Handicrafts of Kalakshetra.

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We have the privilege to visit the Craft Education Research Centre (CERC) of Kalakshetra.  We saw how a sari is made -- silk, cotton.  We also witnessed the painstaking tasks of hand painting and block printing of a sari.  Outside the wall of the center is a busy road, and yet, the workers take their time and meticulously produce arts on fabric.

From the web site:

The Craft Centre at Kalakshetra was inspired by the same ideals that illuminated everything that Rukmini Devi undertook. In all that she did, Rukmini Devi's aim was to "permeate the land with beauty of spirit and form."

The Craft Centre is located across the street from the Kalakshetra campus. In the large, high ceiling hall of the handloom Weaving Centre, thirty looms weave saris in silk and cotton, and other textiles as well. Weavers spin and dye the thread for the saris woven on their looms. Printers and dyers work in the Kalamkari Unit, which was instrumental in helping to revive the art of Kalamkari which was almost lost through neglect in the early part of the twentieth century. Today Kalamkari fabrics are available across the country and the Kalakshetra kalamkari unit continues to produce fabrics printed in this style which are made into items such as bags and linen and sold through the Kalakshetra Craft Shop, located next to the Weaving Centre.



I bought the book, Rukmini Devi Arundale, Birth Centenary Volume, from the center as well, and spent the afternoon reading it from cover to cover.  How extraordinary was her life!  It is very inspirational.  I feel like I have not done much justice for the project after reading the book!  Time to work harder now!

Looking forward.

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Sunday found me working on and off in the room.  I went to the market with Susanna to get some necessities for the next 11 days or so since the park was closed between 9 and 4! (too hot to walk I guess..)  So I should walk early tomorrow if I'm serious about getting back in shape with walking.

Late afternoon, Jana, Susanna, Martin and I went to a youth conference as organized by the Arunodhaya - Centre for Street and Working Children, Martin and Susanna's client.  The entire program was in Tamil; though we don't need a lot of  translation.  The kids organized most of the events.  They sang, danced, acted.  It's about being motivated to have an education, to avoid peer pressure, to deal with family situation... I was hungry though and so did not get to see the entire program.

After returning to the apartment, Susanna and I had pasta at Emilio's next door.  For a gelateria + pasta restaurant, Emilio's is pretty warm -- outside is a lot cooler! Had a cup of South Indian coffee.  Hopefully I'd still be able to sleep tonight.

Some pictures of the day:

Kanchipuram trip.

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The team dispersed into different groups for the weekend.  Some went to New Dehli, some to Sri Lanka.  Susanna, Bas, Dilminder, Martin and I went to Kanchipuram, one of the seven sacred cities of India.

Here we see a number of temples with Dravidian architecture.  According to Wikipedia:

Dravidian style temples consist almost invariably of the four following parts, arranged in differing manners, but differing in themselves only according to the age in which they were executed:^[1]

1. The principal part, the temple itself, is called the Vimanam. It is always square in plan and surmounted by a pyramidal roof of one or more stories; it contains the cell where the image of the god or his emblem is placed.
2. The porches or Mantapams, which always cover and precede the door leading to the cell.
3. Gate-pyramids, Gopurams, which are the principal features in the quadrangular enclosures that surround the more notable temples.
4. Pillard halls (Chaultris or Chawadis) are used for many purposes and are the invariable accompaniments of these temples.

Besides these, a temple always contains tanks or wells for water – to be used for sacred purposes or the convenience of the priests – dwellings for all the grades of the priesthood are attached to it, and other buildings for state or convenience.


We saw  Kailashnatha Temple. This link provides the following information:
The Kailashnatha Temple in Kanchipuram, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is the oldest temple in Kanchipuram. The Pallava king Rajasimha built this temple in one of the earliest styles of Dravidian temple architecture. The temple was built in the late 7th century AD and Rajasimha's son added the front portion of the temple later. The remains of the friezes of the 8th century AD within the temple complex still look beautiful and reminds of its original grandeur. There are several small shrines within the temple premises dedicated to Lord Shiva, his consort Goddess Parvati and their sons Ganesh and Murugan.

Then we drove by Sri Ekambaranathar Temple, but couldn't get to see much because of the blowing rain.  From  this link, I think we may have missed a lot.. oh well..

The Sri Ekambaranathar Temple in Kanchipuram, another temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, is one of the largest temples in the city of Kanchipuram. The entire temple complex is spread over 12 hectares of area. The origin of the temple can be traced to the Pallava Dynasty while the Chola Rulers made their contribution by adding to the temple. Krishnadevaraya, the king of the Vijaynagar Empire, extended the temple by adding a 59 m high gopuram or the gateway and outer walls in the early 16th century AD. The most pronounced feature of this temple is the thousand-pillared mandapam or the hall.

Break for lunch at the GRT Regency, I had Karaikudi Yera Thokku, a traditional tangy South Indian prawn curry.  Pretty good.  We then was dropped at a government silk shop, which I became disinterested quickly.

The last temple, Sri Varadaraja perumal temple,  was made more interesting from a clever tour guide, selling his service like a used car salesman.  We did have good information and he's quite good at what he does.   I was introduced to the several incarnations of Lord Vishnu, to whom the temple was dedicated.  From fish, to human to potential destroyer of human kind.  I felt relieved that Buddha was the 10+1 incarnation (according to the guide).    Reach Nirvana, to be free from sufferings so it doesn't matter if the world is destroyed or not.  We were tested the concept right away when Susanna found out that her shoes are missing:  worry, angry, sad, etc.

The trip back was long with traffic.  We probably moved at 15km per hour for the last 15 km!  Tired and cold, I craved for Pho.   I settled for room service:  tomato soup and stir-fried vegetable noodles.  Had my first cup of green tea (purchased from the "Big Bazaar" at Pondi Bazaar).  Not bad at all.  The whole day has been educational.

Here's the slideshow of the trip:

Another quiet day...

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Not too sure what to make out of this. I heard some commotion with bells ringing down below and so quickly had a look. It's a man pulling a donkey (or cow?), going from door to door, approaching everyone nearby and apparently is intimidating enough to get money out of people. One lady had to get out of her car and fumbled through her purse (away from the man though), to get some cash for him.

Friday was a nice day. Sunny and a bit warm again. I stayed at the apartment to work, enjoying the view outside the balcony -- green leafy trees, with the occasional honking horns. Funny how we are "immune" to the horn now. I also noticed less of the wiggling head. We were fascinated in the first few days of how the Indians would wiggle their head from side to side. I started to even do that as well.

Later in the evening, Susan and I went shopping at the Pondi Bazaar - a huge marketplace with lots of shops. It's a combination of swapmeet stalls with buildings with several levels of shops. Too bad that I forgot my camera and thus did not have a chance to capture the liveliness of that place. We had dinner at a restaurant specialized in Chettinad cuisine. Being non-adventurous, I chose the most familiar dish -- mutton (lamb) biryani (I thought it was bryani!!). There are 4 servers for the two of us! The waiter was very attentive, making sure that our plate is always filled with food -- so naturally I ate too much! The porotta bread is very good -- I have another one to add to my Indian comfort food now.

Susanna and I are good match. We both like going to the local markets! I bought a number of food items including peanut butter! This is for the guys in the team who may want some PB & J sandwiches... I need to resupply my fruit basket. There are fruit cart vendors around any corners. We still have communication problems. A majority of Chennai people do not speak English; so we have to point and use hand gesture a lot. We had fun and will return to this shopping bazaar again for sure.

Culture adaptability revisited...

I have a feeling that I'll be flunking any tests given to me for cultural adaptability right now.  Despite receiving training in cultural adaptability prior to coming here, I still have a sense that I have not reaped much benefits yet.  I'm at the stage now that I do want to return to my comfort zone as Ralph would have put it.  I yearned for my normal routine, my home comfort food and surrounding.

Don't get me wrong, I love being here.  This experience will be with me for the rest of my life, and I would recommend this to anyone without hesitation.  I do feel that we have been bombarded with so much in the last two weeks (some of our team members are luckier and have experienced the daily Indian life more than I do).  I think a number of our team members are feeling like I do now.   We are in a more subdued mood and everyone is back into their shell (room..)  I feel too like doing a psychoanalysis of how we feel -- which I think is anticipated much like experiencing some trauma in your life (and gong through shock, anger, grief etc..)

Last night, Jaya took us to experience Havanna, a bar in the Raintree hotel; a good place for the younger Europeans in the group.  (Way out of my comfort zone, I'd say).  I did have some fun (my kids will be surprised to read this!) though being living in such a sheltered, homey person.  I do have to say that a drink at 200 rupees apiece ($5) is way too much where that amount can be used to help the poor.   Ralph has some very poignant pictures of India in his Facebook, and just looking at that would make you pause for a moment to think about life...

Diwali...

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The team went on another excursion around the city:  St. Thomas Basilica, Marina Beach, Burma Bazaar, Crocodile bank.  Rain was on and off throughout the day.  If you see the melon smashing picture, see this link for more details information.

In South India that victory of the divine over the mundane is celebrated in a very peculiar way. To re-enact the victory of Lord Krishna, some believers will break melons on the door step of their homes, representing the head of the demon king. After smashing the melon, people will smear their foreheads with a mixture of kumkum powder and oil, which represents the blood Lord Krishna smeared on his head. They will then take an oil bath, using sesame oil with cumin seeds and peppercorns,before bathing with rose water.

Later in the evening, a number of us donned on Indian clothes to go out for dinner at Benjarong.  We had to navigate through the hazy, smoggy, noisy TTK road and for several times, started to doubt if we were on the right track.  Finally at our destination, we were glad to see Fred and Jana arrived at the same time and in style.  They were royalty in Indian attire: sari and kurta.  We admired Jana -- looking like a queen, wrapped in a deep red silk brocade sari.  Fred looked very at home as well.   We had a great dinner.  The walk back seemed to be much faster.  The day ended with us sharing Diwali sweets as shared by Fred and Jana.


A picture is worth a thousand words -- So here's hundred thousands or so for the day's activities:

Diwali Eve

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The day was started with lots of thunderstorm and heavy rain-- monsoon season is here.  People told us that only in Madras do they have a wet Diwali.  Though that did not hamper the celebrating spirit.  It is almost midnight now and fireworks have been heard quite loudly.  Good thing that I had taken a nap earlier in the day.

Today, as we wrapped up the interviews with various groups, we were  very honored to be able to meet with Ms. Leela Samson, the Director of Kalakshetra.  She is beautiful and gracious, well spoken.  Mr. Menon was there as well.  Kalakshetra is well represented with both Ms. Samson and Mr. Menon.

Returning back to the guest house a bit earlier than normal, I went straight to bed for a nap.  The nap was rather long.  So I missed a great shopping opportunity with Susanna and Jana ;-<  Next time I guess.

As a team, we tried to agree on some activities for tomorrow -- I don't know how that's going to be -- Type A personality abound.  Personally, I like to do something that is well planned and it's hard for me to do anything impromptu.  I'd like to see if I can visit Mysore though.  Perhaps we should look into that..

Susanna, Fred, Joel, Christian, Fernan and I went to Zara, a tapas bar for dinner.  It has the atmosphere of a night club (no dancing though), loud, 70's, 80's Western music ranging from Abba, Roxette to Michael Jackson, Van Helen....   Interesting ambience.



Slide show:

Monday.

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Diwali is on Wednesday. Firecrackers can be heard around the city last night. As a matter of fact our neighbors are having fun firing up firecrackers. It's like Tet for Vietnamese. I think it is auspicious that we get to witness a special Indian holiday. Festivities are planned everywhere. We will have a short day at the office tomorrow as well.

I worked with the College of Fine Arts today, capturing screenshots. Having more interviews and I think I should have enough information to work on my portion of the project. We also took a walk to the beach which is only around the corner of the college. The beach is quite empty and the surf is high. The weather is getting cooler (relatively..) too with sporadic rain.

I noticed too that getting non-local fruit could be pricey. Only 46 rupees (1 dollar) for 2 bananas, 2 guavas, and 2 custard apples. Since the shopowner had no change (from a 100 rupee note), I purchased 3 kiwis. Now, those 3 alone costs 75 rupees (1.6 dollar). Guess they have to import it from New Zealand or so.. Shame on me, I should support only the local farmers!!

Later in the night, a few of us went out for a walk. There was a sweet fair (lots of fried stuff -- doughnuts, funnel cake came to mind..). I purchased a strand of the jasmine lei to freshen up my rooom. Got to be in the spirit as well. We also had interesting kulfi -- Indian ice cream. I think with my salty taste bud, the ice cream does not make a good impression.

Here's more slideshow:

Weekend trip.

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We're back from an exhausting but fun trip with the entire team to Pondicherry. It was a bit chaotic but overall the experience is great. As it came with my profession, my mind was often raced with thoughts and ideas about how to optimize the process better : BPM (business process management) and BPO (business process optimization) in daily routines!


I haven't blogged regularly because my sleep patterns suddenly changed for the worst!!! Tossing and turning during the night did not produce necessary rest. For example, I would be up at 3am -- then couldn't get back to sleep. In a way it's good if I want to work, since the network responds better. I'll try to see if I can find the reset switch in my body.

So with my last blog stopped on Wednesday, let me recall and summarize the last few days' activities. Few team members and I have been doing Yoga in the morning. For a first time that I'm in a Yoga class where there are more men than women. Fantastic. The guys in the team are such good sport. Make me laugh all the time.

As noted previously, Dillminder, Bas and I would be picked up to go to the Kalakshetra campus. Despite going there for a few times now, I still haven't figured out what route it was since everyday is a unique path. The traffic in the morning is relatively less than the returning trip in early evening. As we approach the campus, it's quite scenic, going through streets lined with shady trees. We had a few interviews with the different groups: the office of College of Fine Arts, the Research and Documentation, one of the high schools, the Research library. We had lunch on campus: really good vegetarian meal. I was also fascinated with the sari: Indian women in sari is such a beautiful sight, so graceful!

On Friday, we went to the IBM Tower office, that is not too far from the apartment; though we have to cross the busy TTK road: without Dillminder, I don't know if I could cross the street by myself. The office is bustling with people. Hard to get a meeting room though. Friday night dinner was excellent at the Copper Chimney. The 1-hour wait was worthy.

On Saturday morning, 2 cars took us to Pondicherry -- a town with some remnants of French past, about 130km from Chennai. Near Pondicherry is Auroville. The main "attraction" is Matrimandir. A unique place; though we did not have a chance to get inside. After a rather long checkin process at the Ginger hotel (here's when I can't help but really want to make this process more efficient to improve the customer satisfaction rate for the Ginger hotel...), Susanna, Jana and I spent a lot of time bonding. We were taken to Rue de la Marine to experience the French colonial past of Pondicherry. The street names still remain very French: Rue de.. , Quai de.... We were taken by surprise a downpour as we walked along the beach. After being scattered, and, finally re-united after a good hour later, the team had our first foreign meal at Le Club, that is completely non-Indian. We had some red Indian wines -- which can only be sold in Pondicherry! The night ended with us, the IBM India 14 women, sharing life stories.

I was up again at 2am on Sunday morning; naturally, my Sunday was not so great with me feeling tired and a bit motion-sick. We did visit Mahapalipuram (I'm amazed at how Jana can pronounce it). You can see the slideshow for more details... The drive back was full of hair-raising moments. I was too tired to go out anymore, and so after taking a shower, I went to sleep. So here I am trying to catch up with blogging.

More photos can be seen on my Picasa public web album...
 

CSC - Kalakshetra

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Tuesday 10/18/2011
After the Monday meeting, the team dispersed to their respective groups. Our client, Kalakshetra Foundation, picked us up to their lovely campus. We were greeted warmly according to the campus tradition. I believed it was Ms. Jyolsana Menon who gave us such an inspiring talk about the school under the sprawling Banyan tree. I'd think I could just chat with her forever. The day progressed with productive meetings and a lovely lunch at the campus canteen.

Gavin and Kabi had us meet again later in the day to go over the projects. It seems that every one will be busy to finish the projects in the next few weeks!
The day ended with a late dinner at the Dhaba restaurant.
Slide show for the day:
 




Wednesday 10/19/2011

Feeling like we need some fruit, I went to the market at 6:30am, but the market was not opened yet (not until 8). So I stopped by a fruit stand for some fruit to share with the group as well.

At 7, we had our first Yoga lesson in India. The instructor patiently explained the purpose of Yoga -- makes a lot of sense to me. In addition, I feel like I must have learned Yoga incorrectly all along. Hopefully, we can get more sessions going for the next few weeks.

Again, the day progressed with more productive meetings. I need to take better notes. My chicken-feet scratching on the page is incomprehensible! More details to process tonight. Feeling both tired and a need to work, I decided to stay in to blog and work naturally.

Slideshow of the day:

Ready. Get set. Go...

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Today, we have the first meetings. The team met the respective clients and we had a fruitful day of project briefings. I am honored to be part of a team serving great causes. As I listened to each and every project, I am convincing of IBM values. We are stepping out of our comfort zones in order to contribute as well as to learn. For our small team of 3, Dillminder, Bas and I, we're given a task that to me both challenging and interesting. I'm looking forward to a fruitful project.

After the meeting finished, the "girls", Jana, Susanna, Carol and I made our contribution to the local economy: we went shopping. FabIndia has so many beautiful Indian dresses. Each one of us bought something from the store: I bought a beautiful blue silk kurta and a fuschia dupputa. We went to the food court in Chennai City Center. One thing for sure, this is no fast food-food court. The food is above average for fast food (however, the wait can be a tad long).

Tomorrow will be our first day at work. The time: 9:30am.

Did not have a lot of pictures. Just a few at dinner.
Slideshow of the day:

Team building

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We did a lot today as a team. Gavin had us relive our childhood memories with markers and papers -- That is to show why I'm better off to be a Computer Science major and not Art.

After the lively team building exercise, we went to the New Woodlands hotel for lunch. We had thali - another very good Indian food, that ended with a lovely cup of ice cream and fresh fruit.

We then decided to walk to see a few temples as well as checking out more Chennai streets. On the way to Kapaleeswarar Temple, we saw a number of interesting things, including a spiral staircase that kids would have loved and parents to be nervous. The back of the temple was guarded by this lady who has a lei stand for offering, and shoe keeping business on the side.

As instructed by Martin, we walked around the temple's ground 3 times, clockwise. The temple has a number of interesting pagodas that remind me of Cham towers in the middle region of Vietnam (Nha Trang). The roofs were adorned with statues depicting the story of Lord Siva.

Some members of the team decided to return to the apartment while some of us proceeded to another temple, Sri Ramakrishna Math temple. Along the way, we spotted no less than 3 to 4 more Hindu temples. As mentioned by my Indian friends, Chennai has lots of temples -- good photo opportunities.

On the way back, I had my first rickshaw ride. Quite an adventure on 3 wheels. An inexpensive thrill ride without waiting in long lines at the amusement parks.

Later in the night, we met with Kabi, got phones, then headed out to the beach. Had coconut juice and corn -- that's good as dinner for me. So I went back early while the others went on with the night activities : dinner.

Slide show of the days:

Hello, Chennai

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After a long flight to Dubai (16 hrs) then another 4-hr flight from Dubai to Chennai, finally arrived. On the flight to Dubai, I was sitting next to some one going home to attend his mother's funeral. With sympathy, I gave him lots of room since he's sobbing now and then in his sleep. Maybe, that's how I earned good karma and get an upgrade to Business class on the next leg of the flight unexpectedly. Met with teammates Mike and Bas at Dubai airport. They are extremely friendly and very helpful. Met Jaya from CDS right away. She has my name correctly spelled! Jaya gave us some leis and promptly got us loaded into a nice comfortable mini-van. Mike was amazed at the sea of people waiting outside the airport at 3AM! The weather is still OK, not as humid as I was warned. Or may be I haven't been out during the middle of the day yet. When I left California, it was dry heat, 96-degree Fahrenheit. So this heat is still not bad yet. The drive from the airport to the apartment was uneventful -- Traffic was not so much; the streets at night look like any other city. The apartment is located in some very leafy green neighborhood. Will have to check out the streets in the morning. I got a room - with air conditioning, and a balcony overlooking the front street. Nice. However, mosquitoes already find me tasty. I need to remember to put on the insect spray.

We managed to have every one in the team (except one -- arriving late tomorrow) gathered at noon according to the itinerary. After settling some logistics items, we headed out into the streets. We got to exchange some money (need a photocopy of your passport), then walked to have some lunch. A lot of us had dosa -- this does not look the same as what I had in Orange County, the DosaPlace. It is better actually. We then shopped at a nearby supermarket for water bottles and some snacks. The walk back to the apartment was through some nice, shady streets. We all had a good workout walking in the heat. By then, I was totally tired and promptly took a nap. Did not join the team for tonight dinner. Tomorrow.

Slide show of the day highlights