Rangoli-28

Lotus Rangoli-I

In India Lotus has a special significance for the Hindus. Since ancient times we Indians have attached special significance to Lotus. For us it is a divine symbol. It denotes purity, detachment from wordy things etc.. This is because though the roots of a lotus plant are firmly planted in the slushy mud at the bottom of the ponds or lakes, its leaves and flowers raise above water, it (Lotus) is unstained and beautiful, remains pure. Similarly there is a saying "Like a droplet on the Lotus leaves"- as the leaves are not wetted by water, the water simply rolls it off. So also a person should be detached from the wordly pleasures and pains but attached to God.

In Sanskrit and Telugu and perhaps many Indian languages the word Padma means Lotus. It has many synonyms like, Ambuja, Neeraja, Pankaja, Jalaja, Saroja, Kamala etc.

Padma or Lotus is divine, auspicious and symbolises Goddess Laksmi-Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity. She is shown either standing or seated in a pink Lotus and also holding Lotus in her hands. Lord Vishnu is known as Padmanabha-a lotus born from his naval  with Lord Bramha on it. Goddess Saraswathi-Goddess of Knowledge and wisdom, is shown as seated in a white lotus.

So we use this a lot in our Rangolis for depicting auspiciousness or happiness, wealth prosperity etc. Its is drawn in different forms and also in combination with other things like conch shells etc. A petal is known as Dala. So we haves sasta dala or six petalled, ashta dala or eight petalled lotus, sahasra dala or thousand (many) petalled  and so on. I am going to post some of the Rangolis on Lotus some at a time.


Lotuses are drawn in different ways in our Rangolis. Here they are....

By using lines

Six petalled lotus

Eight petalled

Many petalled....

Using dots...

Eight petalled

See the angular lines

Here the petals are rounded not sharp as above. I feel this is more beautiful then those above. I have posted many designs in my previous posts, having the lotuses as shown above.

Here it is freely drawn not with help of any lines or dots...So many beautiful designs are drawn this way...I will try to post some of them..But one requires a very steady hand...:)
Here is a lotus Rangoli I am posting....

13 to 1 straight dots...placed like this..

Keep an eye on my blog for more....

Bags N Purses-1

I am fascinated by the various shapes and sizes of Bags and Purses available in India. Various materials, like leather, cloth-cotton silk, synthetic materials, jute, plastic,wood, bamboo, grasses, weeds, threads or cords, beads, are used for making them.

Similarly adornments or embellishments with coloured stones, sea shells, mirror work, coin work, kundans, laces, brocades, Zari thread, painted, embroidery, patch work, applique' work, bead work, crocheted, knitted.......phew the list is endless. I collect for myself or for my mom and my sis. My little niece like me is passionate about these things at such an early age.They also make lovely and useful gifts for our friends and relatives. We women do love accessories that go with our dresses.

The patterns, shapes and sizes too vary. One can have Bags N Purses of ones choice for every need. The colours in which they are available remind me of rainbows.

So here I am going to them with you all that I have collected or come across ...

This is a cotton printed purse. The cloth is thick like that of a canvas. I loved the white colour with red and blue print. The white ribbon was another attraction. We can change the ribbon with other colours -red or blue if we can scour a little and find some of that width. Or we can use satin ribbons, or make our own from strips of fabrics. Just a little creativity. will go a long way.

The cut of the purse is very simple and has no compartments-only a small pocket inside for holding coins. 

This I picked up quite recently. The handles are also made of the same fabric. Its a shoulder length purse. The size is medium and will hold quite a few things we carry. The only disadvantage I feel is it does not have any partitions inside. So we have to dump every thing inside.

There were other colours too-white and black, red and blue and other prints. But I loved this floral one that too at quite a cheap price.

Keep watching for more to come.........

Another Sari with Applique

I had this little confusion between whether to call this an Appliqué or a Patch Work. Appliqué is stitching a piece of fabric on another fabric in desired shapes, where as Patch work is joining together of various pieces of fabric to make a bigger one.  Any way here in India the word Patch Work is being used for Applique by the rural artisans who dothe work. Thats how I used the word Patch Work for one of my Saris which I posted earlier here...

http://summersofindia.blogspot.com/2009/11/patch-work.html

So I stand corrected that it was Applique actually.

Any way today I am sharing one more sari with Applique work. I have bought this. This is a Chanderi type Sari (I dont know the exact name of the material), pink in colour with printed plaisley, which are white in colour. It has a beautiful pallu. But the border at the base and on the top for the entire sari was just plain cream white. So a matching pink printed material (of the same type) was cut into strips and machine stitched as a border at the top and bottom ends of the Sari and also on the pallu. Its not possible to get the same print material so a different print has been used. 

It has a cream coloured blouse with same borders on its hands. I have not got it stitched. I prefer to wear a plain pink one. Here are the pictures...

This is the border at the base-beneath the printed border, but covering the plain border on the base and also at the top. The strip of cloth has been stitched on. It has a geometric print.

 A closer look.

This is the design on the pallu. Here also the edges on the three sides have been stitched with border.

The colour was unique and so was the design. I loved this sari the moment my eyes fell on it. It is elegant yet not flashy, very simple but beautiful.....Hope you liked this.