Boxes are a bit like the future. Those whose contents are our coveted products. Those that we pay for in the shops. Those that are cherishingly thrust into shopping bags and brought home. Those sealed paper board cartons that hold the magic and promise of the unexplored.
I am dreaming of the scent that is treasured in the perfume box , of the richness in the chocolate box , of the softness in the face-cream box , I will soon bask in those sensuous feelings and the aniticipation makes it all the more exciting. Thats why boxes are a bit like the future , they signify my dreams , absolutely material at the moment. And the moment of unravelling the goodies within – I call it the ephemeral moment.
It all begins even while I set my eyes on the goodies at the shop counters. A sense of ownership as you pay for them ; the weight and feel of the shopping bags a feel good factor ! An impatient journey home , cant wait to open the treasures !
It gives me a high , as I very carefully slit open the box-cartons. Oh , they even smell so good , a certain something fragrance of the fresh cartons wrapped in shimmering glossy cellophane ! Akin to the heady , crisp aroma of new paper and ink. Here is why I may never read from Kindle.
There , I am in that ephemeral moment ,…..it’s now fleeting and in a few seconds will be gone ! A future-like instant unfolding into the present slips by to become the past !
Bringing art into everyday life , the tagline says it all. Mural Aura home decor products carry a distinct style of the Kerala mural art , a rich tradition of painting dating back to the 9th century CE when the art was patronised by the royalty on walls of temples and palaces. Click here to read more about the beauty of the art form from my earlier post.
Mural Aura and many others from the current generation of artists have made access of this art form to the common man easier by making it affordable , in keeping with the times and preserving the art form at the same time. In the past , it was a privilege enjoyed by the royalty or the nobility only.
Buddy stools
Mural Aura seems to have redefined the meaning of buddy stools ! Buddy stools are no longer a synonym for seating stools , you can now place them anywhere in any of your rooms as side-tables , a companion to seaters , a buddy to the seaters ! Google buddy stools and find Mural Aura.
The buddy stool in the picture above , and in the one below , carries an image that is the artist’s imagination in bringing together the male and the female energies by juxtaposing the two faces , the green for male and orange for female.
Mural Aura Buddy Stool , the male and female energies
Buying this in a pair makes sense – if the above picture is that of conjoining male and female energies , the following one illustrates the two images as two entities , yet complimenting each other. Kathakali faces with male and female attire. Kathakali is yet another traditional art form that originated in Kerala , this time a form of dance and the tenets laid down for the art allow for only male dancers. But just like every other art is subject to metamorphosis in the passage of time , so has this one and female dancers are gaining acceptance.
We now move a tad away from the typical Kerala mural art subjects and work on a folk theme , that of a Rajasthani woman , churning butter. Rajasthan is India’s largest state by area and borders the northwest part of the country.
Material : Carved from MDF – medium density fibreboard and softwood , they are given a base protective coat and painted. The picture is encased within a 1 mm glass and secured by a fibre ring with adhesive , making it safe and sturdy. The picture within is a digital reprint on canvas , from a high resolution scan of the original painting.
Dimensions : 16″ in height & 12″ in diameter.
Price : Rs 2500 ( about 36 Euros )
The buddy stools can be customised , can contain an original handpainted mural for a corresponding price.
Great idea to buy a few buddy stools for a home. True to their nomenclature , move them around to change the decor of the rooms. Pair them , create a theme or just play around.
Mural Aura’s buddy stools are home-decor-buddies.
The Artists
Mural Aura
#73 Venkatakrishna Road Raja Annamalai Puram Chennai – 600028
Tamil Nadu , India Tel : +91 95000 44334 / +91 95000 55715
God’s own country is how Kerala , the state at the southern tip ( south-west ) of India is referred to very often. It’s also called the land of temples and churches. Lapped in verdant surroundings , I guess the state of Kerala offers serenity , the much-needed attribute for spirituality. It’s also the land of colours if you go by the Keralamural art , so typical of the state.
Keralamural paintings are frescos that depict mythology and some legendary heroes of the bygone era. The art dates back to the 9th – 12th century CE , originating in the temples , churches and palaces of Kerala , sometimes being referred to as temple art too. Mural art was expensive , as you will see later , and hence the patrons of the art were predominantly kings.
Patronised by the royalty , the art most naturally found its roots in subjects connected to religion and spirituality. Art of that era had no place for conflicts and causes , unlike today. So , the walls of palaces and places of worship became the canvas for mural art. The common man , like you or me , was far removed from owning the murals then , due to their high cost … and we shall see why !
Creating muralswas and is time-consuming and laborious. Small changes have been made to suit today’s times in the process of mural art ; we’ll get to that in a bit. Back in history , the artists were mandated to follow certain religious customs before taking up the painting and conform to them till completion , as the subject of the art was primarily the gods.
The Wall had to be prepared
The wall was first coated with an admixture of powdered limestone , sand and gallnut soaked in water. Upon drying , a second coat of limestone mixed with sand , this time a finer mix , was smeared..Not done yet , a third coat would follow , this time around , a medley of finely powdered limestone with tender coconut water. The latter was applied twenty-seven times in between the drying. The wall would then be left to dry completely for thirty days , after which the artist could take up his brush and palette.
The Brush
Just writing about it is tiring me out ! Its made of arrow grass. A bunch of arrow grass , tied and covered with banana leaf was cooked in buffalo milk. The finely cooked grass was then tied to the tips of bamboo sticks ( wonder how they handled cooked grass ). The tips of such a bunch of arrow grass were then shaped to form brushes . Whew !
The Colours
The medium for painting ( colours ) were pigments procured from natural sources. Just five colours called ‘panchavarna’ go into mural paintings even today , though the present generation of artists have resorted to acrylic colours , simply due to the astronomical costs of procuring natural extracts for the hues.
Yellow ocher and red ocher obtained from a type of mineral earth oxide , ‘Vettukallu’ , found mostly in North Kerala.
Green obtained from the leaves of a plant called ‘Indigofera’.
Blue obtained from the lazurite mineral ‘Katta Neelam’.
Black obtained from the lamp black , soot.
For white , the background is left untouched.
Mural art employs the science and psychology of colours in its choice to depict characters and moods.
Green and blue to denote purity or divinity.
Yellow and red for valour and passion and
Black for impurity and sin.
FYI : The above three traits are classified into three attributes , ‘gunas’ as laid down by the Hindu scriptures in that order : Satvik , Rajasik and Tamasik.
The Process
The hallmark of a Kerala mural painting is the detailing and shading that go into it. Every square inch of the painting is painstakingly detailed by the artist , evident in the blending of the colours , the fine grading of the shades ( remember the five colours only ? ) , the intricate lines that define the curves of the characters in the painting and the light of play subtly brought out by the shading. All characters are curvaceous and well-proportioned. Some lines are created by joining tiny dots in close succession. I have been privy to this and its truly back-breaking !
Mural Artfrom Kerala is distinguished by its emphasis on and strict adherence to beauty , clarity and symmetry , not found in any other form of mural art around the world. Have you seen ‘evil’ made to look beautiful ? You can see it here in this art. Evil not glorified , but beautified in keeping with the essence of the art. A demon is also painted in as great a detail as a god ! The quality of being evil is portrayed in the act being painted , never in the demeanour of the character , maybe just a hint of it.
Proportion and pose are two other mandates for this type of mural art. Every part of the body of the characters in the painting must adhere to proportions laid down for the art. For instance , the neck is to be one-fourth of the face and so on. The same rule goes for depicting markets , animals , buildings etc.
So much hard work and so much time go into creating mural art even today. The artists of today have innovated and simplified it in various levels. Canvasses for the present crop of artists range from fabric to wood and the good old canvas. There are no more kings , there is not so much space. Some have embraced synthetic colours and brushes. The natural pigments do not have shelf life and there are no more makers of those arrow grass brushes !
‘Mural Aura’ , a family enterprise at Chennai has hugely popularized Kerala mural paintings in the city , elsewhere in India as well as countries abroad. Two women , a mother , Malathy Lakshman , the artist , her daughter , Chandra Lakshman and her father , Lakshman Kumar came together to showcase the beauty of the art in all its finery. Chandra is an actor and a designer who adds creative inputs to the enterprise.
You want a hand-painted Krishna with a flute on your shirt ? Swan and peacock motifs on borders of a saree ? A mythological story on the pallu ? Mural Aura will love to do it all , merging art and fashion aesthetically. On silk and cotton only. Some of their customers not content with wearing the art on their bodies , spend time learning from them how to paint murals , so there goes training , another feather in their cap.
The Artists
Mural Aura
#73 Venkatakrishna Road
Raja Annamalai Puram
Chennai – 600028
Tamil Nadu , India
Tel : +91 95000 44334 / +91 95000 55715
Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot , others transform a yellow spot into the sun. – Pablo Picasso.
Mural Aura will transform the dullest of spaces into vibrant energy zones with their work. Respect for the creative trio !
In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Fresh.”
The word Fresh is mnemonic ! Tired after a tough day of work , this word fresh conjured up thoughts of water , flowers and dawn when I opened my desktop and settled down in the blogging world with a cup of coffee. And true to my thoughts and even to the beverage on my table , I found these pictures clicked sometime in the past. Though working on another post , couldnt resist posting this one. Fresh !
Early morning rays streaming through a door and lighting up the feet of the deity at a temple. This is an archaelogical wonder ! Fresh fragrances of the flowers and incense , fresh water for the rituals of the morning , fresh minds , freshness greets every worshipper as you step into the precincts of the temple.
Early morning rays , fresh to the mind
As coincidence would have it , today is festival time in some parts of India. ‘Ugadi‘ the festival is called and it signifies the onset of spring/summer and the beginning of the new year , the lunar calendar way .This platter below which is readied for the festival is freshness incarnate , what with the the freshly cracked coconut , the sliced raw mango , a cube of jaggery , freshly plucked neem flowers , freshly ground spicepowder and salt , oh wait , salt is the odd-man-out here !!!!!! So , we grate and mix all of the above and eat tiny portions of the mixture. Symbolic ! The sweetness of the coconut and jaggery , the sourness of the raw mango and tamarind , the wee-bit-bitterness of the neem flowers , the salt and the spice signifying the highs and lows of life. As kids we we tried in vain to escape eating this , but our elders almost always manged to feed us with it. We would grimace and gulp it down , without as much as chewing it. And now , I feed it to my son , history repeating !
And here’s to the effervescence of freshly brewed South Indian filter coffee ( kaapi ). The photo I clicked a month ago at breakfast at Hotel Siddharth in the sleepy town of Mysore comes handy now. Blogging has taught me to keep my ears , eyes , nose , mouth open and my camera poised , you never know what challenge The Daily Post is going to throw every week !!!!!! We , Indians relish our beverages , tea and coffee in short glasses sometimes. You guys must try it while in India , the taste and feel is undenaibly superior.
Fresh coffee in short glasses , not cups
You must be wondering how random this is getting , but its in keeping with the Fresh challenge , right ?
Chakku , fresh after her bath
So here is this Chakku , for thats her name , fresh after her bath ; after all the fuss and the squealing and snapping and growling at the bath , she is being featured in a blog. Wish she could know that !
Hey , I actually feel fresh after writing so much about the attribute despite an exhausting day. Its all about our thoughts , right ? On that note , I must narrate this. A young girl walked up to me at the gym while I was in the midst of my workout ( ggggrrrrr ) the other day and asked me “how do you manage to look fresh even at the gym” and answered it herself saying ‘probably because you are smiling always’ ! I did acknowledge that the gym is a happy place to me , I love working out. So , yes , its always the mind that rules. My next post is going to be related to this.
A work of art on the wall of a business-house , created and illustrated aesthetically and convincingly by the artistic couple-team Amrithaa and Subash for their client Vijay Associates in Chennai , India , who are builders of luxury apartments.
The story : Sun depicts prosperity , the tree of life stands for their commitment to ecology , the skyline in the background signifying growth and the stairs for achievement.
Amrithaa and Subash encourage local artisans , giving them a means of employment and empowerment. A great step in todays times when most commercial art is digitized and ‘synthetic’ is sought after for reasons of cost and time. I could say they are Chennai’s claim to originality and exclusivity in art – indoor and outdoor.
They are my dear , dear friends and it was sheer coincidence that I chanced upon their art from Haute Arts , just in time for the Daily Post’s prompt : Wall.
Jumpsuit has it all – cool for cocktails , fab for a brunchy date or a night out , and a perfect party dress ! No dress could get more versatile ! Well , wait , one could even trek with them on !
Screaming red Jumpsuit , all hot
Screaming red Jumpsuit , all smart
Head-turner stripes , club it with some attitude !
Sassy red Jumpsuit
Classic white and black that never goes wrong , a Jumpsuit for all occasions.
Slim in black and white Jumpsuit
Fantasticate with this feminine and fresh pink shade
Pink flourish Jumpsuit
Go as casual as you can with this floral , light , breezy Jumpsuit
Comfort is the keyword in Jumpsuits , then and now. Its humble roots go back to being a one-piece garment for sky-divers and parachuters as the name suggests , designed to insulate , cocooning them from the freezing temperatures of the high altitudes. Those very functional ‘onesies’ have today redefined fashion , combining comfort and style. Somebody write an ode to jumpsuits , if it hasnt been done already !
Meet the entrepreneur
@ LUX 214 , 214 TTK Road , Alwarpet , Chennai 600018 , Tamil Nadu , India.
Tel : +91 44 43132255
More trends next week. We look forward to your comments and feedback.
Orange is sensational , orange is symbolic , orange is not just a decorative colour in India , but is woven into our fabric of religion and culture. It is the colour of the enlightened , it is the colour of the ascetics , it is also the colour of the fashion loving generation. There is no dearth of orange in our everyday living , as we are wont to term it and we dont have to go looking for the colour in India. Here are a few pictures to annotate that and by the way , I love the colour. Who doesnt ?
And here is a little boy , after a ritual , innocence personified as he stands in front of the image carved in stone of our Hindu deity Lord Hanuman in orange. For those of you interested in Hindu mythology and more about Hanuman , you can look for our epic books The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. This picture was taken in a temple in Nuggikeri on the outskirts of Dharwad.
Hindu deity Hanuman in orange
If we talk about our deities , then our lambent lamps ( diyas ) cannot be far behind. The warm orange glow of lamps lit during Diwali , the festival of lights brighten our homes in the months of September or October.
Warm orange glow of the diyas
This was sheer serendipity , just when I had planned my post in response to the Orange photo challenge , to find this spattering of orange on my way to work this morning. I have no idea what the statuettes signify , but as I said they came just in time. At the gates of VGP , an amusement resort in Chennai.
Orange for fun at VGP Chennai
Our villages and cities alike show fondness for the colour , very evident in this city-woman dressed as a village belle in an endearing shade of orange.
As I said the colour of the enlightened and the ascetics is clearly illustrated in the saffron colour robes of our Guru Sri Sai Baba.
Sai Baba in saffron orange robes
Even some of our foods are orange in colour. These are Jalebis , a yummy sweetmeat of our country.
Jalebis , dripping sugar and dipped orange
And finally , the orange of the dusk is for all of us , every land , every age ! Wish I could go back in time to my childhood to play in the mud and yet not mind the dirty feet or the sneezes from all the dust.
Stand up straight and lose pounds ! Sit up straight and lose pounds ! Its true ! You got to believe in this happy marriage of good posture / form and weight loss. Health and fitness professionals will tell you that keeping good posture will not only strengthen your core , but will also add a small calorie burn associated with the effort to maintain the posture or position.
In fitness lingo , posture is most often referred to as FORM and form is what we will stick to. Lets look at form and cardio.
Lets leave aside the definitions for now.
Lets categorize a lil bit here. Those that love cardio exercise per se , those that know the importance of it and push themselves to do it and those that hate cardio , but yet do it because either a friend or a trainer has impressed upon them that cardio is the key to weight loss. What they havent learnt is that there is a form ( posture ) to be followed for cardio exercises just like for weight training , swimming or any other physical activity.
So these are the ones that bounce , bob up and down and swing , be it indoor or outdoor ; trust me , they look like monkeys on a machine ! I feel bad to see them doing it wrong , it bothers me no end . Either the trainer has not educated them on proper form or has given up after correcting them a few times. And they have not concerned themselves to ask , question and learn either. It’s just a blind activity for them.
You think I am obsessed with appearances only ? Nah. Not keeping proper form hurts. Injures the joints over a period of time , in some unfortunate cases , immediately.
So why not to bounce on an elliptical , treadmill or the stationary bike ?
Bouncing is letting gravity do the work for one. Is that why you are not seeing the desired results ? Fitness experts scream that heart rate is not the only indicator of how much work you are doing , but few listen. Power measurement is much better.
Work out in front of a mirror and if that’s not possible , have someone watch you for proper form and correct yourself.
Form dos for all the Three :
Stay tall , be it on the treadmill , elliptical or the cycling machines.
Stay tall , but no straight knees at any point , be it walking , running or cycling.
Keep your chest out , never rounded
Pull your shoulders back to hold yourself erect , never round them.
Keep your head in line with the spine. Most of the time.
Hold your ab muscles firm and tight at all times
A television in front of you kills form like nothing else , don’t make watching it the main activity.
If you bounce :
Treadmill :
Danger zone : Knees , hips and ankles.
You probably are raising your feet and knees too high and thereby creating a bobbing movement. Your knees , hips and ankles will hate you for being forced to absorb the impact when you bounce-walk or bounce-run. If you want your legs to keep you in good stead , you will need all the three joints – hips , knees and ankles , so don’t injure them. Next , nerve tissues can get compressed and fail to communicate with the brain. We don’t want pain , we don’t want mobility issues. Third , swinging your hips is for dancing when you move your entire body in a graceful stance and not while exercising on machines. Swinging while exercising can in fact rob you of the intended benefits of the particular workout , for it takes away the focus of the exertion that’s intended for a specific body part or muscle.
Guide to form on treadmill
Correction :
Mind your stride : Practice maintaining a wide stride , placing each foot forward in front of the hip and not under it. Though the treadmill is stationary , we need to focus on creating a forward movement , as if progressing from the current spot.
Strike with the ball : The secret of avoiding injuries is to land on the balls of the feet and not the heels. Striking with the heels can place a lot of stress on the ankles as you will land with a mild or a strong thud depending on your pace. So land lightly , brushing the moving belt gently coupled with knees slightly bent. All this will create a smooth movement preventing a spring back action , thereby avoiding the bouncing.
Elliptical :
Danger zone : Lower back , hips , knees and ankles.
You probably are on your toes more , you are not distributing your weight on your entire feet. If feet are placed firmly with a just a slight lift at the heels , bouncing can be avoided.
You probably have set the resistance too low and the ease of the movement will allow room for bouncing. Swinging hips again a no-no. Maintaining a proper upper body posture plays an important role in avoiding injuries to the lower back.
Correction:
Foot postioning on an elliptical is of utmost importance. Place feet firmly close to the inside rim of the pedals. Avoid placing them in the center or at the extreme right.
Make sure the legs are bent slightly in order to spare your knees of any strain.
Next , hold on to the bars lightly , just enough to facilitate push and pull movement – clutching on to them will hinder your pace. Make sure hands are not above shoulder level. Avoid leaning backwards at all costs. Some trainers and cardio programs will tell you to lean back while pedaling , but do not follow that. Use only the arms and shoulders for the push and pull movements , take care not to twist your upper and mid portions of your body. Finally , set a good enough resistance to make the time you spend on the elliptical worth the effort you put in.
Targeted muscles on an elliptical
Just check out the number of muscles that benefit when you work out on an elliptical. So doing it right is like a whole body workout.
Cycling :
It’s easy to pedal fast indoors , the mechanics of the indoor bike is such. Fixed gear systems with weighted flywheels simplify it so much that high cadences can be reached most easily compromising form in the process and as a result cyclists bounce all over the place. Unless you become a stickler for form , reaching your fitness goals will remain a dream. Indoor cycling provides some fantastic benefits , its simple and safe , provided proper form is maintained.
Danger zone : Lower back , knees.
Sufficient resistance is the key to getting the best out of indoor cycling. You could pedal away as furiously as you fancy and bounce all over the saddle , if you don’t set the right resistance. Your heart rate may be high , but the fact is , you are being ridden by the bike instead of you riding the bike ! Just letting the legs spin as fast as you can is a waste of time and can put tremendous strain on your calf and quadricep muscles. On a spinning cycle indoors or regular bicycling outdoors , be assured of a back pain if you slouch and forget to tuck your tummy in.
Correction:
The answer to success on an indoor cycle lies in that resistance knob! And the technique !
Be in control. Seat your self with tummy tucked in and shoulders and upper back rounded just enough to reach the handl-bars comfortably , not more.
Warm up with easy resistance , work it to moderate and then on , enough to challenge you.
Concern yourself with the right form and the right resistance depending on your fitness level , let speed not be the guiding force. An upper limit could be 100 rpm , but that’s only for cyclists with a smooth pedal stroke or for those that have corrected their form already.
For best results , shift your focus from pushing downward ( that’s a natural given , we have all done that on our tricycles ) to pulling upwards pedal stroke.
If at any point you revert to bouncing , raise the resistance and reach a cadence that just about surpasses your comfort zone
Here’s to riding better !
Cycling right
A Tip : Cycling – Cardio For Your Butt
Cycling works wonders for hips , thighs and glutes ( indoor or outdoor ) , besides working the heart.
Here we go : Lead with your heels when you push down on the pedals i.e keep your feet parallel to the ground and not slanted. This way you engage the glutes.
Make an effort to pull up the pedal on the upward swing if your feet are strapped.
Working on the above tips ensures you give work to all muscles of the legs.
Add Isolations : Increase resistance , lift yourself off the seat and slowly pedal using only the legs. Remember no bouncing , no swaying and swinging and upper body relaxed.
I try this FORM once a weak at least and I find that I burn more calories get a good-legs-have-worked-out feeling
FORM is IMPORTANT ! And finally I am tempted to insert this little ad-video to stress on FORM FOR ALL !
I like this girl’s keen sense of fashion and her eye for details. And I like her line of clothing , LUX 214. I like her grit , her determination. Lux has brought in a lot of fashion to Chennai and is a name all fashionistas like to quote in haute couture circles. She has an eye for spotting stylish wear and sources out the best of them. Lux sports style herself and true to the stylist in her , has helped many a woman reinvent her wardrobe. Sometimes bold!
We chose crop tops with skirts this week. Click here : Crop tops to see 25 ways of wearing crop tops. They are just catching up in Chennai and no better time than summer to flaunt them.
Announce Spring / Summer with this floral print ankle length skirt teamed with a smart yellow crop top.
A dash of green and pearls complimenting the crop top to make it perfect party wear.
Its all about summer now and in this tropical weather , what better than white to stay cool ! Sporting this skirt , colourful , yet with a pastel base along with the hip white crop top would make a statement
Sprinkled with blues and whites at the neck , its all set for a lunch date or a Sangeet at a wedding.
Blue n white neckpiece for the pristine white crop top
Now this is my favourite. Elegant , cool and hip , the white bands adding drama and the little bow a little flirtatious. A given for a romantic candlelit evening and yes I would like to listen to Jazz in the mood that this outfit has created.
We love the Indian touch in styles from the West , making them at once more vibrant and sensuous. India is a land of myriad hues , of diversity not seen in any other land , of festivals and celebration round the year. Little surprise then that we keep reinventing fashion to pamper our folks.
Meet the entrepreneur
@ LUX 214 , 214 TTK Road , Alwarpet , Chennai 600018 , Tamil Nadu , India.
Tel : +91 44 43132255
More trends next week. We look forward to your comments and feedback.
Our Indian festival Holi is a fun-lovers’ paradise. Its my favourite festival too. And its marked by fun , frolic , colours , food and Bhang ! Bhang is the hero of my blog post today. Watch the video for all the fun and romance at the end of this post , the song sung by the star himself to the lyrics of his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan.
Amitabh Bachchan & Bhaang
I would have loved to write about Holi elaborately , but lots has been written about it in WordPress itself. But just to cap it all , Holi is a spring festival , a colour festival and a love festival. Though its an ancient Hindu festival , it is now being celebrated with great gusto in many parts of South Asia and all places where we have the Indian diaspora.
Holika bonfires lit in late evenings mark the beginning of the festival. Effigies are burnt to celebrate good over evil , a lot of merriment happens with song and dance and the following morning is a free for all carnival of colours. Streets , parks and most open areas are the frolickers’ playground that day , and get sprayed around with coloured water and powders . Men , women and children , age no bar , drench each other with colours and are unrecognisable by mid-morning to the accompaniment of drums and other musical instruments. Do you know , Holi unites people , fences get mended and goodwill is restored ?
Cannabis leaves
Where merriment is , food and drink cannot be far behind. That brings us to Bhang. Its an intoxicating potion made from Cannabis leaves and is mixed in sweets and drinks. Bhang has become the epic drink of Holi. Holi is incomplete without Bhang , in being the ideal catalyst for uninhibited camaraderie. In many parts of India , Government authorised shops selling Bhang spurt up during the period. The fun potion is supposed to be an anxiety releaser and is believed to fight depression. It has a lot of medicinal uses , but we are in fun mood and shall only talk about that.
“One sip of this will bathe the drooping spirits in delight, beyond the bliss of dreams.” ― John Milton, Comus ( Milton on another intoxication though )
Lord Shiva’s nectar
We mortals are not the only ones to delight in Bhang. Lord Shiva is believed to have discovered the transcendental powers of cannabis and thereupon it became his favourite holy drink. Sufi mystics consume it too , they believe it aids them in their meditation.
I have flirted with Bhang a couple of years ago and the memory is still fresh and lingering in my mind. It was at a Holi party I first tasted Thandai , a delicious concoction made from almonds , milk , saffron , cardomom and sugar , laced moderately with Bhang. Tasted yummy and another glass followed transporting me into a happy zone , such a happy zone that I went around wishing all a Happy Diwali !!!!!! Diwali , by the way is a much sober festival with religious and spiritual connotations. A friend then corrected me , I laughed and wished the next friend a Happy Diwali again. She looked at my glass knowingly , but didn’t mind. It was Holi after all !
Uncontrollable laughter is another jolly effect of Bhang and I became a happy victim again. Small mercy it didn’t get uncontrollable , but yet simple questions like ‘hey , how are you’ elicited peals of laughter from yours truly. On our way back home , my driver asked for directions to drop a friend to his house , and there I was squealing with laughter ! I was concerned he might think that much lesser of me , expressed it to my husband and started laughing again ! I don’t remember when the laughing spree ended , probably after I hit the bed after I had showered and scrubbed myself clean of the yellows and the reds and the blues and the greens off me.
But , all is fair in love and Holi ! And precisely why our Indian Hindi film indusrty is obsessed with featuring Holi in romances of the silver screen , of which Bhang is an undisputed badshah . A case in point out of the many would be the inimitable actor Amitabh Bachchan in high spirits under the happy influence of Bhang in the song sequence of Rang Barase Beege Chunarwaali…….. , from the movie Silsila.
Our man , who is at his best in drunken scenes throws caution to the winds and flirts outrageously with his ex-flame to the discomfort of the spouses (and hell breaks loose thereafter ). The man and the song have made it an epic song of all Holi celebrations and romances.
Well as Huseyn Raza puts it “There is no intoxicant more dangerous than the passion of love; intoxicating both the holder and the beholder.” What then becomes of love married to Bhang …… Rang Barase…….
And in my own words…..
“Oh sweet intoxication , lift my spirits just enough
Hold me not by my cuff
Let me glide , gently slide to my normal self !”
Just a word more , if Bhang is to leave pleasant memories :
Bhang in strict moderation please , else the headache can make you feel sick !
Lace your stomach with a few healthy snacks before and after you consume Bhang.
Do not mix it with alcohol. It can give an added kick but can be fatal too.
Remedy your hangover;
♥ Herbal cure: Have a cup of herbal tea like rose tea or jasmine tea; it can alleviate the headache and help counter the effects of bhaang.
♥ Lemon water: Lemon water with its vitamin C is a great source of antioxidant , it helps prevent the formation of free radicals.
♥ Hydrate your system: Flush out the intoxicants with lots of water, dehydration can make the hangover worse.
mythoughtlane 