I Heart India

Stories from the Indian heartland. Its rich culture, art and amazing people.

[i-heart-indian]

With roots based in Nilgirils, the Toda pastoral people from this region in Tamil Nadu have a special contribution towards this art form, also known as Toda. It is locally known to be as Pukhoor.

It’s an embroidery art form which has a fine finish and appears to be like a woven cloth. These fabric have a fine finish and it is made using red and black threads using white cotton cloth background.

The cloth is made such that it is made to be such that it can be used on both sides. Men and women folk from the tribe adorn this cloth and use them as cloak and shawl.

For generations, this art is practiced by the tribals who are also known with names such as Todar, Tudas, Tudavans who have been based in Nilgiris which literally means the blue hills or Neelam. These tribes live together as one community and their population is currently dwindling. There are only 2000 odd tribes currently from this tribe. Apart from this art form, these tribe cultivate lands, act as herdsmen of buffaloes.

Let’s spread this art form and help reach out to more number of people.

Let’s support such art forms and keep them alive.

Watch out for more interesting articles about this and other incredible art forms from India.

Phir milenge.

Toda Embroidery With roots based in Nilgirils, the Toda pastoral people from this region in Tamil Nadu have a special contribution towards this art form, also known as Toda.

[i-heart-indian]

This Bengaluru techie revived a lake in 45 days...

This Bengaluru techie revived a lake in 45 days…

Almost 500 years ago, when Kempegowda founded Bengaluru, he dotted it with numerous beautiful water bodies, thus earning it the sobriquet – city of lakes.

But, that is all in the past, because the present has ravaged the city of its natural treasures. From 262 water bodies in 1960, the figure has declined to 81, of which only 34 are currently alive.

But in a city bubbling with pollution, there…

View On WordPress

[i-heart-indian]

A really tiny interview with Juin Dutta

Image courtesy: Facebook Juin Dutta is a resident of Vadodara for more than two decades and has worked as a school coordinator. The place where she used to stay had a construction site where migrant workers and their family used to stay. The workers used to carry their children to the site and would be put to work. Some of them as old as 14 years. It was then where a germ of an idea originated…

View On WordPress

[i-heart-indian]

Happy Pongal dear readers.

Pongal or Thai Pongal as it is popularly called amongst the Tamil community across the world celebrate this auspicious day marking the first day of the month of the Tamil calendar. This awesome festival is celebrated by one and all and it is really not restricted to any particular religious faith. The entire Tamil population across the world celebrates this festival without any such differences. Thus it is widely known as Tamil Thai Pongal or Festival of the Tamil

Source: Google images

On the first day of the Thai month this festival is celebrated.

The festival is also a thanksgiving of sorts in which the farmers celebrate to thank the spirits of the nature, the Sun God and the farm animals for providing a successful harvest. For others it is a thanksgiving to the farmers for providing them food.

Broadly speaking, this festival encourages social inclusions and unity by bringing people from all walks of like together into a common function. Tamil literature and populist culture has lots of songs associated with the celebrations of Pongal. Infact, it is now a thriving business for Tamil film makers to launch their films during this festive period. The week long holiday provides people the entertainment to enjoy movies with their family and friends during this period.

A typical family will begin their day by waking up early. Traditional Pongal is prepared in the front garden which is prepared for this ceremonial cooking. A flat square pitch is made where it is decorated with traditional designs using rice powder or Kolam and this is exposed to direct sunlight. A firewood is set up using bricks and the clay pot with water is kept on this firewood hearth. As the water boils, rice is put into the pot and a family member ceremoniously puts about three handful of rice. The other ingredients in this amazing dish includes Chakkarai or Kalkandu (Also known as Brown sugar or Sugar candy) and Milk along with Payaru (Or roasted green grams) topped with Raisins, cashew nuts and few cardamom pods.

As the pot overflows when the entire ingredients come to a final boil, people shout “Pongalo Pongal”

The day prior to Pongal is called Bhogi. People on this day discard all their old belongings and celebrate their new belongings.

Maatu Pongal is celebrated the day after the main festival Thai Pongal. Tamilians regard cattle as their sources of wealth for providing dairy products, fertilizer, and labor for plowing and transportation. On this day, the cattle are regarded and praised affectionately for the kind of joy and fortune they bring into the lives. The main aspects of the day include games such as the Jallikkattu and taming bull.

Kanum Pongal marks the end of the festivities. People across Tamil Nadu celebrate this day by visiting their near and dear ones paying them gratitude and sharing gifts. Brothers gift their sisters with present and likewise, landlords give gifts to their tenants. People celebrate the entire festival by putting Kolam outside their house and welcoming everyone and celebrating the uniqueness of this festival.

Let’s keep the spirit of the festival alive.

Watch out for more interesting articles about India and the incredible folk lore, events, arts, cultural influences and the amazing people from India!

Phir milenge.

“Pongalo Pongal” Happy Pongal dear readers. Pongal or Thai Pongal as it is popularly called amongst the Tamil community across the world celebrate this auspicious day marking the first day of the month of the Tamil calendar.

[i-heart-indian]

Makar Sankranti – And it’s significance

Today and same time every year, people across India celebrate this harvest festival marking the shift of the Sun to longer days. This seasonal observance also has a religious significance.

14th January is the day when the sun begins to rise in the Makara Rashi and Sankranti means entering and hence the name.

Makar Sankranti is also called as Makara Sankranthi in various parts of India. People down south celebrate this festival as Pongal, while in the north it is celebrated as Lohri.

Uttarayan, Maghi, Khichdi are some of the other names associated with Makar Sankranti.

During this festival, Til, Gur (Also known as Sesame seeds with Jaggery) are distributed amongst the community.

Another significance of this festival is that this it falls around the same time every year on 14th January based on the solar calendar and in some cases, it falls on the 15th of January. This is also a festival where people hope to have peace, prosperity and harmony around them. People take a holy dip in the rivers mainly Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery to wash away their sins.

This festival also marks the beginning of Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh while in South especially in Kerala, the most austere and pious pilgrimage to Sabarimala ends on this very auspicious day.

Parts of west and north of India also celebrate Kite festival and this is gaining popularity. The city of Delhi holds annual kite flying competition on 14th January every year and this celebration has become popular across the nation.

There is also a general belief that if you die on this day, you are not reborn and you directly go to heaven.

Let’s keep the spirit of the festival alive.

Watch out for more interesting articles about India and the incredible folklore, events, arts, cultural influences and the amazing people from India!

Phir milenge

Makar Sankranti Makar Sankranti - And it’s significance Today and same time every year, people across India celebrate this harvest festival marking the shift of the Sun to longer days.

[i-heart-indian]

To all my readers, here’s wishing you a happy Lohri. It’s indeed a great time to be in Punjab right now. The state will be celebrating with full festive spirit and cheer. For people in Punjab, this festival holds a great significance since it marks the beginning of the harvesting season and the end of winter. It also marks the welcoming of spring and the New Year.

This festival is marked with celebrations on the 13th of every year by lighting a bonfire in the local community area which is symbolic of Sun God thereby bringing in the warmth. By tradition, this festival is associated with the harvest of Rabi crops. Therefore Punjabi farmers celebrate their new financial year with the beginning of the day after Lohri or Maghi.

Some interesting folklore is also associated with this amazing festival. According to the cultural history of Punjab, there was a man belonging to the Rajput tribe during Akbar’s rule and these tribes used to also inhabit parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat (Parts now based in Pakistan)

For revolting against the Mughal emperor, Dulla Bhatti who was the Raja of Pindi Bhattian was sentenced to death. The tribe Mirasis or street singers; they trace the history of these tribes and claim that Maharaja Ranjit Singh as one of their own.

Like the Robinhood we all have read, known in the modern times, Dulla Bhatti robbed the rich and generously gave them to the poor. The people used to love and respect him. Once Dulla Bhatti rescued a girl from her perpetrators and adopted her as his own daughter and this would then become a folklore for life which is recited in the songs even today. Children till date go to each house singing songs of Dulla Bhatti going door to door.

The song goes something like this: Dulla Bhatti ho Dulle ne Di vyahi ho Ser sakar pai ho

Which loosely translates to Dulla Bhatti gave a kilo of sugar as a marriage gift to his daughter

Sweets like Jaggery, peanuts and puffed corns are the three items usually associated with this amazing festival. Alongside these, in Punjab, it is a tradition where people eat Gajjak and Sarson da Saag along with Makki di Roti while celebrating Lohri.

Let’s keep the spirit of the festival alive.

Watch out for more interesting articles about India and the incredible folklore, events, arts, cultural influences and the amazing people from India!

Phir milenge.

Lohri and its significance To all my readers, here’s wishing you a happy Lohri. It’s indeed a great time to be in Punjab right now.

[i-heart-indian]

A really tiny interview with Saurabh Nimbkar

He is a 24-year-old guy. You will often find a guitar in his hand as he churns out famous Bollywood songs for the train passengers. Only this time, he is not begging. He sings his heart out to a moving audience and people who like it pay him generously. He, on the contrary, spends this money on cancer patients at Ward no 42 at KEMS hospital, Parel for their expensive treatments. We will see him…

View On WordPress

[i-heart-indian]

It’s probably a common sight in Mumbai local trains to see someone singing.

Most of the time he or she will be blind and clothes torn or old enough for people to take sides and let this person pass through. We only look at this person with sheer pity and maybe pass on a buck or two.

Now picture this: He is a 24 year old guy. A guitar in his hand and he sings famous Bollywood songs for the train passengers. Only this time, he is not begging. No, please do picture him like that. He sings his heart out to a moving audience and people who like it pay him generously. He, on the contrary, spends this money on cancer patients and for their expensive treatments. We will see him four or more times on the trains playing those classics and entertaining people from all walks of life.

Meet Saurabh Nimbkar. The man who is on a mission to help save those people who can’t afford on expensive treatments and those who have succumbed to this dreadful disease.

It was in the year 2013 when Saurabh’s mother was diagnosed with blood cancer and she had to undergo treatment at KEM hospital (King Edward Memorial Hospital). During those trying times, he would often carry his guitar and entertain the patients and obviously to the doctor’s delight it would bring a cheer to the otherwise gloomy wards. This actually made a positive change in the patients since they used to be worried about food, travel, accommodation, medicine costs, expensive procedures etc. With this initiative, things became lighter around the ward (Now imagine the recreation of Munnabhai MBBS, rings a bell right?)

It was after his mother’s demise that he decided to take this cause as his sole mission for the rest of his life. By singing at unplanned places especially trains, he started collecting funds for the treatment of these patients with a guitar in a hand and a donation box in another.

Saurabh is currently employed with a pharmaceutical company and shuttles between Dadar to Ambernath and it is during these commutes he belts out amazing songs touching many lives. On an average, he collects about Rs. 1000 per trip.

How often do we stumble upon such amazing people?

The next time when we brush our fate with him on the local trains of Mumbai, let’s be more generous while paying him more handsomely.

Let’s support such awesome people like Saurabh Nimbkar and keep the hope and spirit alive.

Watch out for more interesting articles about other incredible people from India.

Phir milenge.

“Chala jaata hoon, kisi ki dhun mein…” It’s probably a common sight in Mumbai local trains to see someone singing. Most of the time he or she will be blind and clothes torn or old enough for people to take sides and let this person pass through.

[i-heart-indian]

A resident of Vadodara for more than two decades Juin Dutta worked as a school coordinator.

Images: Facebook

The place where she used to stay had a construction site where migrant workers and their family used to stay. The workers used to carry their children to the site and would be put to work. Some of them as old as 14 years. It was then where a germ of an idea originated and Juin started Pathshala classes which cater to the underprivileged children in Vadodara with a chain of mobile schools.

Juin quit her job and took this job as her full-time obsession. This initiative was started under the guidance of her organization Srotoshwini Trust where she began teaching the kids of migrant workers from 2013. She began her first classroom at the construction site where the kids spent the day. After the construction got over, many children left the place for other opportunities with their parents but some believed in her and requested her to take care of their children under her guidance. She started off with nine children and created a hostel for them who are still with her. They have become more like her children now.

The trust also runs Pathbhavan which is a slum library and has an activity centre for the underprivileged children. Besides books, they also carry out hobby and recreational classes and teaches spoken English and computer classes. The trust is working towards building a bigger hostel for children from such backgrounds and prepare them for bigger challenges in formal schools. Our salutations to this amazing person and what she done for the kids and their future.

Let’s support awesome people like Juin Dutta keep the hope and spirit alive.

Watch out for more interesting articles about other incredible people from India.

Phir milenge.

Pathshala A resident of Vadodara for more than two decades Juin Dutta worked as a school coordinator.

[i-heart-indian]

My idea of a better India

TRAFFIC WOES I reside in one of the major metros in India. The e-com capital of India. Banglore. The city that was once considered a garden city. A city that has expanded so large over the course of a decade that it currently fails to address the growing concern of population, commute and hence the traffic than ensues. And let us not forget this issue is a concern affecting everyone from every…

View On WordPress

[i-heart-indian]

My idea of a better India

In my initial posts, I had discussed how this blog will shape up. I will be talking about the arts, crafts, culture and the stories of awesome people who make India what it is. As I keep stumbling upon these stories, facts and realities, I also am deeply concerned about things that bother me. Bother many actually. Things that happen around us. We may not be so overtly vocal about it, but if I…

View On WordPress

[i-heart-indian]

With roots based in Nilgiris, the Toda pastoral people from this region in Tamil Nadu have a special contribution towards this art form, also known as Toda. It is locally known to be as Pukhoor.

It’s an embroidery art form which has a fine finish and appears to be like a woven cloth. These fabric have a fine finish and it is made using red and black threads using white cotton cloth background.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Source: Google images

The cloth is made such that it is made to be such that it can be used on both sides. Men and women folk from the tribe adorn this cloth and use them as cloak and shawl.

For generations, this art is practised by the tribals who are also known by names such as Todar, Tudas, Tudavans who have been based in Nilgiris which literally means the blue hills or Neelam. These tribes live together as one community and their population is currently dwindling. There are only 2000 odd tribes currently from this tribe. Apart from this art form, these tribes cultivate lands, act as herdsmen of buffaloes.

Let’s spread this art form and help reach out to more number of people.

Let’s support such art forms and keep them alive.

Watch out for more interesting articles about this and other incredible art forms from India.

Phir milenge.

Toda Embroidery With roots based in Nilgiris, the Toda pastoral people from this region in Tamil Nadu have a special contribution towards this art form, also known as Toda.

[i-heart-indian]

Rogan printing is a dying art. It’s an art form in which the cloth gets printed with the paints in a certain fashion using a metal block (like printing) or by using a stylus from (Painting)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Image source: Google

This art form nearly died during the late twentieth century. There is a family who still practices this art form thereby keeping it alive. Ultimately only one family i.e the Khatri’s from Nirona, Gujarat still continue practising this art form.

This art form is being practised in Gujarat, Kutch district where the colours are extracted from boiled oil and vegetable dyes and laid on the fabric. Rogan here refers to varnish or oil and has its roots from Persia.

The Khatri family began contemporizing this art form by expanding this onto various other products such as travel bags, cushion covers, tablecloths to wall hanging and pillow covers in order to attract various tourists.

It is first produced by boiling castor Oil for a period of two days thereby adding binding agents and vegetable pigments making it thick and shiny. And to make the colours look intense and stand out usually dark coloured cloths are used as backdrops. In this art form, the paints are applied using a metal block or through stylus and once done it is folded into half so that the other half of the cloth gets the imprint thereby making it into a mirror image. Most of the designs are usually animals, flowers and some local folk art.

Let’s spread this art form and help reach out to more number of people.

Let’s support such art forms and keep them alive.

Watch out for more interesting articles about this and other incredible art forms from India.

Phir milenge.

Rogan art Rogan printing is a dying art. It’s an art form in which the cloth gets printed with the paints in a certain fashion using a metal block (like printing) or by using a stylus from (Painting)

[i-heart-indian]

A true hero

Jadav “Molai” Payeng, also known as the ‘Forest Man of India’, has done something absolutely unimaginable. He’s a Padma Shri awardee and is known for planting more than 1400 acres of forest in a sandbar based in Assam on the banks of Brahmaputra. Mr. Payeng is a resident of Aruna Sapori at Kokilamukh based in Jorhat district. He is an inspiration to many and an answer to anyone who thinks that…

View On WordPress

[i-heart-indian]

Remembering Munshi Premchand

In this series, we will be exploring people who have contributed greatly towards art, culture, history, literature in India and celebrating their achievements. One such great writer is Munshi Premchand. Munshi Premchand was an Indian writer and probably the greatest Hindustani writers of the early 20th century. He was a novelist, short story writer, and dramatist who penned over a dozen novels,…

View On WordPress

[i-heart-indian]

Gabba – Recycled rugs from Kashmir

Gabba – Recycled rugs from Kashmir

This slideshow requires JavaScript. Gabba are recycled old woolen blankets or lois that are washed, milled and dyed in various colours. These pieces are then stitched together and backed with waste cotton cloth. The Gabba is then either appliqued or embroidered with crewel work. In the appliqué type, pieces of dyed blankets are joined together and interspersed with vividly colored embroidery in…

View On WordPress

[i-heart-indian]

Namda – The amazing felted rugs from Kashmir

Namda – The amazing felted rugs from Kashmir

This slideshow requires JavaScript. Source: http://www.cohands.in/handmadepages/book29.asp?t1=29&lang=English In Srinagar, cotton is also mixed with woolen fibres to create a fabric that is usually white in colour and may be easily embroidered with an ari in floral patterns or in compositions containing stylized animal figures. A worker assisted by three persons can produce two Namda a day. Namda…

View On WordPress