3 Strand Necklace in Turquoise Blue !!

Today let me bring you 3 strand Turquoise Blue……each strand being made using 3 different sizes of beads and length !!

Hope you like this one too…….sold to my doctor friend Indu !!

Green Glory !!

Let me brighten you all up today with ‘’Green Glory’’ again a double strand necklace which had gone on sale……how do you like this ?

Ravishing Red !!

Hi everyone,

Today let me share my double strand beauty ‘’Ravishing Red’’. I made 2 similar ones on customer demand.  Hope you all like this too !!

Turquoise Blueeeee !!

Hi all,

Today's set is a Turquoise Blue Translucent Bead set with Blue Hangings.......how do you all like this ??

Bright Red Menakari Set !!

This time I want to share with you all my Bright Red Menakari Set. This is also a sold out piece and on transit to my customer..........just praying that it reaches her safe and sound !!

Have a look,,,,,,,

Pista Green Wooden Beads and Dokri Pendant

Hi everyone,

I know that I had been ''missed'' by my fellow bloggers !! teehee....thanks !!
This set is a sold out piece made out of Pista Green Wooden Beads with a Dokri Pendant.

Hows this ????

SCINTILLATING, SENSATIONAL, STUNNING, SOLEMN, SERENE SIKKIM......Part IV

On our return leg, we reached Gangtok the State’s Capital and stayed in the Mewa Regency on our way to Darjeeling.

To cover the time, we took the Cable Car which takes you from one end of the City to the other.

The market area here is so neat and clean.  As usual, I picked up some Ganeshas.

Talking about food, we enjoyed ‘’MOMOS’’ which is specific to the North East.  This is similar to our ‘’salted pillayar kozhukattai (modak)’’ which is made of Maida flour and filled with Cabbage or Cauliflower most of the time.

The Sikkimese are very friendly and hospitable and converse freely in English and you can see a lot of foreigners visiting this place.

Hope you enjoyed a short tour of Sikkim with me !!

                                  THE END

SCINTILLATING, SENSATIONAL, STUNNING, SOLEMN, SERENE SIKKIM......Part III

Our next halt was at Chungthang which is in North Sikkim and is a Confluence of Lechen and Lachung Chu rivers. This is where the Teesta River starts. What a beauty to see the glacial water passing through,,,,,,

Teesta River is the lifeline of the Indian State of Sikkim. It was so wonderful to travel along with the river while climbing up and down the numerous hills of Sikkim.

We proceeded to Lachung next where we halted in the night.  Lachung is also winter haunt for skying. Unfortunately that night I took very ill and the next day could not go to Yumthang Valley,  the valley of flowers and fauna.  We heard that there are more than 20 varieties of Rhododendrons in the valley.  Yumthang ‘’Tsa-Chu’’ is a hot spring and noted for its curative and healing power.

There are so many natural waterfalls and we always used to stop the vehicle and taste the cold water. The Kyongnosla waterfall and the Seven Sisters waterfall were just amazing and a sight to behold !! (especially for us Chennaites where there is scarcity of rain and water !!)

(TO BE CONTINUED.......TOMORROW)

SCINTILLATING, SENSATIONAL, STUNNING, SOLEMN, SERENE SIKKIM ..... Part II

We also had the taste of a lot of gardens like the Saramsa Garden and the Jawaharlal Nehru Botanical Garden where there are a lot of artificial waterfalls and excellent recreation and picnic spot. 

Coming to Tsomgo Lake which is situated at an altitude of 12,500 ft. is 40 kms from Gangtok city. The lake is about 1 km long, oval in shape, 50 ft deep and regarded as a holy place.  When we reached there the lake was fully covered with fog and mist and so cold (about 2/3 deg) and there is a climb up on the hill adjacent to the lake where there was snow (0 deg) and we played like kids.  You can have Yak rides to go further into the lake in the snow ……..though I did not venture climbing on them (my SIL did).

There were ‘’n’’ number of Monasteries which we deferred to see owing to time and rides up and down the hills.

Our next stopover was at the Khecheopalri Lake, a sacred wish fulfilling lake for Buddhists and Hindus in the North West Pelling town of Sikkim. There is a small worship place and from there one can reach the fence of the lake and can throw coins into it after prayers.  The belief is that what one wishes is fulfilled if we pray to the goddess Tara of this lake.

Prayer Flags are a common feature all over theState and this is a tradition of Buddhism. Prayers are written on individual flags for various reasons like prosperity, good health, weddings, to ward off evil eye etc. The Priest at the Monastery will chant prayers with the flags at the altar.  These are then handed over to the person who has requested them. Each flag is then hoisted on a bamboo pole and placed outside the house or wherever required. In this picture you can see the flags hoisted around the lake.

(TO BE CONTINUED......... TOMORROW)

SCINTILLATING, SENSATIONAL, STUNNING, SOLEMN, SERENE SIKKIM .......Part I

Sikkim is a small Himalayan State in the North East of India. Its capital is Gangtok.  Since it is bordering China there is a lot of army presence in the State and one needs special passes to travel within the State.  Fortunately our travel agent had made all arrangements for us including the passes, transport and all hotel arrangements.

Since Sikkim is in the Himalayan Ranges, it can only be reached by road transport.  The nearest Airport is Bagdogra in West Bengal and the Railway Station is New Jalpaiguri also in W.B.

There are 2 Seasons to travel:

1.              Spring/Summer – April to June

2.           Fall/Early Winter – September to December.

We had the opportunity to travel to Sikkim in April 2009 since we had a wedding to attend in Kalimpong, W.B. We decided to combine the wedding and a small vacation for ourselves.  The entire trip was for 12 days, 3 days in Kalimpong, 6 days in Sikkim and 3 days in Darjeeling.

Since we were transitting in and out of Gangtok we decided to taste the hospitality of 2 hotels there.  We checked into Orange Valley Resort on our way in from Kalimpong. 

Our first visit was to the Enchey Monastery meaning solitary temple, 3 kms from the city of Gangtok. The place was so silent and serene and situated at such a beautiful spot that one does not feel like coming away from there. 

We visited the famous Nalanda University which is just above the Rumtek Monastery in Eastern Sikkim 24 kms from Gangtok. We could see the monks of all ages mainly from the Himalayan Region. 

These pictures of Orchids are taken at the Flower Show that is always held at the famous White Hall just below the Palace Ridge Park which is the office of the Sikkim Government.

Our next visit was to Ganeshtok which is a small temple of Ganesha situated on the Gangtok – Nathula Road.  We took some pictures dressed up in their traditional Sikkimese outfit.

Tashi View Point is another famous tourist spot which is a small climb of steps from where one can see the opposite hills very clearly. We bought some cushion covers from there depicting the Tibetan Origin and their Culture.

(TO BE CONTINUED.....TOMORROW)

 

2 More Awards !!

I had been travelling for the last couple of months and had not had the time to sit and pen a few lines on my blogs and emails.

Today I take the opportunity to thank 2 people who have given me these awards.

Thanks a lot Leela of http://leelashobbies.blogspot.com/ for presenting me with this award.

Thanks a lot Vijaya of http://bunnyvj.blogspot.com/ for presenting me with this award.

I am so sorry for the delay in thanking you both !!

Coming to me:
1.  I love travelling.
2.  I love to teach people what little I know in the way of crafts.
3.  I love Jewellery Making.
4.  I like meeting and making new friends.
5.  I always encourage people in whatever they do.
6.  I love eating and
7.  I love photography.

Now it is my turn to pass these 2 AWARDS on to some more talented bloggers:

1. Deepa Seshadri of http://deepsesh.blogspot.com/

2. Nityakalyani of http://nityakalyani-kalmat.blogspot.com/

3. Lakshmi Sadala of http://sadalas.blogspot.com/

4. Zova of http://zovascreations.blogspot.com/

5. Viji ma of http://viji-crafts.blogspot.com/

To accept the awards please link back to me.
Wish you all the very best in blogging !!!!!!

Zardosi & Kundan Work - Durga Mata !!

Durga Mata came to our house embellished in Zardosi Thread and Kundan Stone.

It gave me so much pleasure creating her and I treasure this valuable piece of my art work more than anything in this world !! Many of my friends too had the opportunity in creating her for their homes !!


She continues to bless everyone ever since she came to our house and my day begins by taking her darshan in the morning.

NAGALAND - a land of UNTOUCHED BEAUTY !!

My Holiday in Nagaland

I am sure you all had a lovely time travelling with me virtually through Assam, so let us proceed to Nagaland……….the untouched virgin state of the Naga tribes !!

We left in the wee hours on 25^th October from Majuli Kamalabari Ghaat by ferry to reach Jorhat Nimatighaat which is an upstream ride of one and half hours and journeyed towards Nagaland.  You need to get border pass duly signed from the Government of India and show it to the border police in TULI….the border village for JORHAT and NAGALAND.

We reached MOKOKCHUNG on 25^th October afternoon after passing through some smooth roads, some bumpy roads, the first town in Nagaland. The place is so rich in greenery.  Here the AO TRIBE live.

ONE THING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT NAGALAND IS THAT IS THIS STATE HAS VARIOUS TRIBES WHO ARE DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER AND THEIR SHAWLS PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN IDENTIFYING THE TRIBE !! THERE ARE VARIOUS TRIBES LIKE THE AO, CHANG, SANGTAN, SUMI, POCHARI, REGNMA, PHOM, LOTHA, KHIMNUINGAN, KONYAK, ANGAMI, CHAKHESONG, ZELLANG, YIMCHIUNGRU. THE MEN FOLK ALL WEAR BEAUTIFUL HEAD GEARS,BEADED GIRDLES AND NECKLACES.

We reached around mid afternoon and had great difficulty enroute getting vegetarian food. Being a Vegetarian myself had a tough time !! They look at yo strangely when you ask them for curds/yoghurt/dahi/buttermilk !!

Our first view of this small town was from the tower when the SUN was ready to disappear for the day !! What a beauty !!

I must tell you here….. the shops open by 10ish and close by 3.30ish since the SUN sets early. By 5.30, the town is almost in darkness and nobody ventures out due to thugging or fear for being mugged.

We just enjoyed the scenic beauty of this town and celebrated DIWALI EVE in our rooms with HALDIRAM’S SONPAPDI !!

The next day we proceeded in the jeep towards WOKHA another town.

We passed through UNGMA village comprising the AO TRIBE where the old man of the village (the only person who spoke Hindi / English) directed us to 3 MONUMENTS that has statues of Naga warriors, the MORONG HOUSE.

Their houses are so unique ie, the roof is shaped like a NAGA (snake’s) hood !!

I have to compliment the State of Nagaland and the tribal villages for maintaining a clean habitat. It is a hilly country where water and electricity is so precious but our NAGA friends definitely need a standing applause for maintaining this.  

The below pictures depicts this !!

This is a dustbin and the crafter in me prompted me to click this too !!

We reached WOKHA on 26^th October, which is 80 km from MOKOKCHUNG !!

You can see all the army jawans from various states of India staying in Nagaland as border security forces. I take this opportunity to salute them not only for protecting our Mother India but also offering us accommodation during or trip…….THANKS SO MUCH MY BROTHERS !!

WOKHA is where the LOTHA TRIBE live and every year on NOVEMBER 7^th, they hold the harvest festival TOKHEMONG FESTIVAL !!

We reached the State Capital KOHIMA on 27^th October. I must say here that the traffic is so congested but the traffic police control it so well and the drivers are also very responsible driving here.  This is also a town which has roads going up and down.

DON’T underestimate the tribal girls and boys in their dressing !! They wear ULTRAMODERN clothes and in the latest hairstyles !!

KOHIMA is famous for the WAR CEMETRY, the CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL, the STATE MUSEUM, the BARRA BASTI  holding the ANGAMI TRIBE, the second largest village in India.

TRAGOPAN is the state bird and is an endangered species !!

We were fortunate to see some Model villages like TOUPHEMA, KHONOMA AND BENREU. We spent 2 days in Kohima looking around the market, the town and the villages.

On 29^th, we reached DIMAPUR, the commercial capital of Nagaland.  This was the ancient capital of KACHARI RULERS. 

30^th was spent in exploring DIMAPUR local sights like the KACHARI RUINS, the State handicraft emporium and the local area.

On 31st, We visited DIEZEPHE CRAFT VILLAGE where one can see the local weavers making shawls, cushion covers, bags etc for export !! The weaving is so unique and very beautiful.

On 1^st we looked around the HONGKONG MARKET which has so many shops that sell shoes, bags, clothes, perfumes and all items imported from CHINA and BANGKOK.  The best part of this market and my favourite is the wholesale BEAD shop wherein I bought so many lovely stuff that one do not find anywhere commonly (will make my stuff and present them later once I settle down) !!

We visited INTANKI to see the wild life but were unfortunate to go in since we did not have a pass but saw the lovely DHANSRI RIVER separating ASSAM on one side and NAGALAND on the other side.

OUR JOURNEY OF NAGALAND ENDS HERE FROM WHERE WE PROCEEDED TO MANAS NATIONAL PARK.

HOPE YOU ALL HAD A LOVELY TIME EXPLORING THE UNTOUCHED VIRGIN LAND OF THE NAGAS !!  



The Beginning

Hi all,


This is my blog. Now you can look forward to seeing my creations, my writings, and my tips on all topics that I share.

Ganesha Toran

This Ganesha Toran is completely hand stitched and embroidered using various stitches like Chain, Buttonhole, Stem etc. and embellished with sequins, kundan stones, zari lace and beads.

Embroidered Chariot

It gives me immense pleasure in presenting this 'completely hand embroidered CHARIOT'.


I was so bored one day and dug into my treasure trove of embroidery threads, bits of left over cloth, zari laces and other fancy embellishments and came up with this.........A CHARIOT !!

This is the first treasured piece of my art work !!