Navratri dolls

It was the month of Navratri or Dusshera and this time around I thought that I would make it to the Navratri Raas Garba Program in Frankfurt. Garba is an Indian form of dance that originated from the Gujarat region in India.
But as always work got the better of me and the closest I came to the event was seeing the pics of the traditional dance by friends who obviously planned better and got to be there. But I was really happy when my friend U who lived in the neighbouring town of Walldorf, uploaded a pic on Facebook showing how she had beautifully decorated dolls and figurines at her home also called Kolu or Golu on the occasion of Navaratri. These dolls and figurines depicting the gods and goddesses are very customary during this festival in the South of India. I was even more happy when U told me that I could come over and see the beautiful array of dolls. So along with little bunny, hubby's Mom and my friend P we had the chance to see the beautiful dolls and also got a glimpse into the significance of some of the dolls on display.

Navratri which translates into 'Nav Ratri', '9 nights' during which nine forms of the Goddess are worshipped and Dasara is the festival that is celebrated on the tenth day. Dasara translates into the victory of Good over Evil. It is during this time of the year that U had done such an amazing job in arranging the dolls. Key learnings for me were:

1. The dolls are displayed on steps - but the steps have to always be odd numbered and can go up to a maximum of 9

2. The dolls are passed on from mother to daughter especially it can be a very treasured wedding gift

3. The dolls can be organized according to your imagination and creativity - U even had a  corner with a cricket team :-)

4. The Marapachi dolls made of wood have a special place in the whole arrangement. The Marapachi dolls always come in pairs. I only learnt later on that these dolls are carved out of a reddish wood called 'Marapachi' and hence the name. And they always come dressed as a couple in their wedding attire.

5. The Chettiar dolls also has a very important place - signifying the importance of business and finance.So as you can see the dolls somehow bring out the different aspects of social life.

6. On the 10th night after the cermonies the dolls are actually put to sleep. After that the dolls are carefully packed in cloth or paper and well preserved for the next year.

You can also find a pic that U uploaded on wikipedia talking about the festival @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dasara_2010,_Walldorf.jpg
What an unique festival, dont you think? So colorful, so much of meaning behind every doll and every doll having a beautiful story to say! So as you can imagine I have started looking out for dolls for next year :-)

Chalo Bangalore!

Excited to be on the flight to Bangalore. 4 work days which will be packed from morning to night and really excited to meet my work colleagues whom I normally talk to on the phone or see sometimes on telepresence. At the same time missing my little darlings back home who wished me good luck with their energy packed kisses when I started from home today morning.Waiting to see the delight on their faces when I am back home and the warm welcome that awaits me.

On another note I Was reading the Sunday Times on the flight and was horrified to read an article about 'Unwanted children' mainly girls born to parents in Maharashtra who were named 'Nakusa'. Yes that's what the name literally means 'Unwanted'. These children were born when parents were repeatedly trying to have sons but then they would have a girl and since she was not in their grand plan they would be named Nakusa. Apparently the Indian government has a plan to rename these childen with the name Nakusa so that they do not have to bear futher social stigma while growing up!!!

The Indian food served on flights these days definitely seems to have improved. Or maybe I was just too hungry, but the dal makhni I should admit tasted the way it should be tasting. Post meal distress started when I was trying to figure out a polite way of handing over a mouth freshner to passenger sitting in the neighbouring seat, but deciced that a mouth freshner alone would not do the trick and hence decided that the whole action plan was futile and curled into the right most corner of my seat!!!

After working on some 32 + email responses, I decided to check out the inflight entertainment. They were playing the movie 'Chalo Dilli' which translates into 'Let's go Delhi' - seemed like a fun movie. A strange combination of characters - sophisticated no-nonsense business woman meeting her complete opposite on a missed flight. The moral of the story was live life happily don't complain about the little complexities that life throws your way once in a way but either accept them or work on changing your situation but dont complain! Though I saw only the last quarter enjoyed it completely and will definitely check out the whole movie with hubby dear back home.

Well its another hour to go and the flight will land in Bangalore, guess I will post this once I am in the hotel which will be way past midnight and if the internet connection works as I hope. Hopefully I get some time during the next days to post some glimpses of my Bangalore experience.

Miss you!!

This post is dedicated to my father-in-law. A man, I can't actually believe is no more!! A man whose strong value system, I see reflected in his son the man whom I married and deeply love. Yes I had or still have a special kind of love, a combination of respect and deep admiration for hubby's father. I loved him for his sincerity, admired the fact that he always allowed people around him to have their sense of freedom and space, his very strong but not suffocating love for his children.

A completely self made man who I believe was much ahead of his times in his thinking, he educated his siblings, convinced his young wife (my mother-in-law) back in those days to do a double graduation and pursue a career, gave the best education to his kids and never stopped them from pursuing their dreams even if it meant them going far away from him. He always had a sense of satisfaction about him when we were around him and especially doted on his grandchildren.I think he was in his true element only when he was in his own home in Udupi, in the world that he felt the most comfortable in.

 
I really wish that I was together with hubby dear back in Udupi now, being part of the whole process of telling his father goodbye but I think staying back and having the time to think about him and reflect back on some very fond memories is also very special. Today, as I went through some of the pictures of their paternal grandfather with the girls, little bunny told me that her Nana is now in the sky and that he was smiling at us. I am sure he is but we miss you dearly dearest Daddy!!!

Alsatian pottery anybody?

Looking to buy some beautiful cooking pottery that can also decorate your kitchen walls? Then Soufflenheim in the Alsace is definitely a place you want to head towards and this is exactly what we did on the 24 of June a lovely summers day. The attraction of this place is clearly beautiful and colorful pottery and my personal opinion some of the most beautiful colorful houses and window frames.

Some of the molds of the pottery found in Soufflenheim dates all the way back to 400 B.C. The origin of the name Soufflenhiem is believed to come from the Celtic root 'Sawell' which means furnace. Since the village is close to the forest of Haguenau the clay used for making the beautiful pottery is also got from the forest. We went directly to the tourist office there and asked where we could see the actual process of making the lovely pottery. The lady there was very friendly and gave us some recommendations. We first went to the Pottery Hausser where they had some of the most awesome looking traditional Alsatian pottery that you could imagine. But unfortunately you could not see the actual workers in action there. After that we checked out Poterie Richard Hausswirth and there we could see the artisans at work.

How much control the women had over their hands as they very effortlessly painted the beautiful pots with the very traditional designs. Little bunny was thrilled to see the whole process in action.

I was looking for the traditional Baeckeoffe but the huge number of choices that were available made it very tough for me to come to a decision. Yes  the array of colorful designs in multitude of shades like blue, green, red, yellow and all painted with the motifs of traditional flowers, birds and costumes.


You can walk through the main street and you have numerous pottery workshops you can visit.

If you are looking for a really nice place to have your afternoon meal then I can definitely recommend restaurant Au Boeuf. Next time around we plan to visit the twin pottery town of Betschdorf and maybe also go and check out the pottery festival coming up on the 4 September 2011.

Magnificient Milan!

Everybody recommended that we do not drive into Milan. Of course it is not as crazy as driving in Rome but still trying to drive around in two separate cars with the family in a busy city like Milan probably may not have been a fun experience. So, we boarded the train to Milan from Portichetto a little village in the towm of Luisago. We loved the train journey especially reading out the names of the little Lombardian towns along the way. In about 45 minutes you are already in the Milano Cardona train station and we were all set to take in the sights of the city. Don't miss the statue of the needle, thread and knot outside the station, it took a while for me to figure out what it was.

Anyway, after about a ten minute walk we found ourselves standing in the grand Piazza Duomo which is one of the biggest squares in Milan. I had to hold on tight to little rabbit before she could run away and become part of the Italian crowds :-) Standing in the middle of the Piazza it was impressive to see the Duomo Cathedral, the Royal Palace and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II .

The Duomo or the Cathedral is fantastically grandiose, all the streets seem to be radiating from the Duomo or circling it, basically everything around the city seems to be happening around the Cathedral. I personally think that the cathedral from outside was more impressive than from the inside. What definitely will catch your eye is the statue of St. Bartholomew the apostle by Marco d'Agrate, a truly magnificient sculpture. Don't forget to walk behind the statue to really see the ghastly effect of this masterpiece. It made me read about the miracles of St. Bartholomew later on to find out the significance of this sculpture.

Over multiple espressos it was fun to check out all the fashionistas walking around the streets strutting their stuff. After all being one of the fashion capitals of the world with the major Italian fashion brands like Versace, Armani, Prada and the rest that I cant remember right now all have their headquarters here.

It was really cute to see Dad and Mom walk hand in hand making sure that they dont get lost in this bustling city brimming with life.

I am sure that if we had more days to spend in this city we could have explored a lot more interesting monuments like the Castello Sforzesco but that would have to wait until the next time around when we are here.

Beautiful Bergamo!!

A visit to Bergamo a city in Nothern Italy transforms you into a completely different world. The city has an old part called 'Ciity alta' or upper city which can only be reached by taking the funicular all the way up from the newer part of the city. Once you are there you feel like you are in a totally different world, a hilltop medevial town filled with cobbled stones, churches, squares and bars and classy cafe terraces.

The whole place gives you the feeling of having travelled back in time.  I learnt that some of the most expensives homes in Italy are in the old part of town in Bergamo as space is extremely limited here. Some parts of Bergamo reminded me of walking through the streets of Cochem a town in Germany along the Mosel valley. I really enjoyed the time we spent in the Piazza Vecchia the old square that dates back to 1453 in the heart of the old town.

The girls had so much fun playing at the fountain in the center of the square. Make sure that you sample some of the most amazing gelatos in the world as you take time to explore the town.

So next time you are in the area of Lombardy in Italy make sure you have a day chalked out for a visit to beautiful Bergamo.

Lago di Como (Lake Como)

A beautiful five and half hour drive from home including an awesome 17 km sheer tunnel stretch through the St. Gotthard bringing you from Switzerland into Italy. The whole stretch was mainly on autobahn A5 and A2 and a beautiful stretch at that on the A2 and you are already in the beautiful Italian region of Lombardy. I am loving Villa Guardia a little town close to Como and also loving the lovely ancient stone villa run by Francesca and her husband Georgio. Well, the wireless internet connection only works from the east facing bedroom but then who cares about these minor details when you are on vacation ;-) Georgio promised to give hubby dear the keys to their own private chapel if we wanted to take a look, of course we want to!!!!

The drive from Villa Guardia to Como was very adventorous. The Italians had no clue that I was following hubby's car very closely, everybody tried to jump right in between with their swanky cars and I was determined to stay put and not let them just squeeze their way in. As long as you don't understand the language the swear words also sound like music :-) Little bunny and little rabbit were quite amused that everybody honked away to glory.

Como is such a lovely town and the lake Como is the deepest lake in Europe and the bottom of the lake is more than 200 meters below sea level.

The streetside markets definitely beckoned but I was reminded harshly that we were here for checking out the place and not to shop!!! Well, well, well...after a yummy seafood risotto and a nice dry Gewürztraminer to go with it and I was happy again. Ordering a caffè automatically gets you an espresso and a super strong one that helps you carry around the little ones without a care in the world. My parents decided that Cappuccino was more their preferred option than the stealthy dark espressos. You can get lost walking through the beautiful narrow alleys in old town Como, every little alley alluring and inviting you to explore its hidden treasures.

Yippee, we still have Mennagio, Varrenna, Bellagio, Bergamo and Cadenabbia on the weeks itinerary!!!