ANIMAL FIGURINES

"Jahangir the fourth Mughal emperor (r. 1605-27), was a lover of beauty, be it that of an artifact created by human hands or that observed in nature, the work of god. His memoirs, commonly known as Tuzuk-I-Jahangiri or, Jahangirnama, are as much an album of his aesthetic experiences as a chronicle of his reign. With his keen sensibility, these experiences were a permanent source of joy for him. Nature and beauty were preserved through the brush of his artists."

Ayurveda Ayurveda is an ancient healthy lifestyle system with roots in Indian culture. It is said that Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of Ayurveda, was the physician to the Hindu gods in ancient mythology. Brahma bestowed Dhanvantari with the knowledge of Ayurveda, and Dhanvantari then passed on this knowledge and taught a group of physicians. It is believed then that Ayurveda originates from Dhanvantari himself and that his medical wisdom was passed on to the sages and then to the human physicians.

Jutti Shoes They say you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes he or she wears. One could say that this is also certainly the case when it comes India’s traditional footwear – you can tell a lot about the country by the style of footwear that’s been passed on from generation to generation. We’re talking about India’s well-known Jutti shoes, of course. The Jutti shoes are one of, if not the most common shoe style in India. However, they are actually also popular way beyond Indian shores. While the traditional style has seen various contemporary interpretations throughout the centuries, many may not actually be familiar with its history and significance.

Indian Weddings A big fat Greek wedding has got nothing on Indian weddings. It is well-known all over the world that Indian weddings are steeped in ritual and tradition, while also frequently being extravagant (you could even say over the top) and festive. Indian weddings are especially unique, not only compared to other religious weddings or civil ceremonies, but also compared to each other. No two weddings in India are exactly alike. This is because different Indian families of different regions and different ethnicities celebrate and honor the occasion, well, differently. Whether your family is from Punjab, Rajasthan, North India, South India or wherever else in the country, you likely have your own specific rituals and your own interpretations of them, aside from the personal ways a bride and groom would like to celebrate and make the day uniquely their own. Although this is the case, there are still common elements that you’ll find in most, if not all, Indian weddings.

The Glory of Jamawars of Kashmir The glory, and the colors of nature captured skillfully on cloth characterize the famous Jamawars of Kashmir. "Jama" means robe and "war" is yard. King and nobles bought the woven fabric by the yard, wearing it as a gown or using it as a wrap or shawl. The base of the Jamawar was always wool-with perhaps addition of a little cotton. The brocaded parts were woven in silk or pashmina. Most of the designs were floral, with the kairy or paisley as the predominant motif. The art of weaving a Jamawar was painstaking and intricate one. Several kannis or little wooden shuttles of different colors were used for a single weft line of the fabric. Upto 50 colors could be worked into one shawl-the most popular colors being zard (yellow), sufed (white), mushki (black), ferozi (turquoise), ingari (green), uda (purple), gulnar (crimson) and kirmiz (scarlet). Months of hard work went into the preparation for each Jamawar, with not more than an inch being added per day in a 48-inch width of material. Elegance, luxury, sophistication and class. These are but a few of the adjectives that describes the Jamawar Art. Jamawar & Tanchoi are satin weave techniques where the motifs are created using the primary weft itself creating an inlaid look, unlike a brocade, which uses supplementary warp or weft to create the motifs. In industry jargon, we use the term Jamawar when the motifs feature more than one color, while Tanchois usually feature single color motifs. Often the patterns and colors in a Jamawar are more subtle and create an old-world-charm. Predominantly a silk-only weave, we sometimes also throw in some zari in the body or borders to create cross-over fabric that offer the best of both Jamawar and Brocade weaves in the same product.

Navratri Festival The Navratri Festival is right around the corner with the most prominent celebration taking place this year from the seventh until the fifteenth of October. What is the Navratri Festival you may ask? The Hindu festival of Navratri is celebrated for nine nights and ten days. The word Navratri itself has quite a literal meaning. It comes from the Sanskirt words Nava, which means nine, and ratri, which means nights. According to a few Hindu texts, including the Vaishnava Puranas and the Shakta, there are actually two or four seasons where Navratri is celebrated. Two of these are specifically known as the Sharada Navaratri and the Vasanta Navaratri. The most prominent and observed of the Navratri festivals is the Sharada Navaratri, which is celebrated near the autumn equinox, in the months of September or October, referred to in the Hindu calendar as the months of Ashbin and Ashwayuja respectively. Regardless of the specific time of year that the Navaratri is celebrated, all of the festivals celebrate the triumph of good over evil, and specifically, are in honor of the noble Hindu goddess Durgu and her victory over the malicious Mahishasura.

Yoga / Palazzo Pants Yoga pants may be part of this generation’s everyday uniform but way before activewear and athleisure wear became fashion must-haves, yoga pants were already an intrinsic part of the Indian lifestyle. The contemporary yoga pants that are popular today are known for their ultra-fitted, figure hugging style. They’re usually made of stretch fabric that encases one’s legs like leggings and allows for easy movement. However, traditional yoga pants were actually the very opposite in fit. As we all know, the yoga practice involves a lot of body flow and transitioning from one position to the next. Whether you’re doing a lotus pose, a downward facing dog, a handstand scorpion or any other position in between, you need clothing that won’t hamper your flow and interrupt not only your movement, but also distract your frame of mind. When doing yoga, one therefore needs to wear clothing that will enable and support this type of free movement, providing both ease, comfort, and calm.