saree tray

I tried making this unique saree tray using handmade paper. color combiantions can be varied. Also very creative alternatives can be found for this tray. Like it can be decorated with earth tones and be used as pooja trays or take the handle off and use it as gift boxes or reduce the borders heights and make it a classic serving tray..lots of options. we just need to tweak our imaginations a bit and resort to exotic kala for ideas and you will be surprised at its plenty.

christmas contest

Being smitten by the craft bug and thanks to this blog, i have been constantly getting appreciation for my works and more recently, a good soul sent me details regarding a national level competition in this field. i seriously didnt know that competitions for excellence existed here too(all i heard about the craft systems is that people rarely give out their creativity lest someone steals it) so naturally the competitive spirit inside me got excited and i filled up the form.
the next day i log into my mail box to see if my application's streamed thro'. finding a mail from the organizers i excitedly opened it and read the details. i would post here the details to bring out further clarity to what i am writing and its relevance the adjacent pic.

THE CONTEST DETAILS ARE AS FOLLOWS -:

FIRST STAGE [SEMI-FINAL]

------------------------

1. MAKE ONE [INDO- WESTERN THEME] SWEET BOX WITH AN ENVELOP AND A CHAMPAIGN GLASS.

COLOUR COMBINATION – RED + SILVER.

2. MAKE ONE DECORATIVE CHRISTMAS BASKET [YOU CAN TAKE ONE LARGE BAMBOO BASKET WITH HANDLE]

COLOUR COMBINATION - RED+ GREEN + GOLDEN/YELLOW + BLUE

[KEEP THE CHRISTMAS RELATED THINGS IN THE SAME COLOUR-COMBINATION]

HINT – YOU CAN USE STARS, BELLS, SANTA, GIFTS, CHAMPAIGN GLASSES, CANDLES, X-MAS TREE, CHOCOLATES ETC.

I completed the first part of the contest and the pic being displayed is in relevance with it. I adhered to the basic rules and as is my nature tweaked the intricacies of the art to display uniqueness and an Exotic Kala brand value. I experimented the box with different textures and the result was amazing that i stuck to its appeal,used it in the design. the texture was pretty dull, so in order to compensate for it but still to maintain its sheer elegance, i used different sized stone work and sequins.
The result hence is dramatic. i just clicked and posted them away.
started working on the second part. let's wait and watch how it turns out. i am waiting eagerly too to see how it molds.
would post it too soon.

Craftysearching

If you have been following my posts you would have noticed the variety in the creativity. My passion for research has dabbled this preserved field too. i am now trying to explore various Multi purpose utility items( i prefer calling them MPU's). i am still in its initial stages trying to experiment various textures and fragrances . i would surely and very obviously too would put them here for viewers to enjoy its true novelty. Also during these works, i got bazoombed by springing idea. being a true tata indicam follower, i heard my "dil ki aawaz" and followed it to establish my first ever entrepreneur foray. The venture is titled "Exotic Kala"- to give gifts from your heart rather than from your hands. It serves to customize and personalize the gifts according to the tastes of both the giver and reciever unlike picking some odd gift from the shelf.

You all may wish me luck in my endeavour(as i need tonnes of them to move ahead!) and if anyone is curious about this venture and wants to know more on what it offers and its gifting menu(which is rarely fixed and always gets tailored to the persons interest) , you may feel free to write me at exotickala@gmail.com.

Y not a website??you may ask. i have just opened my venture and when i feel satisfied enough to have got a certain good round figure number of client base would surely unviel my website on popular demand!

Aarti thali plate

As the title suggests this is a perfectly complete aarti plate. I have kept in mind all the auspicious hindu signs and have assembled them onto the plate. Aarti is one of the most significant ritual followed both in north and south india. Lakshmi maa, the goddess of wealth and prosperity and Ganeshji, the destructor of obstacles have been invoked into the plate to offer the qualities to the person who is recieving the aarti. Traditionally, in India coconut occupies a very significant place in Puja. Many people are unaware that coconuts are especially used for establishing peace. Coconut, symbol of the ego, soft and sweet inside, hard and rough outside. When we break a coconut , we break the ego's hold on us. Hence I have placed it in the auspicious thali along with diyas to facilitate aarti. boxes to be used for presention either kumkum(south indian) or roli and rice(north indian) have also been kept.

These are peacock feather ear rings i made for my friend. The feathers are very delicate things and need to be handled very carefully to be molded into ear rings. i made these ear rings spontaneously and is the first time i tried something so unique and creative as these!what vivid display of color in one feather!!!

Indo Western Style Gift Box

This is a box i designed for gifting sweets and dry fruits. It is apt for the festive collection. I have designed this in Indo-Western style. This box also accompanies a Cash gifting envelope in the same style. The complete set includes: Gift box, Cash gifting Envelope and a Champaign glass.

Royal Neckpiece

This Neckpiece is my fav. I have incorporated lot of techniques into it and blended them to give the stunning effect. i have deliberately given the heavy layering with stones to give it a Royal Effect. It is also a two row neckpiece with crystals in the first row and white stones in the second to give it a complementary feel. I designed the ear rings too to make it a complete set.

This is a pearl necklace i made for my friend. I used pearls, white stones and red crystals in it. I gave very slight layering effect to give it a slight sophistication look.

Pen stand

This is Dancing Ganesha Pen stand. i designed this as a gift for my cousin on his birthday. Take a look at the detailing( Ripple Effect) given. these make small and unique decorative pieces for your tables. Can your pens/pencils demand better stands than these?

My Tyrst with Passion

For the past few weeks i have been busy creating artistic pieces for my friends who are leaving the city. it was during this creative process that i realized my latent potential and my love for craft. Art though in the form of painting has still as of yet eluded me, though i am trying to work out my ways in understanding its techniques. i remember my mom's terrible attempts to make me go to art classes and workshops in my school days. i used to sulk at the mention of these art classes and go and hide behind the trees attempting to parry over her attempts. But now, maybe wisdom or experience or something else(still not yet discovered) has made me realize my love for this profession. i can undoubtedly declare that other than dance this is the only profession i am so passionate about. as you all can guess for the next few months(read: jobless!), i would be doing nothing else but creating these antique pieces and posting them here for you guys to enjoy(perhaps a far fetched one would be: to get inspired).

if you like any of my creations, feel they would be perfect for gifting to your friends(just as i do for mine),you can always order them from me. Else please do the favor of writing your views and comments about the creations. they would serve as a great moral booster!

Kama and Kamakshi Approach

Here is an insightful article i picked up..

Kama is the love god who shoots arrows that will spawn desire in the heart of hermits.
Kama seduces rishis like vishwamitra with apsaras like Menaka. Kamakshi is the name given to Godess Parvati, princess of the mountains. In the East she is known by the name Kamakhya. She holds all the symbols of Kama- the parrot, sugarcane, lotus flower. While there are no temples dedicated to Kama, Kamakshi is worshipped as Godess. Kamakshi's approach was radically different from Kama's. She appealed not the base instinct of Shiva but to his higher insticts: his head and his heart. She knew Shiva was beyond lust. No dance would arouse him. The more she thought about Shiva, the more she realized that beneath the indifference there lurked infinite compassion. She decided to tap into it. She wanted Shiva not to reject human imperfection but to be tolerant of it. She demonstrated her intention by subjecting herself to great penance, standing on one foot and meditating, fasting, not sleeping, immersing herself for days in the cold river. Eventually sensing her intergrity, shaken by her determination, Shiva came to her and agreed to do whatever she asked of him. Kamakshi asked him to marry her. Thus she got Shiva not with lust but with love.

Now why am i reeling this puranic story to you, you might ask? when this is extrapolated to our business, it gives tremendous insight to our cultural approach to work. Markets too work on this wooing strategy, just the difference here is that its the customers companies are trying to woo. In the Kama approach, the customer is equated to the Rishi who is constantly craving for the next best deal, to reach the next best level. Shoot an arrow, offer instant gratification,lower prices, hike incentives and boom- you are successful. how long will the daze last? until another apsara in the market- a competitor offering even lower price or higher pay packet. The rishi who was seduced with your deal is bound to get seduced by that too. Lust can never create loyalty.
While Kama thinks of Shiva as a prey to be struck down by arrow. Kamakshi approaches Shiva with Awe and Reverance. Kama thinks of instant gratification while Kamakshi thinks of life long commitment. In the Kama Approach, focus is on lust(price/hike) rather than bride(product/ organization). In the Kamakshi approach, focus is on the bride and groom. What does the bride actually offer?why? what does the groom seek? Why? Can there be a true wedlock or will be just another casual affair? this implies less insights into trimming the cost and more discussions into consumer insights and employee feedback. Rather than trying to increase the market share of the product by lust(price cuts and incentives) it would do good to make sure that the product meets the unmet need of the consumer or by making the consumer aware of a hitherto unknown need that the product can satisfy. Sales fore could be motivated by stoking in them the desire to conquer the impossible market. By appealing to their desire to be brilliant. We can bridge the gap in the consumer psyche by adopting the Kamakshi approach and not Kama's. Money is tangible and measurable, easy to understand and can be turned into a graph. Passion is not. Loyalty is not. Can one capture the soul of a market into a spreadsheet. it can be sensed and will always remain abstract. And so while forgetting the true motive behind our product(of appealing to the consumer) we tend to trust the wallet rather than have faith in the head and heart like Kamakshi. Deep down more than good deal, everyone wants to feel good about the,selves. we dont want to get seduced by discounts but want our purchases and employment to bring forth our glory.
What better time to analyse the differences and implement these changes into our workforce than the current global turmoil? The present turmoil is a waking call for all our corporates to revamp their methodologies and adopt the Kamakshi approach rather than Kama's.

Financial jungle

picked this article from a magazine....

Before i go into the creative terminologies let me give you a brief of its real application.

The markets have always been fascinated by animals. Merill Lynch- now taken over by Bank of America floated TIGRs(Treasury Investors Growth Receipts). Similiarly, Lehman Brothers, which went bankrupt and had to be shut down floated LIONs(Lehman Investment Opportunity Notes). not to be left behind Salomon Brothers invented CATS(Certificates of Accrual on Treasury Receipts).

Given the upheaval in the world markets(call it calamity/ catastrophe) this might be the right time to launch some more "animal" bonds to revive investor interest. Here are some mythical beast.

DOG(Dump On Government bonds) - these are bonds issued by all kinds of special investment vehicles which may or may not have any underlying assets. In case the issuer stops paying interest, the govt. will be obliged to buy them back.

VIPER(Voucher In Place Exceptions Regretted) - these will be a genre in the manner of "catastrophe bonds" but issued for insuring disaster in the financial sector instead of natural mishaps. these bonds will help insurance companies provide cover against the next gen. of banks which issue exotic derivaties, going kaput.

CHEETAH(Childless,Earning-Exempted,Totally Assetless Homes) you have heard of NINJA-No Income No Job Asset- loans provided to sub prime borrowers. when the next spell of easy money rolls around(and you can bet your shirt that it will-given the kind of liquidity being pumped into the market by world's central banks) the same kind of loan can be rolled off the assembly line, albeit with a different name:Childless,Earning-Exempted,Totally Assetless Homes.

Very creative solutions indeed!!!

Bear Market humor

i noticed this interesting dig on Lehman bro's at Rashmi Bansal's youth curry blog. i am posting the same here for a light laugh. its the front page of webchutney.com.

A forward sent to me by my friend, it contains the right amount of wit to sail through the dark looming F crisis. i quote few best ones among them..

VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling lower.

CEO -- Chief Embezzlement Officer.

CFO -- Corporate Fraud Officer.

FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

CASH FLOW -- The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $24 per share. (But then, you paid $54 per share....)

PROFIT -- An archaic word no longer in use.

I had a cheque returned earlier. "Insufficient Funds" Mine or the banks?


1st friend:You have invested so heavily in stocks, yet you say you sleep like a baby?

2nd Friend:I sure do.I wake up every hour and cry...!!

child at heart

I wake up to the rays of the sun

Looking forward to the day of fun

The smell of roses very enchanting

To the heart very Bright and empowering.

I like to look at the mighty mountains

Mighty, strong yet so serene.

The spray of salt water crackles me,

The touch to my heart tackles me.

In the world of cobwebs

People have forgotten the real beauty.

The fast paced monster eats me,

But the lobster inside beats me .

The innocence of the heart still intact only to the child inside infact.

Proud to be a child at heart!

well this poem is though few lines old is my fondest coz of its obscure meaning. it speaks the life of the urbanites who have no time for precious small happiness nature has to offer.we get stuck in cement jungles that we forget there is a child within us waiting to see the world too..i wrote this poem when my friend's school going sis wanted a poem to be given for her school magazine. it took me this incident to realize the worth of the small wonders and joys, when is urs dawning???

attitude and silence-together but still poles apart

laziness has seeped into my veins. how else can i explain of not updating my blogs. do i say that life has become so mundane that nothing interesting seems to catch??well this statement sure would bring deluge of retorts at my lack of insight(ahem..i am using this word for the second time..guess i have become obsessed with this word..INSIGHT..or am i obsessed with SIGHT-IN??)
after several hunted incidents(read..its hunted. now who wants to follow oxford dic norms?i give mine.hunted i mean after several searches for interesting incidents) i caught up with something that's been in my life or for some other souls like mine. here is the gist of the incident..

3 friends- I(represents me), A(my buddy buddy), K(my villain)

I: hey A..hws u?hws life?
A and K walk to me together
A: life S***'s badly yaar.
I:kyu re?kya hua?
A: everything is going wrong in life. that idiot bastard ditched me, coll seems no rescue either with wat crap assign's and internals.
I: oho!!u dont worry..look u do it like this....(throws some gyaan on how to go about things and managing stuff) and kick tht guys a** etc etc crap..
A:hmm but if all tht doesnt work??(still doubtful)
I: throws even more gyaan to convince her..
K:(all the while watching)to me: so ur contesting for the post in coll?
I: yuppie(in all beams)..love competing, so thought not..
few other bakwaas and we all leave.
K to A: Man!!look at the attitude she throws!!kitna dominating hai be..why do u listen to her dominating charac..y dont u retort??

okie so helping ppl without any reservations and taking the pains of making them realize their mistakes is termed attitude and dominating. so the next time i decide okie i will not push anybody towards their goal and mellow myself.

at a popular cafe:
now something similiar conversation goes on..
A:arey yaar what do i do with life?i have wasted all my years on clearing arrears.now what do i do?what are the options?
I: hmm..what exactly are ur interests?
A: arey yaar, nothing technical!!anything otherwise...
I:okkk...hmm..thn maybe u have 2 options left:job or MBA
A: job?arey woh hi tho nahi lag rahi hai(thanks to lehman..usne mere zindagi ko lemon bana diya..sorry sad PJ) aur MBA..its soo tough to crack yaar..
I:arey, nothing is easy in life. do ur best..that's good for ur future also..
A:nahi yaar..those 2 options will not work for me re..
I:hmm k..see the other options then and then decide wat works best for u..
few other lil talks and we disperse..
all the while K listening talks once i leave to A, arey dekh..she is not even bothered about. how flippantly she went off..arey..this is ur life..u claim her to be ur buddy friend and look she is not even interested in ur life..look A..i advice for your own good..take her lightly..she is not gonna help u in life...

okie..now i decide i am gonna be the silent guest with K(see i have a soft heart..parrying splinters is better for me than facing them..confess..i am bad at answering ppl to their nose!)
again a meet at a hotspot in the city:
I:hey hws u been doing?
some usual bakwaas about world,life, corporates etc:.
I: (make some small talk with the current affairs)
A and K do the most talking and for once i do K's work(listening and smiling)
bid bye's and meet u again's....
K to A- arey yaar..dekh kitni attitude maar rahi thi..god!!hw can u stand the attitude(i wonder what attitude can be found in silence??)..

now, you talk too much and be sensitive and accomodating.- you are labelled dominating.
you talk but let them decide their matters- you are considered not being bothered of their life
you dont talk and let them do the talking and be a silent spectator- you still are termed rude.

my Question to all those back biters is "what is throwing attitude"???!!!!


P.S:i am sure many poor souls would have faced these situations..this post is my tribute to them.

beautiful...ART

i wonder when people say life is vapid. with flourishing display of color and grandeur by nature how can people be ignorant to it? now life is my fav. topic not because it offers philosophical dimensions but because its a line of axis by itself and can sustain growth within it. the visual appeal presented by the branch of aesthetics culminates into ART- artistic. being a classical dancer i have fallen in love with this aesthetic form. it amuses me to think how a particular situation say depiction of satyabama with lord Krishna is portrayed in different forms of dance. the use of mudras to depict objects or the course of the story along with abhinayam(visual expressions) and thalam( beats) can altogether create a form which is as unique and simple from the others. this is one stream which has the capability of hook people. dont get me wrong, i am not referring to only classical dance but dance in all forms. what with the burgeoning salsa, jazz, hip hop classes. well this whole admiration was drawn on me when i was practicing for 'Jatiswaram' (solo composition of Kuchipudi- classical dance of Andhra Pradesh). i just missed a mudra by a finger and my guru explained how i had depicted the incident in completely in its opposite meaning! i was aghast realizing how different a meaning a mudra with the same fingers in different angles meant. there is a lot to be learnt in dance. rather than just being a form of hobby this profession requires reverence in its purest form. how subtly it can change the outlook of a person canot be described but has to be experienced if one wants to savour it. benefits of dance are immense- right from teaching ethics(very imp what with people forgetting the existence of others!), to improving concentration to body fitness. i would say its our grail which springs nectar to be relished. with IT dependent society and its salary dependent people, its the need of the hour to fire the passion of art in our heart and to marvel at how quickly it engulfs you into its universe. my mantra for tired souls would be: go dancing!!!

P.S. this topic is dreadfully close to my heart and if anybody finds this stuffy kindly keep it to yourself!