....Read It to Know It :D :)

So this particular blog has been super delayed!! Sighs 

And if anyone wants to know the actual reason...naa please!!

Let’s not deviate into an altogether another topic...Right.

May be some other day we can hold a conversation on this...What say!! :P

If you guys recollect, the first blog, The Beginning – it said Komal came up with this initiative around three months back. While now even though it’s lesser than a month to go for the D-Day, we are walking...no no, not at all, we are actually running in the planning plus the planning-execution phase. So we know you guys can imagine the tremendous pressure building up on all of us to pay attention to the ABCs, take care of the minutest elements, and make everything fall in place before we unveil the curtains.

And for you people, we have loads and loads to talk, share and eventually surprise you with our hilarious - not always and the so called serious conversations (hand gesture of double quotation mark) which most of the times, yes you read it right...

Most of the time happens on WhatsApp (our actual physical meetings are like totally infrequent)...

and the discussions even go out of LABA scope, which is bound to happen coz that’s how a team works :D :D :D 

Be it about LABA team mates.

Be it about our in detail planning.

Be it about the various art forms.

Be it about the D-Day.

And since Team LABA is full of angels, our hallows dangling on our invisible horns...

Unlike others, and of course to keep you guys tuned in into this space, we decided not to hold back onto the most crisp, the most awaited talk.... Yup Yup, the next few words...or may be a bit more than few lines, please survive through the D-Day particulars. Sarcasm Intended!!! 

Our event will happen somewhere around Independence Day this year, and wouldn’t it be fair to keep the actual date under the carpet, to build up the curiosity and the excitement.

Next, the venue...simple straight forward reply...at a mall nearby you!!

And now the art forms...relax, calm down, we are not letting anyone down on this note and we are talking about it right away :)

Thanjavur Dolls - The traditional head-shaking dolls of Thanjavur are well known by its local name as 'Talai aati Bommai'. These dolls take their original standing position though they are moved in any angle. Handmade dolls are made with clay and Plaster of Paris. Base is completely made of clay in a form of dish. Shaped like a dish, the bottom is heavy and that’s what ensures that the dolls always remain upright. Once the clay dish has been made, it’s dried in the shade for two days and then in the sun for two days. The body of doll is created with the moulds and is attached to clay base. Then the dolls are beautifully painted with bright colors to describe the facial expressions. These dolls are used in all ritual functions especially in Kolu-ritual display of Thanjavur dolls celebrated during Dasara festival.

You can find these dolls being sold in the Palace Complex. But the mainstay are Khadi, Kuralagam and Poompuhar in Chennai. In Thanjavur, there are only, yes only 10 families involved in production of clay dolls.

It will help if the Government gives the credit to the artists on easy terms so that this art thrives.

Thanjavur Paintings - Tanjore painting (Thanjavur Oviyam) is an important form of classical South Indian painting native to the town of Thanjavur (anglicized as Tanjore) in Tamil Nadu, India. The art form dates back to about 1600 AD, a period when the Nayakas of Tanjavur encouraged art—chiefly, classical dance and music—as well as literature, both in Telugu and Tamil.

Tanjore paintings are known for their surface richness, vivid colours and compact composition. Essentially serving as devotional icons, the themes of most of these paintings are Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as saints. Episodes from Hindu tradition are drawn upon as elaborations of the main figure or figures placed in the central section of the picture.

Little else needs to be said! Photographs of the paintings on the walls of the temples are seen above. Some are almost dying; some are standing out facing the brutal leash of nature and people alike, and some are only to be imagined- 'there was once a beautiful painting on that wall!'

Perhaps nature will wash away the blooded walls before the knives again dig in for the killing......

Sanjhi - Sanjhi is an art of cutting paper or non metallic surfaces with the help of plied scissors and sharp blades that originated from the times of Lord Krishna and flourished in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh ( Vrindavan to be precise). 'Sanjhi' is a word derived from words like "Shringar' or "Sajavat" which mean 'decoration’. It was used by the Vaishnava community at Mathura, Vrindavan, Bengal and Orissa, where they lived and is found in the Vaishnava temples of the 15^th and 16^th century. Mythology says Radha used this art on the walls of her home to attract Krishna's attention which was subsequently copied by other gopis to attract Lord Krishna. Interestingly this form was also practiced by Muslim artists.

The unique part of these cuttings is that, traditionally Sanjhi works were made without any tracing or drawings. The artisans could produce the works in very less time, but for this had to put in years of diligence and practice so as to attain the skill of cutting out fine sanjhis. The Sanjhi stencils are put down on the ground and coloured powders are filled in to produce fascinating designs. This art is much more superior to the ordinary paper cutting that we or our kids indulge in and needs years of training.
Currently, Sanjhi painting is practiced by only a few artists and remains a dying tradition that too in few temples of India. Today Sanjhi stencils are used to make rangoli stencils, decorative bindis , sari borders, greeting cards, coasters and trays.

When you all buy those intricately carved bindis or see stylish designs on the sari borders spare a thought for the Sanjhi artists who made all this possible.

       

Coming Soon...with the other Art Forms... :D