Art from Chitra Santhe...

Tomorrow, the 31st of January, 2010 is Chitra Santhe~ Art for all.

The one-day art event organized by Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath every year on Kumara Krupa Road.

This event showcases artists, painters & sculptors from all over India and where people can pick up art at a very affordable price.

Today, I want to share with all of you the unique pieces of art bought from very talented artists during the last few years that we have been visiting Chitra Santhe.

Watercolours by M.G. Hegde from Bijapur.

Mixed Media folk art from a young artist from Shimoga.

Madhubani paintings by a folk artist. Ardha-narishwar & Goddess Kali (still waiting to be framed;-)

The two acrylic on canvas by Vishwas. M. picked up at last year's Chitra Santhe.

This is a lovely sketch made on old magazine sheets by Mr. M.U Raja

For more details on the event, do visit http://chitrasanthe.com/index.html

If you are in Bangalore tomorrow, do drop by this very colourful event:-)

(images by Arch)

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Thank you Harish Krishnan and his team at BlogAdda.com { the largest community of Indian bloggers } for the interview about Rang Decor.

Havelis of Shekhawati, Rajasthan.

The Sonthaliya Gate, Mandawa.

When we decided on our winter vacation destination as Rajasthan, we immediately knew it had to be in the lesser explored regions of Shekhawati. Shekhawati region is known for their heritage Havelis.

Haveli- Is a huge private mansion in India or Pakistan.

The Rajasthani havelis were constructed by the wealthy Marwari community in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan in the 19th century. A haveli typically has two courtyards one for the men and the inner one for the women, the walls were adorned with beautiful colourful frescoes painted by commissioned artists.

The themes were usually images of Gods, Goddesses & animals.

Mandawa, Ramgarh, Fatehpur are dusty little towns in the Shekhawati area that have many old havelis, which in their glorious days would have been a treat to the eyes, but even today have not lost their timeless beauty.

The huge old havelis in Mandawa.

A handful of these havelis are being restored and given a new lease of life by private organizations, historians & architects. Some of them have been converted into heritage hotels.

Nadine Le Prince is a french artist whose love for Indian cultural heritage has inspired her to restore a haveli built in 1802 by a rich tradesman of the silk road.

Beautifully restored courtyard at Nadine Le Prince Haveli Cultural Centre, Fatehpur.

Ramgarh Fresco, a restored haveli, earlier known as the Khemka Haveli is 100-years old and has been renovated by the Khandelwal family who wanted to showcase the beauty of the frescos and the architecture to the visitors.

Amazing hand-painted frescos at Hotel Ramgarh Fresco

We had a lovely thali lunch here:-)

The traditional haveli courtyard.

In my next post, will showcase another restored haveli~ A lovely place where we stayed, soaked in the winter sun and listened to the folk music of the desert...:-)

( Images by Arch)

Rang Decor Readers Creative Spaces: VIII

Wishing all you lovely readers a very Happy New Year, 2010! It's going to be a great year with lots to share with all of you. We just got back from a beautiful trip to Rajasthan, so stay tuned for loads on havelis, palaces, forts and sand dunes:-)

Lets get the ball rolling with a brand new post on Rang Decor Readers Creative Spaces.

Karthik Vaidhyanathan

Karthik Vaidhyanathan is from Chettinad in Tamil Nadu and having grown up in a typical Chettinad house with loads of kitsch and colours, he wanted to incorporate these elements in his 1420 sqft new apartment home in Bangalore.The Chettinad influences are the 7ft arched windows, that he found when St. Josephs college on Brigade road, Bangalore was being demolished. They fitted in perfectly into what was once a balcony cum utility area. He also made a small tinnai (seating besides the windows).

Karthik continues, 'I converted this to become a loungy relaxing sit-out kinda space for entertaining friends and family.'

Karthik picked up these ceramic chettinad tiles from a shop in Pondicherry and has used it for a coffee table. This is inspired by the traditional 'Mannai' which is used during wedding

ceremonies.

Karthik explains, "I wanted to convert the open dining space into a study cum work area and wanted to isolate it through the use of two pillars. Did the rounds of antique markets and shops but found them too expensive or too elaborate for a flat. Finally landed up at Vermilion House in Bangalore, wherein I saw two pillars with Yaali sculpted motif at the top

(Yaali is a mythical creature, that with the face of a lion, the tusks of an elephant and the body of a serpent or ‘makara’ another mythical creature. The Yaalis are prominent in many a south Indian temple as sculptures on the walls or pillars, since the 16th century and they are believed to guard the temple. They are supposed to be more powerful than a lion or elephant)

"I also saw two pillars in teak with a floral pattern at the top; these are typically found in Kerala Home. These again really appealed to me. I picked up all four. The remaining two ‘floral’ pillars became the entrance to my kitchen, right opposite to the study."

"I have opened up the kitchen on all sides. As a result one can see through the entire length of the house. Have kept the kitchen in contemporary white and steel to break away the colour all around.

Have converted one of the corners of the kitchen into a 'work' area with a table and a white bar stool from ikea. Helps me work on my laptop as I catch some T.V. "

The low-rise square dining table with a low hanging light is one of the first pieces of furniture that Karthik got custom-made around 6 years ago at 100ft boutique in Indiranagar. The installation on top is the ‘people tree’ from Mukul Goyal in Delhi.

The showcase near the dining table houses lovely antique enamelware tiffin carrier, teapot etc and some very precious family heirlooms.

The whole house has lovely handmade Athangudi tile flooring.

View from the living room

The two chairs in the ‘sit-out’ are of rosewood and were picked up from Bamboo Market in Bangalore, a place where one often gets to see old antique stuff of houses that have been demolished. All it took to restore them was some cane-work and polish. A dash of colour through the pillows from Good Earth and one in a similar ‘Rajasthan’ theme from Rattan stores in Delhi.

The workspace cabinets and shelves have been made by Karthik's local carpenter. The knobs on them in various shapes and colours are antiques.

A peek into his bedroom:-)

Karthik's love and passion for his home comes across so beautifully through these pictures.

All the best Karthik, enjoy your new home. Thanks for sharing these creative corners of your home with readers of Rang Decor.

P.S. If you have any questions for Karthik, do mail it to myvarnam@gmail.com.