A day steeped in history & art!

I had a fabulous weekend on the outskirts of Chennai and the destination finds itself as this week's highlight :)

If you reside in South India and are a lover of art, crafts, history and architecture, then the one place you shouldnt miss is 'DakhinaChitra'(which literally means 'picture of the south') located about 25 kilometers from Chennai on East Coast Road,Muthukadu(Chinglepet district,Tamil Nadu). And if you are a visitor to Chennai, mark this as one of your destinations where you can spend a whole day and still not have enough of the place!

Spread over 10 acres next to the Bay of Bengal(and open to visitors between 10 a.m to 6 p.m on all days except tuesday), its a 'centre for the living traditions of arts, folk performing arts, craft and architecture of India with an emphasis on the traditions of South India'. Set up by the Madras Crafts Foundation, the main attraction of the centre are 17 heritage houses from the four South Indian states. I still recall the awe when I first visited the place way back in 1998. It was a history lesson like no other. For instance, the Kerela section has relocated houses like the 'Syrian Christian House','Kootathukulam House','Hindu House' and the Tamil Nadu section, the 'Chettinad House' from Aryakudi, 'Brahmin House' from Ambur,'Potter's House' from Tiruvallur,'Agriculturist's House' from Mayavaram district among others.

What is noteworthy is that not just the outward structure but even the interiors are mostly original dating back upto the 19th century. As you walk down the lanes lined by these houses, you get transported to a different time and era. The breathtaking murals, the Ravi Varma oleographs, the original family photographs from a bygone era, the one man shadow puppet show enacting scenes from 'Kamba Ramayanam', history of the Tamil script from the 3rd century BC onwards, tracing the history of Tamil Nadu from the Paloelithic age, the 'Kili Joshiyam'(parrot fortune telling), the journey of the Ikkat from dyeing to weaving, the different artisans at work, the folk art performances etc are endearing introductions to the rich and diverse traditions of South India and beyond.

With its objective to preserve and promote art, craft, and folk art performances, DakshinaChitra regularly conducts workshops on papier mache craft,tanjore painting, terracotta pottery,Indigo dyeing, mural painting and many many more art forms. You can check out the calender of events here for this year. There's a 2 year programme in Arts Management starting in July this year, those interested in further details can check out www.mcfiam.org/
If you wish to soak in the ambience for more than a day then there are modest accommodation options priced reasonably.

When we are talking of beauty and learning of this magnitude, nothing can explain better than images so I leave you with some of my captures :)

A memorable tuesday!

What started as a light hearted banter last tuesday morning with hindi/urdu poetry on facebook turned into a full fledged 'mushaira'(the dictionary describes this as an evening social gathering in which urdu poetry is read,typically taking the form of a contest) session! The exception here was that the participants were neither pros(I had never attempted even hindi poetry earlier but that day I fell in love with the it....and the love affair continues!), nor was it an evening or a physical gathering. It received such an enthusiastic response from friends that there is demand to have another online session for Holi as 'Holi Milan' :) It was an experience extraordinaire!!...went on to show that passion can turn a perfectly ordinary boring day into a once in a lifetime experience.

So I choose to replicate the poetry exchange here(in devanagri script)...unfortunately for obvious reasons I cant include the other general comments of excitement and exuberance, but just the impromptu creativity is worth a mention. The 'participants' here are my friends Monika Ohson, Rashmi Nambiar,Sarita Pandey and me. (Monika & Rashmi reside in Delhi and Sarita & I are based in bangalore). For ease of identification as to who wrote what, their writings will be in in the colors black, red, purple, and blue respectively. 


ऐ कलम ज़रा रुक रुक के चल,
क्या गज़ब मुकाम आया है 
थोड़ी देर ठहर जा 
तेरी नोख के नीचे यार का नाम आया है !


यार का नाम लिखते ही,
सियाही का रंग बदल जाता है 
आलम ये है की,
कोरे कागज़ में भी अब मुझे तेरा नाम नज़र आता है !


मेरी और दास्तान-ए-यार अब तो चर्चा-ए-आम है
दीवार-ओ-दरख़्त अब सब बस यार के नाम है !

ये कलम भी कमाल की चीज़ है, बेवजह रूमानियत बिखेर देता है,

कोई हमसे आके पूछे , मुहब्बत ने क्या क्या सितम ढाए !

मोहब्बत  के   दिए  सितम  को
हमने  सरताज  बनाया  है
ज़िन्दगी  जीने  का  ये
एक  नया  अंदाज़  बनाया  है !

चचा ग़ालिब कह गए:

मोहब्बत में नहीं है फ़र्क़ जीने और मरने का

उसी को देख कर जीते हैं जिस काफ़िर पे दम निकले

काफ़िर  तो  हो  गया  है  दिल  मेरा
ज़माने  की  सुनता  ही  नहीं
मानता  है  वो सिर्फ  रस्म -ए-उल्फत  को
जहाँ  है  यार ,
बसेरा  है  इस  काफ़िर  का  भी  वहीँ !

दिल की आवारगी का क्या कहें, पहले ही बेतरतीब था

बहाने इश्क-ए-यार, दीवानगी को वजह तो मिली

दीवानगी  की  हद  को  पार  करने  लगा  है  काफ़िर,
चाँद  को  भी  उनका  चेहरा  समझने  लगा  है काफ़िर
लोगों  के  बीच  हम  यूँ  ही  बदनाम  हुए  जाते  है
हर  रात  हमें  छत  पर  खींच  ले  आने  लगा  है  काफ़िर !

मुश्किल था इश्क़ में मरना, अब आसान हो गया है

चाँद और भी खूबसूरत और जवान हो गया है
पुकारना यार का नाम अब अज़ान हो गया है
बदनाम हुए हैं जब से, क्या नाम हो गया है !

सर -ए -आम  हमारी  उल्फत  के  चर्चें  शुरू  हो  गए  हैं
गली ,मोहल्ले  बाज़ार  में  दिल  ढूँढता  है  उन्हें
वोह  न  सही  हर  कदम  पर  हम
उनके  नाम  से  रूबरू  हो  गए  हैं !

क्या बताएँ हम कितने ग़ुस्ताख हो गए

इश्क में हम और भी बेबाक हो गए !

गुस्ताखियों  पे  अपने
इतराते  भी  हम  ही  हैं
महफ़िल  में  जब  नज़र  मिलती  है  उनसे
शरमाते  भी  हम  ही  है !

भरी महफ़िल में भी तुझी पे दिल अटकता है
बजाए सीने के, आँखों में दिल धड़कता है !

दीदार -ए -यार  से  छाया है  मुझपे  मोहब्बत  का  सुरूर
हर  बढती  हुई  धड़कन  से  बढ़ रहा  है  मेरे  आँखों  का  नूर !

अब यूं ना मुझको देखो, अब यूं ना मुस्कराओ

हो जाए ना कहीं फिर इस दिल को आसरा सा !

दिल  को  आसरा  मिल  जाये ,हम  जीने  का  बहाना  ढूँढ लेंगे
खाली जाम  को  भी  हम  भरा  हुआ  पैमाना  समझ  लेंगे !

इतने भी बेदर्द न हो, कि सब्र का पैमाना छलक जाए
कि आपके याद करते करते, हम कँही दूर चले जाए!

ग़म नहीं कि दूर तुझसे जाना है मुझे, आस यही कि बिलकुल भूल जाना है तुझे
इश्क़ मेरा हो गया है कांधे का सलीब, चूम के तेरे होंठ सूली चढ़ जाना है मुझे !

अदना  सा  लब्ज़ -ए -उल्फत  उन  लबों  ने  फ़रमाया  है
ना  जाने  क्यूँ  हमने  उनका  फ़साना  बनाया  है !

चलो छोड़ो ये फ़साना भुला देते हैं हम,
शाम जवान है, एक नयी दास्ताने उल्फत बना लेते हैं हम !

तेरी खूबसूरत बातें, तेरे खूबसूरत फ़साने
तेरे खूबसूरत बहाने, हाए, वो तेरे ज़माने !

ज़मानें  की क्या  हम  करें  बातें
उनसे  ही  रोशन  है  हमारे  दिन  और  हमारी  रातें
क्या  हम  बयां  करें  दास्ताँ -ए -उल्फत
बस  समझ  लो  ये  है  खुदा  की  हम  पे  रहमत !

हर सुबह तेरी ही नज़्म, हर धूप तेरी ही आस
हर शाम तेरे ही गीत, हर शब तेरी ही प्यास !

हर  सांस  तेरे  नाम  से  शुरू
तेरे  नाम  से  ही  ख़तम  कर  लेते  हैं
इश्क -ए -विरासत  मुझे  मिली  है  दीवानगी ,
इसे  भी  हम  खुदा  का  करम  समझ  लेते  है !

मेरी दीवानगी मुझे ज़माने से प्यारी है
मेरे इश्क़ का ज़र्फ़ ज़माने पे भारी है ! 

अजब  असर  है  दीवानगी -ए -इश्क  का ,
आँखे  बंद  करते  हैं  दीदार  के  लिए !

दीवानी की बातों पर कौन यक़ीं करे?
जो यक़ीं किया करते थे वो दीवाने हो गए !

इश्क  की  बस  एक  हवा  चली
और  दीवानों  की  कौम  बना  बैठे !

हवा में उड़ा किये हैं हम, तेरी दीवानगी में
सजदे में झुका किये हैं हम, तेरी दीवानगी में !

More than skin deep

In the last year or so I have come to rely on google for everything....looking for something?...anything...google! And one of the things I frequently look for is to get info/reviews on products,places and services, especially in the city I live in i.e bangalore. So here is an attempt to do just that -- once a week I put together my personal experiences of the same. And I would restrict myself to the positives. And yes, most of it might be 'girlie' stuff!
We'd all like to be brand loyal, just so that we dont need to keep experimenting and suffer bad products and waste time & money. And I hope my endeavor is of help to readers who stop by. I would love to receive comments, start a dialogue and have some fun! :) So here goes.....

After a 3 month gap(owing to a freak bus accident), I resumed my one hour morning walks this week. And the clothes lover in me suddenly felt this urge for some new t-shirts(that extra incentive for the first few days to actually get up when the alarm goes off!). 'Westside' has a very cool range of casual 100% cotton t-shirts priced at Rs. 249 ; round neck as well as V-neck,solid colors with chest prints as well as stripes ; called 'westside essentials' with a very cute satin neck label made like a bow! There is a range priced at Rs. 199 too but the fabric is lighter and hence, according to me not so convenient for exercises/work outs. Decent range of designs and colors and very good value for money!! By the way, I choose to use them for my walks but they are good enough to be casually worn otherwise too.

The deodorant freak that I am, the latest pick is 'Black' by Adolfo Dominguez, the Spanish label which has just opened its first store in India at Ambience Mall, Gurgaon(the fragrances were by the way available even otherwise in Indian cities at the chain stores). Its actually a cross between a perfume & a deodorant. Priced at Rs. 700 for a 150 ml, its just ...ummm...heavenly! :)

For close to a decade I have applied henna on my hair for conditioning and coloring, the last few in salons for the ease of it all. But a recent experience of the poor quality of henna(hence the color) made me go scout for good henna powder. The pick was Biotique's 'Bio Henna for dark hair' which is 'a natural blend of henna leaves,mango kernel and the bark of the arjun tree'. The 90g pack/box costs Rs.199. If you have long hair, you might have to use the complete pack for application on the whole length. The henna powder is extremely fine and forms a smooth paste when mixed with plain water.And the resultant tint is quite flattering. Of all the henna products available in the market that I have tried out, I'd say this is the best and is good value for money(considering no salon worth its name charges less than Rs. 350 for the shortest hair lengths, that too using poor quality henna).

Those who have dry skin(like I do), most of winter goes fretting over moisturizers which arent creamy enough and creams which arent greasy! This winter I discovered the range of 'Jergens' moisturizers(available in 'Health & Glow' outlets). There are different options available for different requirements like 'Ultra Healing' , the 'Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer', 'Original Scent', the 'Dry Skin Moisturizer with cherry-almond hydrators' and so on. Manufactured in the US and imported, a 295 ml bottle costs Rs. 229. Again, there are many brands in the Indian market priced less but I'd rate this much better than any of the leading brands(with misleading ads should I say?) for the quality of the offering.

I could actually go on and on but would like to hold some thoughts for the next weekend! :)

Till then...Ciao! :)