywood throughout the 1940s. Largely ignored by cinema historians as she performed mainly in the stunt genre, the story of this swashbuckling heroine is something few Indians know. Born on January 8, 1908, as Mary Ann Evans to a Scottish father and a Greek mother in Perth in Australia, Nadia came to India as a little girl. Her father, Herbert Evans was a volunteer with the British Army and little Mary grew up in India's North-West Frontier Province. From a young age, she wanted to be a singer and dancer and learned Scottish dances from her father and Greek songs from her mother. She went on to sing in church choirs in school but even as a young girl, she was different. While her classmates played with fluffy soft toys, she spent most of her time with a pony that became her best friend. She also spent time learning fishing, hunting, horse riding and everything normally considered audacious for girls of her age at the time. When her father passed away during World War I, Mary moved back with her mother to Bombay. Here, she joined a ballet dance school run by Madame Astrova, a Russian dancer, who recognised the young girl's innate talent, and selected her to be part of her travelling troupe.

During her days with the troupe, Mary met an Armenian fortune teller who suggested that she change her name to one beginning with the letter N. She chose Nadia because she like the “exotic sound” of it!

Nadia was originally born Mary Ann Evans
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Other than dancing with the travelling troupe, Nadia also tried her hand at several other jobs. From working in a secretarial position, travelling as a theatre artist to performing as a trapeze artist at a circus, she did it all. She also worked hard to train herself as a gymnast and her graceful cartwheels, daredevil stunts and charming presence soon won her a lot of fans. Eventually, Nadia left her job at the Zarco Circus and returned to full-time dancing, this time performing to Bollywood songs. Eruch Kanga, a cinema owner from Lahore, spotted her in a performance and suggested her name to J. B. H. Wadia and Homi Wadia, the brothers who owned a major production house called Wadia Movietone. A meeting was set, and impressed by her striking looks and fearless attitude, the Wadias decided to put Nadia to test. She was asked to learn Hindi and given a small role in two of their upcoming movies, Desh Deepak and Noor-e-Yaman. Her cameos as a slave girl in the former and as a princess in the latter were well-liked by the audience.

Then came the most important moment in Nadia's career. In 1935, the Wadias decided to launch Nadia as a lead heroine in Hunterwali.

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A cracker of a film, this movie was the first one to showcase Nadia’s fearlessness, her athletic prowess, and her affinity for the stunt genre. The audience loved her - perhaps the fact that as a European, she was fighting on the right side was doubly appealing at a time when India's freedom struggle was foremost in the minds of most Indians. Over the next decade, Nadia went on to star in over 50 films, performing her own stunts in every single one of them. From swinging from the chandelier and jumping off cliffs to fighting atop a speeding train and befriending lions, she did it all with an ease even men found difficult to achieve. Her fierce yell at wild animals, bandits, and bad boys in general, as she cycled down the road on her way to new adventures, became her signature. She also risked her life in the line of duty a number of times. Once, while shooting for a fight scene, she fell flat on her face from a great height and another time, she almost got swept away in powerful currents of Bhandardara Falls in Maharashtra.

A champion of truth and justice in almost all her roles, most of Nadia's films were runaway hits, with the Indian audience revelling in her daring stunts and exotic costumes.

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She went on to achieve great stardom and became one of the highest paid actresses in the Indian film industry during this period. Such was the adulation she received from public that her moniker 'Hunterwali’ was affixed by many brands of belts, bags, shoes and clothes in the country. At a time when Indian women were slowly warming up to the idea of acting as a profession, Nadia also emerged a feminist icon, challenging male dominance with rousing lines such as: "Don't be under the assumption that you can lord over today’s women. If the nation is to be free, women have to be freed first."

In 1961, Nadia married Homi Wadia (he gave her the name Fearless Nadia after she sportingly jumped off the roof of a studio set during a shoot) but Indian cinema hadn’t seen the last of her.

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In 1968, at the age of 60, the fiery actress made a final comeback as a sassy secret agent in Homi Wadia’s movie, Khiladi. As time passed, her legacy was gradually forgotten, only to be rediscovered in the 1993 documentary Fearless: The Hunterwali Story. Made by JBH Wadia’s grandson and Roy Wadia’s brother, Riyad, the documentary was screened at various international film festivals, bringing her to the attention of India and the world, including Australia, the country where she was born. In a review by Radio Adelaide just after the release of the documentary, Australian journalist Michelle Smith said that Nadia's films bear "a 1930s-esque innocence, juxtaposed with incredible stunts and spiels about women's rights." Today, while her legacy is little-remembered by the Indian film industry, Nadia's works are being studied by cinema experts in many countries, including at UK's School of Oriental and African Studies.
Also ReadThe First Indian Woman to Go to Antarctica has Visited 180 Countries in 50 Years

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MY STORY: How I Fought Muscular Dystrophy – Thanks to My Family, Unconditional Love and Arts

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Aarthi Sampath writes about the struggles of living with muscular dystrophy and how the arts helped her cope with her condition. I have muscular dystrophy. I was diagnosed at the age of 11. A hereditary condition marked by progressive weakening and wasting of the muscles. At first, my parents decided to take me to an orthopaedist and there they tested me and referred me to a neurologist. At the time, they didn't have the slightest inclination of the seriousness of my condition.

To our utter shock, my family and I were told there was no treatment yet, and advised physiotherapy, which helps stabilise the condition and maintain muscle strength.

Heartbroken by my diagnosis, my parents supported me wholeheartedly and ensured that all my needs were taken care of. A physiotherapist, who visited me, told my mother that I will not live long. But I proved her wrong as I’m still very much alive. I am not my condition, and positive energy keeps me alive. I faced relentless teasing and mockery from peers at school as well as neighbours, especially when I would walk, run or while playing games. I was under constant fear while attending physical training class. This one incident still gives me nightmares: I was asked to do long jump in my physical training class and I really made myself a laughing stock as everyone was watching to see how I ran and jumped. Such were the experiences that I gained from society that was always making fun of me. I could not sit cross legged as even this was such an issue of mockery among my classmates. Since I had difficulty in studying in CBSE my mother sought a state-board syllabus, but problems took a different form as I had to travel by public transport to reach school. Many a times I would fall, and sometimes I would board the bus by crawling into it. I could not cope in this fast world and did not have many friends. My shyness also kept me isolated. When my own peer group went on to the next stage of life, I failed to get exposure to the outside world.

Despite the terrible struggle, my mother never gave up on me. She decided to enable me to live an active and productive life, trained me how to cook and enrolled me in a beautician's course, as well as painting classes.

As I learned more about painting and started experimenting with various mediums, and began exploring my creative talents through art and handicraft, I felt happy and passionate. However, my condition continued to get worse as I had increasing trouble walking and couldn't even lift my arms normally. A decade after my diagnosis, my condition continued to deteriorate as I would fall frequently, especially in the restroom, and had to wait for help to arrive, because I could not get off the floor myself. Slowly, I stopped taking classes and began restricting myself from going outdoors. Although I painted at home, I did my best to avoid the outside world completely. Hoping to provide me with the new window into the world, my parents thoughtfully bought me a laptop. I always admire people for who they are and take inspiration from everyone I meet. My first inspiration in life was my grandfather, as he taught me how to use the laptop and encouraged me to watch English movies, listen to music and entertain myself, so that I would never be bored. He would spend quality time with me, and we would watch movies or other things together. As my parents were working at the time, he would keep a close watch over me and ensure that he would be immediately available to help me out, if I should fall. My grandfather and parents helped me through the darkest days.

A miracle came in the form of a wheelchair that my family finally convinced me to use.

I began moving around and living my life with enthusiasm once more safe, because the wheelchair allowed me the safety and mobility I needed. Once more, I began enjoying life and pursuing my creative interest like painting, craft work, watching movies etc. One of my neighbours came into my life like a breath of fresh air and ignited me with positive energy. She was around only for six months, but those were the best days of my life, for she changed my outlook completely and showed me how to be happy. She was instrumental in encouraging us to purchase a dog, my best friend, Shadow. After she relocated, I missed her desperately, but Shadow was able to ease the pain, with his constant presence and unconditional love.
Also read: She captained an under-19 women’s cricket team and after her disability is inspiring thousands!
My latest inspiration came in the form of Preethi Srinivasan, a quadriplegic, who is the founder of a public charitable trust that is working to provide hope and improve the quality of life of persons with severe disabilities. My mother had seen a TV programme about her life story and shared the details with me. I began quietly following her tweets, but never found the courage to reach out to her directly. It was only in December 2016 that I finally overcame my fear and emailed her, to congratulate her for her activities, but what I needed most was her friendship. I was eagerly awaiting her reply, and it came promptly. She was so open and friendly; she gave me her phone number and immediately introduced me to many others living with varying degrees of challenges. All this while, I had isolated myself from the world, and also from other persons with disabilities, but now I have the opportunity to share my struggles and challenges with others who understand what I'm going through. My physical condition may not have any cure, but the unconditional love of family, approval, attention, and acceptance of true friends can go a long way towards curing the heart of depression and discontentment. And, I am truly happy I overcame my fears and learned this truth in my life. My disability made me a better person to empathize with people who face similar challenges and to admire people for their optimism; despite of their disability they stay successful. Now after so many years of isolation I got to tell my story. My struggles to survive despite being mocked by a society that makes disability a laughingstock and belittles those suffering from it. I wish someday mocking and teasing people with disabilities would change and together we could work to make this world a better place.

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