Friday, February 27, 2009

A Secret Garden


i was lucky to have visited Chandigarh recently, if only for a day! the trip was quite hectic but i managed to see the famous rock garden and the Capitol building:)
so let me begin by sharing some info about the city and the Rock Garden ,which i fell in love with..the sculptures were so surreal and quaint!

Chandigarh is the capital to both Haryana and Punjab and so is an important hub for education etc for these two states. The name translates from Hindi to English as "the fort of Chandi", Chandi being a Hindu Goddess. Known internationally for its architecture and urban planning, Chandigarh is home to numerous architectural projects of Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Matthew Nowicki, and Albert Mayer.
Commissioned by Nehru (1st Prime Minister of Independent India) to reflect the new nation's modern, progressive outlook, he famously proclaimed Chandigarh to be "unfettered by the traditions of the past, a symbol of the nation's faith in the future."


The Rock Garden project was secretly initiated by Nek Chand around 1957. the garden came into being at the time when the city of Chandigarh was being planned and reconstructed. (it is the first and amongst the few planned cities of India). Rock Garden has been established in the form of an open-air exhibition hall. The garden houses sculptures made by using a variety of different discarded waste materials like frames, mudguards, forks, handle bars, metal wires, play marbles, porcelain, auto parts, broken bangles etc.

Nek Chand, the creator of the Rock Garden was a an employee with the Public Works Department as a road inspector and continues to reside in the city.
He formed a collection of rocks, gathered from the Shivalik hills and the seasonal Sukhna Cho, Patiala Rao and Ghaggar rivers. In addition to the rocks other materials were collected. The material came from the villages destroyed to make way for the new city of Chandigarh. Certain fragments of these villages caught Nek Chand’s eye and he began actively searching and collecting particular discarded objects. These fragments were the remains of the villages, and consisted largely of everyday mundane possessions such as broken pots and bottles.


With the PWD stores acting as a suitable decoy an alternative Chandigarh was being constructed behind the shuttering and scrap materials. The salvaging of scrap by Nek Chand is well reported, however, less mentioned is the pilfering of building materials. The PWD stores provided Nek Chand with a free supply of cement, bitumen, steel reinforcement bars and oil drums that he needed to develop the site. He was also able to second labourers who should have been building the roads, to work on his project instead (see Bhatti 1982, p224 & 234).
The massive construction site that was Chandigarh provided a suitable decoy for Nek Chand’s covert hobby. Provided everyone was ‘working’ or ‘looking busy’ it seems that very few questions were asked. After four years work, involving daily commitment to the project working evenings and ‘by the light of burning tyres’ (Bhatti 1982), Nek Chand started to become nervous about his actions. It was possible that his employment could be terminated should his garden be discovered. However, this awareness did not stop the project or prevent Nek Chand from building and expanding the garden.


In 1969 Nek Chand decided to visit the city’s chief architect, M.N. Sharma, a disciple of Le Corbusier. Although M.N Sharma should have arranged for the garden to be demolished, he claimed that his admiration for the work and Nek Chand’s ‘creative potential’ conflicted with his position as Chief Architect and Secretary of Chandigarh Administration because the work was illegal and unauthorised. He didn’t have the heart to go by the rules and advised him to continue his work in secret. It was an unusual position for the architect to take.


and so rock garden stands next to the Sukhna lake, like a maze that leads you into a world of fantasy!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

JAI HO!

about time i say!
Rehman's music is best! he's ruled the Hindi Cinema and now i hope to so more and more english and other foriegn language films with Rehman score!

oscar for
best score-Slumdog Millionaire
best song- Slumdog Millionaire

Monday, February 23, 2009

Ganpati Bappa!

i offered my prayers at the Siddhi Vinayak Temple in Bombay on my recent trip there.
the visit to the temple wasn't very pleasant as it was full of people pushing each other to get a glimpse of Lord Ganesha which turned out to be quite a struggle for me and my family.
sometimes i wonder if we in India will even learn to stand in lines!
when i think about it more..then i feel that its the presence of people (so many of them...more like a mob) and all their pushing and struggle is what made me feel like i was in a temple, in the middle of religious faith, where just a two second glimpse gave me the immense sense of achievement. it made me concentrate only on the supreme Lord with a furious passion if only
for those two seconds..


on my way out i had to had to buy these bright and colourful idols of Lord Ganesha.
they are so in tune with the raging 'colour blast' trend in the home and fashion markets right now! i'd love to know what you think of these..


kanika

Friday, February 20, 2009

friends lost and found

i had a great start to my day today..i got back to being friends with neha paul..yes i have always addressed her by her full name..since school..even when i was in class V.


so this is how the story goes..

we met when we were both in class V and were friendly from the start..(thats what i think maybe neha has a different take on it..i was known to be a snob then), but its only after class VII - VIII that we became great friends...i mean inseparable.

we lived not so far away from each other's house and so i was forever being picked up and dropped off by her mom and dad..we went to art events, craft melas, competitions..i mean i always went with her and her family (i grew up with working parents both of them..thank you)

i'd stay many a nights at her house...and watch her fight with her kid sister all the time..i mean they just won't get along and i'd think how nice it is to have a younger sister (i have an older brother who's only job was to complain to my mom about me).

we both wanted to grow up to be fashion designers (and then i thought i wanted to be a journalist and then a graphic designer and then i thought i wanted to be an anthropologist and then i got back to being a designer..by now i was unsure as to what kind of designer..thought i'd try out design school..got in..i was lucky...it gave me a year to decide and finally i went on to become a textile designer..oho..why i took up textiles is a new post..that i'll talk about later)!
all illustrations of muffin by http://niffum.blogspot.com
sorry..where was i? haan back to the story..
then we grew up she switched schools in class XI and then a year later her family moved to US and we became from best friends to only friends and then to acquaintances.

i didn't even know that she is getting married this year..how her family is, what her kid sister is up to, that she is now studying law....nothing. all because i didn't care. sure she's on my facebook friend list but i think she realised much before me that i didn't care to find out about her and so she stopped responding to my occasional message on her facebook wall.

i was on my own ego trip. kept thinking that she's being a baby, that friends don't stop being friends if they don't call or see each other often. i thought that friends remain friends even if i talk to them once in six months..or in neha's case once in a year (i only called to wish her on her birthday).

i still believe somewhat in the fact that friends remain friends no matter how much time passes, but i know now how hurtful my attitude can be. i have grown up to be a casual, uncaring, selfish person. i know if i want to keep my friendships alive i will have to change that.


i wish to tell all my friends.. Neha Paul (you'll always be addressed like that), Jasmine, Lima, Manju, Divya, Neha Gupta(now Khorwal:), Vivek(!!;), Pulkit, Anuj, Ravi, Amrita Bhui, Shivangi, Sudhir..and all of you..(please don't kill me if i have missed your name) I VALUE YOUR FRIENDSHIP..i am a richer person because of you.. thank you for the labor you have put in to bear with me and to keep the friendship alive..i never ever want to lose YOU! sigh.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Some E Cards


so i landed on this web page a few days back and am totally in love (looking at the above postcards i'm sure you know why) . this is a site where you find a great variety of these vintage e cards with a cocky sense of humor for any occasion...and whats great is that you can even make your own! there is also a blog :)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

out in the sea

this last one week i was out travelling through western India. time was short (remember i am an employee) and i was travelling with family so i didn't travel as much as i should have, as much as i could have...but i did some and here i am sharing the pictures with you.

i took a flight to Pune where i lived with my newly wed cousins for 4 days. i had so much fun shopping for cheap (rs. 50) Osho chappals from just outside the Osho Ashram in Koregaon Park (KP). sipped coffee and ate an apple pie at the very famous German Bakery again at KP, dinner at ABC Farms (they even make their own vodka), The Great Punjab (good food, good ambiance, affordable, good service), Sigree (very good according to my mom who ate there while i was catching up with friends) and had a super time. went to Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani for a day trip. did Karting for the very first time (it was wild)! the best time to go to Mahabaleshwar though is during the monsoons (am waiting for the pics so will post them soon).
took a bus ride from Pune to Mumbai which was really comfortable, and read about the laws of attraction in this very popular book called The Secret. (thoughts become things people!)

OK so i'll stop with my blabber now and show you some pictures taken in Mumbai (i am waiting for my pics from Pune and Mahabaleshwar) i hope you enjoy them!

bus ride from Pune to Mumbai
soap bubbles at Juhu Beach
chana jor garam chat at Juhu Beach
chuski sharbat (ice candy colours) at Juhu beach
sunset at BandStand (outside Sharukh Khan's house:)
i also went to south bombay which i am in love with..it is so beautiful and scenic. took a small ferry ride from outside the Gateway of India and the beautiful Taj hotel. walked through the lanes of Colaba and checked out designer shops just behind The Taj Hotel. i had no battery in my digicam by now and so could not click many pictures. have some in my mobile that i should be able to upload today and of course got the many photographers who line outside Gateway to click us in front of the Monument. so have to scan that one too:)

I am so Proud and Grateful:)


yayayayay!!! my blog got a mention in the list of design and decor blogs from India over at 'An Indian Summer'. i cannot begin to describe the feeling and the rush that is in my heart and head! thank you Bhavna i now have 11 followers from the last count of 5 all because of you :*
this is also added pressure to be more regular and to keep the activity alive on andanother.. i sincerely hope i am able to keep up with your expectations.

a very warm welcome to my new readers i hope you have enjoyed my blog so far and will continue to do so..
love love
kanika

Thursday, February 5, 2009

bungalow


i like it when i see some people whose love for India shows through their work! i instantly fall in love with them. one such company that i chanced upon online a couple of days back is Denmark based Bungalow.


this is what Minna the woman behind the Company has to say about her inspiration and products. "My real passion is the Indian patterns of paisleys, florals, borders and repetition of motifs, and the art of block-printing was a “love at first sight” for me.
Its been a dream to start producing block-printed textiles since the beginning of Bungalow and its therefore a joy to present the latest collection of home textiles. The collection consists of the best quality block-printing available today in India and have been designed and produced in collaboration with the finest craftsmen."
there are some beautiful pictures on her inspiration page that show you a glipse of South India.

an extremely pleasant website...you must take a look! :)

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

textile map of India

i had to had to share this great find with you! this fabulous textile map of India can be found by clicking on the title. this Italian website traces the textile centers of India and details of each center can be found out by clicking on the respective state. this is so much fun and very informative. our textile ministry must also initiate a programme like this!
below are some pictures of the Indoroma showroom based in Georgianna Rome. Take a look.

Omiru

i found this great Style website today called Omiru and thought i'd share it with you. i do want to know how this website sustains itself as it does not sell anything online! Just click on the link for great style tips (all for western wear).

psss...i have been looking at very many great websites and blogs recently. will share all of them here soon!
love