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Chariot Rangoli

Chariots or Carts or Cars-known as Ratham in Telugu or Rath in Hindi-the word brings to our mind, Gods, Kings and Queens...Yes Chariots were once the mode of transport used by the kings, queens and the royalty. 

In India it is believed that Gods and Goddesses travel by Chariots. Kings and queens, royalty used this mode of transport. The chariots were made of wood, gold, silver or other metals. There are so many stories and legends associated with chariots.  In Hindu Mythological stories and other literature there are lots of references to the chariots, varieties, their décor, the horses that are attached to it, their wheels and their speed.

Gods and Goddesses are paraded in the villages or near their temples in Chariots during special temple festivals or other occasions. The famous Rath Yatra or Chariot pulling ceremony of Lord Jagannath of Puri is world famous and is attended by millions every year.

When Gods and Goddesses are driven in their chariots, it is believed that pulling the chariots by the people is very auspicious and many vie for it to at least touch the rope dragging it.

Sun God who is called Prathyaksha Narayana means the God who is visible to us, is believed to travel in a chariot with one wheel and pulled by seven horses. He is worshipped daily by us Hindus but specially so on Ratha Sapthami day. Ratha means chariot and Sapthami means the seventh day of the calendar. I will do a post on all this, that is about Sun God, His Chariot and how we worship him on my other blog on spiritual/religious theme shortly.

We are going to celebrate Ratha Sapthami on 10th February 2011. This day we draw the Chariot Rangoli. This Chariot Rangoli is very famous and drawn on the last two days(3rd and 4th days) of Sankranthi festival. There are so many Rangolis on Chariots. But I have created  one specially for this occasion. Here it is:

        Ratham Muggu for Ratha Sapthami

This is 21 to 1 dots-straight dots-that is first row 21 dots next row 19 leaving one on each side and so on till 1 dot. Then join as shown above

 This is the center part. You can see it clearly.

This is one end.

The flags and borders are not included in the above specified dots. That is I have added them separately. 

As you can see, there are four chariots one on each side. I have drawn chariots with one wheel, Sun God, lamps and silver cups for serving the rice and milk pudding to the Sun God. It is a tradition to offer rice and milk pudding to Sun God on Ratha Sapthami day. 

Indian Traditional Jewelery

Edu Varala Nagalu-I

Sujathagaru asked me what Eedu Vaarala Nagalu mean, who wore it and any stories related to it. I have also received many requests similar to this from some of my friends. Thank you Sujatha garu and my other friends for reading my posts and asking me such interesting questions. I am also educated by such questions as I have to recollect, read and research around for the answer.


I am glad to receive such queries , so keep asking me.


Well I am going to write all about it in my posts starting from today.Here it is 

India as you know is a country with an ancient and rich cultural and traditional heritage. Our  society was much civilised before any other ones. Men and women were very refined in their intellect, knowledge and taste. It is no wonder that our fashions related to clothes, jewellery etc were and still are rich, refined and are backed by scientific reasoning-beauty with practicality.

Anyway our India women were one of the most fashion conscious. Whether rich or poor they were dressed appropriately for the occasion or the season.

Meaning:

Edu Vaarala Nagalu means the jewellery worn by men or women for each day of the week. Edu means seven. Vaaralu means days -like Sunday Monday etc. and Nagalu means Jewellery. This was a very old tradition and is still followed by some. This jewellery was so highly talked about in the ancient times and had lot of importance.

Details:


Each day men or women should (though not a compulsion) wear the jewellery made of the following gems.

Sl No	Day		God or Planet Considered as Lord of the Day		Gem associated with the Planet
	(English)	(Telugu)	(English)	(Sanskrit/ Telugu)	(English)	(Sanskrit/ Telugu/ Hindi)
1	Sunday	Aadi Varamu / Bhanu Vaaramu/ Ravi Vaaramu	Sun	Aditya or Bhanu or Ravi	Ruby	Manickya Kempu/ Manikyam Manick
2	Monday	Soma Vaaramu/ Indu Vaaramu	Moon	Soma or Indu	Pearls	Mouktika Muthyaalu Moti
3	Tuesday	Mangala Vaaramu/ Bhouma vaaramu	Mars	Mangala	Corals	Pravaala Pagadaalu Munga
4	Wednesday	Budha Vaaramu/ Soumya Vaaramu	Budha	Budha	Emeralds	Marakata Pachhalu/ Marakatam Panna
5	Thursday	Brihaspathi Vaaramu / Guru Vaaramu	Jupiter	Brihaspathi or Guru	Yellow Sapphire Or Topaz	Pushparaaga Pushyaragamu Pukhraj
6	Friday	Shukra Vaaramu/ Brugu Vaaramu	Venus	Shukra	Diamond	Vajra Vajraalu Heera
7	Saturday	Shani Vaaramu/ Manda Vaaramu	Saturn	Shani	Blue Sapphire	NeelaMani Neelam Neelmani

                                            Edu Vaarala Nagalu

The jewellery to be worn could be necklaces, long chains, bangles, bracelets, ear rings, nose pins, waist chains or belts, anklets, arm lets, jewellery worn on the head (papidi pindelu, chandra- surya wanka, chamanthi billa etc), finger rings by women and chains, armlets, anklets, waist belts, ear rings, finger rings etc by men, made of these gems either in gold or in silver. Gold was considered as the best metal.

By wearing these, people would benefit from the positive aspects of the planetary influences and bad influences would be reduced. Health, wealth and prosperity, peace of mind, happiness could be got by this.

Reason:

I have to briefly tell you why and what was the importance of this tradition. This is related to Indian Astrology. Though this might be lengthy, one has to read this to understand the significance. I will try to be as brief as possible.

Indian astrology is very highly placed and followed by even common man in every day life. I will restrict myself to the influence of Indian Astrology to this particular topic here, though there is a lot on the subject...:) :) :)

As per Indian Calender, there are nine planets. A planet is known as "Graha" meaning one that constantly moves:

1. Sun--Surya or Aaditya 
2. Moon--Chandra or Soma
3. Mars- Kuja
4. Mercury--Budha
5. Jupiter- Guru
6. Venus--Sukra
7. Saturn-Shani

Apart from the above Rahu and Ketu were Chhaya Graha or shadow planets. As pointed above, planets means those having moment or which constantly are in motion. That is the reason even Sun though known to the ancient Indians as brightest Star, was still classified as a planet. Moon though was a satellite of Earth was considered as planet. Similarly why Rahu and Ketu were known as shadow planets in those ancient times, much well before  the so called modern science was born. These two planets are resposible for the Eclipses-Solar and Lunar.


To be contd........Read the next in my next posts

Update: I have added the Sanskrit equivalent of the gems as per my visitors requests.

Guess what...

Friends can you guess what this is?

Read my post in my blog:
http://spiceomylife.blogspot.com/

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Rangoli Borders

Past few days as I was out travelling, I just used to doodle in my free time. Actually the places where I visited were small and big villages and towns of the coastal Andhra. So I used to carefully look at the doorsteps or front yards of the houses. I came across some rare designs of traditional Rangolis of Andhra Pradesh. These designs I am doing in separate posts called Sankranti Muggulu or Sankranti Rangolis.

But I kept on creating more and more Rangoli borders. I was too tired to create some big designs and moreover I kept on getting new ideas for these borders. So I had created a lot of these borders. Here are some:

   Rangoli Borders-Kolam Borders-Muggu Borders

   Rangoli Borders-Kolam Borders-Muggu Borders

   Rangoli Borders-Kolam Borders-Muggu Borders

Hope you like these border designs. Watch for more in coming posts.....

I am Back

Hello friends, I was away and am back after nearly two weeks or so. I left in such a hurry, that I could neither do some posts nor could infirm you about my absence. I missed you all.

As usual my trip was very tight scheduled, hectic and tiring. But I enjoyed every minute of it. I could visit some very old and not much known temples, some remote locations and enjoyed very much. I could collect some very rare designs of Rangolis, learned a bit more about the places, people, traditions and culture. It was an experience, an education and I feel more enriched now with those experiences.

This time I could visit some very remote locations. I enjoyed every moment of my travels. I have loads and loads to share with you all. The only constraint is time. I feel so tired after that long trip. But I am very eager to share with you all my treasures.

Keep a watch on my blogs.....I am sure you will love it

Rangoli-90

Rangoli for Republic Day

Here is one more. This is also very easy.

This is 11X11 block. Join as above.

Try it and let me know.

Rangoli-89

Republic Day Rangoli

Here is one Rangoli for our  Republic Day  celebrated on 26th January. This one is very simple.

In center I have used a 5X5 block and then extended on all sides as shown in the photo. Place the dots, join them and fill with colours. I have written JaiHind in three languages around the flags.

How do you like it? It is very simple and easy to draw as well as takes less time even for colouring.

Rangoli with GIMP

Y-Knot on her blog Y-Knot Blog has experimented with Rangoli designs using GIMP. They are so beautiful. She started with those Rangolis which are drwan using lines. Now she has started with those using dots. 

They are so beautiful. Alas I don't know how to work with GIMP. I am tempted to learn it because I feel one can create so many new designs out of one design by using this method. For now I don't have that much time to learn. But after looking at her creations, I am tempted to learn it.

She has done a great job. I am just amazed at her creativity. the designs look very different too. But I feel some of them are very difficult to actually draw with hand. 

Any way just follow the link and see the beauty of her creations, how she has played with them. I was very much tempted to post some of her photos but I could not wait till I took her permission...I was dying to write about her creations...So here is the link.

http://y-knotblog.blogspot.com/search/label/rangoli

Thanks a lot Y-Knot. They are just very beautiful creations. You are one talented person. I will try to keep on posting some different designs so that you can experiment with them. I loved going through your designs.

Rangoli-88

I have not completed my Sankranti Muggulu series. Those are the designs specially meant for the festival of Samkranti. That I am going to post later.


But for now a simple one.

17 to 1 straight dots. This is easy to draw and for filling colours too.

Friday- Free Patterns

I could not post last Friday. However here is one pattern here for you.

                      Free Pattern

This is again a folk or tribal pattern from Bengal. This looks like a horse to me. But I am not sure. Still it is looking cute. Looks good whether painted or embroidered.

This would look great for children's clothes. But I feel it would look great on saris or blouses if you want that ethnic look. 

Try it out and show us the result....