Diwali Greetings

Deepavali wishes to all my readers. May the festival of lights spread much joy, happiness and peace.

Here's an arrangement of floating candles and marigold flowers that I created a couple of years back.

Happy And Relaxed

I am really chilled out these days, enjoying life as a home maker and full-time mommy.

It is so much better to enjoy the festive season without worrying about rushing to office the next day.

I am working on creative projects that I have been wanting to do for a long time now.

I am keeping busy taking pictures in the garden, and planning for a family vacation next month.

I get to spend so much more time with the kids, playing with them and goofing around.


Here’s a picture of them taking a joyride in the toy train at a school fete.


Life is bliss! :) And I’m planning to keep it this way for sometime – no unnecessary pressures anymore. The sole focus will be to enjoy the small things that matter…

The Ravana Makers: Part II

For those of you who missed out the first part of this story, you can catch up here. And if you have been keeping up with the tale, then here comes the rest of it….

Once the paper layers of the Ravana effigies dry completely in the strong autumn sun, the body parts are painted in bright colours.


The faces are painted in striking fluorescent shades while the torso pieces generally get a coat of black. This is because the torso is covered with bright, decorative paper designs.

The expression on the faces is plain hideous, with bulging eyes and a toothy, wicked smile!

Don’t they look cute all lined up like that?

On the eve of Dussehra, trucks and tempos arrive to carry away the pieces they ordered. So you have all the various pieces bundled into the back of a truck, like this…


The craftsmen who create these effigies earn through various other means of livelihood through the rest of the year. However, around this time of the year they gather in groups to create as many as a thousand effigies of the demon king.

These effigies are used on Vijayadashami, to mark the victory of good over evil. Colourfully painted and decorated, with crackers strapped inside, these effigies are put up in parks and open spaces with the help of ropes.

Fire-tipped arrows are then aimed at them, as everyone enjoys watching them go up in flames with a loud bang.

Dussehra and Vijayadashami greetings to all my readers! May the Good always prevail….

The Ravana Makers: Part I

A couple of months before the autumn winds start blowing and the festive season begins, the pavements (sidewalks) around the residential area I stay in witness a flurry of activity. Truckloads of bamboo poles are layed out and a dozen or more people start working on them, slicing them into halves, and then further. And thereby hangs a fascinating tale…..

Come with me as I show you a glimpse into this cottage industry of creativity that I have witnessed for the last many years. It is a tradition that is passed on from one generation to another, from father to son. It is the art of making Ravana effigies.

First the bamboo is spliced into thin strips. The strips are then tied together to form frames shaped according to the different parts of an effigy. So you have separate bits for the face, the upper torso, the lower torso and the limbs. And, yes, the crown…. Ravana was a king after all, remember!

Bamboo frames of the torso lying on the pavement

The bamboo frames are then given a cloth base, with yards of fabric tightly stretched and wrapped around them. This forms the ground for the paper mache work that follows.

The frames covered with colorful cloth stretched across

This is how the cloth-covered frames look from the inside

Large squares of thin brown paper is slathered with glue and pasted on the frames. The process is very similar to decoupage.

Applying glue on brown sheets of paper and pasting them on to the frames

Part I of this remarkable tale ends here as I bring you reports and pictures live from outside the colony gates. Part II of of the Ravana making process shall reach you soon… stay tuned.

Let the Festivities Begin!

Today marks the official beginning of the festive season in this part of the world.

Dussehra is one of the most important festivals in India. Celebrated almost throughout the country albeit in different ways, it marks ten days of fasting or feasting (depending on which part of the country you come from), with a final celebration of good over evil on the tenth day.

In north India, the festive period begins with the ‘navratras’ when devotees worship the nine forms of the goddess. Special fasts are observed by the people and special foods are cooked during this period. This festival also commemorates the victory of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana who, as told in the Ramayana, abducted his wife Sita and held her captive in his kingdom.

A batik representation of the ten-armed Goddess Durga on her lion

In the other parts, the same fervour can be seen over five days of celebrating Durga Puja, where the goddess Durga is worshipped for having slayed the demon Mahishasura. However, in these parts, instead of fasting the goddess is appeased by community feasting.

Isn’t that amazing? – two completely divergent ways of celebrating the same thing, even while being in the same country. This is truly unity in diversity!

Here’s wishing festive cheer and happiness to all my Indian readers, while the rest of you enjoy the festive season through my posts. :)

P.S. – Stay tuned for a fascinating story related to the Indian festival of Dussehra. Coming soon!

Tis’ A Time For Change

It is that time of the year again… when there is a nip the air

Large white clouds float across the blue skies making fascinating shapes

The chameli flowers (Indian jasmine) spread their sharp fragrance in the air

Photo from external source; click on photo for original source

...and the mornings become chilly.

Monsoon showers try to assert their weight in one last show of day-long showers before the autumn sets in.

Autumn in India means the advent of the festive season. The sales start in earnest as festive buying picks up. The Ravana-makers start making bamboo frames of the demon king. (I'll tell you more about this in a future post, promise!)

As the days become shorter, everyone starts counting days for the upcoming holidays.

And in this time of change, I have decided to bring about some alteration in my life. Yes, I am standing on the verge of another ending, or maybe… it will be a new beginning after all!

At the end of the month, I shall quit my well-paying full-time job for the sake of home, family, kids, and most importantly, for myself. My heart tells me that I owe my time more to my kids at this point in life than to some random software product. And I have chosen to hear the sayings of my heart...

Of course there are mixed feelings – slight trepidation for the financial setback (after all who doesn’t want money to raise two kids), but somehow the feeling of freedom and liberation is far greater. I feel more confident of finally leading the life I had always wanted - with my paints and brushes, and the attendant creative chaos. To me this is leading the charmed life, and I am so thankful to have a partner who not only understands but supports my decision.

What would you follow at the important junctures of life – your head or your heart? I have mostly followed my heart, and never regretted a moment for it!

Am leaving you with this lovely image of the fall colours that I saved from some e-mail forward. We don't get these in India but here's wishing all my readers all the beautiful hues in your life...

Autumn Visitor and Pansy Progress

We had a visitor this morning in our garden; I quite like its blue-black-yellow spots. Sorry about the picture quality though.... I was too scared to go too near and make it fly off! But clicking on the picture for a larger view may help. Does anyone know its name?

This week my artist friend Debbie has started work on the giveaway I won over at her blog Reflections of Debbie. The yellow pansy is coming up beautifully, and you can see her work in progress right here. I am keenly following this, Debbie, for the artist hidden deep within me loves to see the process of creation unravel in all its glory.

Hope all of you enjoy the creative process just as much.... and a little bit more! :)