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: