Second to None Flea Market, Bangalore.

I have long nurtured a child-like dream, to save the world.

...but how? The answer remained ambiguous.

Strong emotions surged in my throat when I heard casual remarks like, "Look at that road so dirty! There is garbage everywhere, why isn't someone doing something about it."

Last summer those emotions got channelized into a tiny endeavor when a friend gently nudged me towards the idea of composting at home. Composting one's own kitchen waste and converting it into a soil enricher for one's own garden and thereby reducing the garbage that goes out of house completely appealed to me.

I wanted to be that someone doing something about it.

Composting gradually changed my perspective on waste management specifically and life in general. It made me alive to simple facts of living. Living a more meaningful life by going natural, going organic, evaluating eco-friendly options, reducing what goes out of the house, recycling and reusing.

When I first heard about Second to None {220} in June last year, it completely echoed with the ideals I believed in.

Second to None {220} is an initiative started in the form of a Facebook group by Anu Gummaraju, Reena Chengappa and Shilpa Kamath Prabhu. A platform to promote the idea of recycling, a space for like-minded people to interact, share recycling ideas, buy and sell used goods.

The online initiative soon took the form of Second to None Flea Markets at Jaaga (a space which lends itself perfectly to the cause.)

A green wall at Jaaga.

(L) Reena Chengappa, (C) Shilpa Kamath Prabhu and (R) Anu Gummaraju.

Last Sunday I visited the 3rd Second to None Flea Market to meet the inspiring trio and experience the market that buzzed with innovative recycling ideas, fresh organic produces, delicious treats from home kitchens and products that remind us to reduce and reuse.

Old computer keyboards converted into finger accessories! By the creative guys at Pink Nation.

Upcycled eco-friendly earring by Sejals Handcrafted Jewellery.

Deepika Rathnakar's jewellery made from couch cover material.

Tanushree Nair of Karaashilp with her upcycled home decor products. The old CDs get a new lease of life as coasters.

Madhavi Rongala-Pavuluri of Yellow Button with Sanchali range of products.

These are handcrafted earrings made using silk scraps by rural women as part of Sanchali Women Empowerment project.

Up-cycled Linen Pin-up boards from Enthucutlets.

From Hema Mahesh's kitchen comes Nature In A Bottle range of gourmet jams. A wide range of jams using fresh ingredients and spices with no artificial preservatives.

Handcrafted flowers made using old wedding invitation cards, plastic bags, cartons etc.

Upcycled wine bottles converted into 'Message on a bottle' and frames by Anokhi Planet

I picked up one of those bottles indulging in my love for messages on mini chalkboard:-) On our kitchen counter.

Super delicious home-baked cinnamon rolls and cupcakes from Sin-a-Mon.

Monika Manchanda of Sin-a-Mon with her old books and delicious baked goodies.

Mouth-watering cupcakes by Cup-a-cake.

The ladies behind Cup-a-Cake, delightful cupcakes.

Paper Mache lamps made from newspaper and the lampshade using plastic take-away containers by Refresh Studio's Rabindranath Rathnakar

Bombaat Items, a range of up cycled wine bottles by Athreya Cidambi.

Pramila Balachandran with her upcycled, self-watering containers and decoupaged products.

Jaaga with it's green plants in reused plastic water tank containers.

Bum Bags, old denim jeans converted into bags by A Hundred Hands in collaboration with NIMHANS Psychiatric Rehab Centre.

There was something to enjoy for everyone who came...

.....and something to learn.

I picked up few lovely things from the Flea Market for my home but most of all I came back energized by the fact that there were so many individuals who believed in recycling and reusing and were doing their bit for the world.

Let's all become that someone doing something about our world in our own unique way!

You can see a slideshow of rest of the photographs from the Second to None Flea Market here.

Check out my Composting & Recycling Diary here:-)

(images by Arch)

Meeting Vineeta Nair.

I sit down to type my post today and I know it is going to be

a different post. A special post.

Never before have I shared my meeting with a creative fellow design blogger here on Rang Decor and never have my colourful photographs been replaced by black & white images in my attempt to capture the moments of creative effervescence, delightful conversations, foamy Cappucino hearts and heady Earl Grey brews.

Vineeta Nair, as many of you might be aware is the multi-faceted, super-talented lady behind the popular design & decor blog Artnlight.

Vineeta was the first Indian design blogger I met online, around the time I created Rang Decor way back in 2007. Ever since our creative paths have been criss-crossing in the virtual world of blogging.

One Saturday afternoon the virtual path metamorphosed into a real one which led to Bangalore and we met!

We met, we spoke, we laughed, we walked, we photographed, we reminisced, we connected as creative individuals.

Happy feet and a dazzling smile.

She hearts Cappuccino and here is her Cappuccino heart!

I shared little things from our travels and huge creative passions of my life.

Vineeta shared her evolution from an ex-advertising professional to an independent designer with a vibrant Artnlight range of decoupaged products to a contributor to the book 'Desire To Inspire'~Using Creative Passion to Transform the World. by Christine Mason Miller

True to it's name the book Inspires.

Over a transparent cup of Earl Grey and a foamy Cappuccino we discussed the book which so resonates with inspiring thoughts and ideas. It instills a sense of belief that every creative individual can make a positive impact in this beautiful world of ours.

It's a book that makes you believe in dreams. It's a book that inspires you to follow your heart. It's a book that shows you that dreams do come true and it is YOU who makes it happen!

Vineeta signing a copy of 'Desire to Inspire' for me to cherish. I am just a few pages into the book and I want to share a few beautiful lines from it.

" Take a daring leap. Begin to pave your own trail. Listen to the whispers within your heart.

Take micro-actions. Commit to change. Take responsibility for how you live your life.

Embrace joy and release sorrow. Accept that within this moment, you can rewrite your story by taking one step in a different direction, followed by another step...

one action at a time. "

~ Carolyn Rubenstein

"Go! Go in the direction of your dream no matter where you are, no matter if you feel like it is the 'right' time or you have the 'right' resources, because the right time to live your life is now."

~ Mindy Tsonas

Your wings already exist. All you have to do is FLY

On that note, with multi-hued creative auras around us, with heightened levels of positivity we parted ways to meet again in the virtual world.

That's me and Vineeta spreading smiles:-)

Embellished dwellings in Kutch...

Kutch is a mystical land.

Intriguing. Exuberant. Enthralling.

...and all I believe is to do with the people who have migrated from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Himalayas, Northern India and Central India.

Each community bearing different names like Jats, Meghwals, Rabaris, Mutwas, Sodhas, Ahirs but bound together by the land.

The land that is dry, arid and harsh. The land that has seen years of drought and earthquakes.

Great admiration surges in my heart when I see the people of Kutch who have overcome these hardships by painting a vibrant colour-scheme on a dull, unyielding landscape. Their palette saturated with colours adorn they homes, their attires, their work and their lives!

Sharing with you few frames from their humble but grand dwellings. The dwellings which are fabulous examples of aesthetics & functionality. They are practical yet beautiful. They are small yet roomy. They are organized yet exuberant.

Inside and outside a Bhunga in Gandhi Nu Gaam near Ludiya, Kutch.

Inside a Mutwa community dwelling in Dhordo, Kutch

Interiors of another Mutwa Bhunga at Dhordo, Kutch.

Sculpted clay 'Lipaan' work on the exterior of the Bhungas.

A Meghwal family in Hodka Village, Kutch.

Inside a Bhunga of Meghwal community. Everything one needs is neatly organized.

Painted doors.

Vibrant patchwork quilts.

Look at all those quilts they have been sewing neatly stacked.

Smiling in spite of all the hardships.

Art in every wall, every corner, everywhere.

...and it warms my heart to see art, embellishments, beauty winning over this harsh land of Kutch.

(Images by Arch)

Shaam-E-Sarhad, Hodka Village, Kutch.

Little did I realize that while I had posted about this resort from a magazine, way back in 2007 and the subsequent posts about NGOs working in Kutch, that I was actually laying invisible foundation stones for a trip to Kutch, Gujarat in December 2011, a good four years later.

Shaam-E-Sarhad is a eco-resort built in a Kutchi village-style setting using locally sourced materials and crafts of the region. It is owned and managed by the Hodka village community and is open only from October to March.

The resort promotes Endogenous Tourism where one travels not just for pleasure, but also to appreciate local community and their life in rural Gujarat.

"The Endogenous Tourism Project in Hodka village seeks to promote local culture and craft based tourism for sustainable livelihoods and integrated rural development. Its aim is to improve the local people's quality of life, by creating more livelihood options, while preserving and allowing the community to develop their unique culture and share it with visitor."~ hodka.in

The reception area is adorned with 'Chittar Kaam' patterns and designs in earthy colours.

The use of local architectural style, the intricate art & crafts is very evident as soon as one enters Shaam-E-Sarhad (translated 'Sunset at the border')

Hodka village is not very far from the Rann of Kutch region which shares the border with Pakistan.

The dining area is below a multi-hued canopy of bright local fabrics patches...

A sit-out made out of a mixture of smooth mud and dung. Beautiful patchwork quilts made by local artisans spread their colours on an otherwise neutral colour-palette.

A Kutchi cloth doll with traditional dress swings gently in the breeze from the wooden poles..

Even the switch board is made using locally crafted wooden plank.

There are a few Bhunga mud houses and many tents where you can experience sustainable living.

Orange dawn from our tent on the first day of our stay at the resort.

The next day we moved to the Bhunga house:-) The resort is very popular with travelers who come to visit the White Rann of Kutch, Dhordo, Hodka and the wildlife sanctuaries.

This is Pandhi Bhai with another local gentleman. Pandhi Bhai plays the Morsing on cold star-studded winter nights sitting on that 'charpouy' in the previous photograph.

Bhunga is a house that is circular in design, made of mud plaster, dung and twigs, it has a light dome-shaped bamboo and thatched roof. A glorious mud structure that is resistant to high windspeed and earthquakes.

The thick walls keep the interior cool when the temperature rises to 46 degrees celsius in summer and warm when it drops to two degrees in winter.

A fabulous example of Kutchi architecture and eco-living.

The 'Chittar Kaam' or Mud paintings convert the exterior of the Bhungas into art canvas' as well.

The 'Lipan Kaam' or the sculpted mud-mirror work frame the wooden windows.

'Lipan Kaam' at the entrance to our Bhunga with lacquer work wooden door.

The interior of the Bhunga with stunning patchwork bedspreads and curtains.

The purple seating glows as the light filters in.

Utterly, deeply and completely in love with the woven curtains.

The intricately carved wooden window shutters.

Sitting under the canopy of rainbow colours, watching the dusk envelope the Bhungas at Shaam-E-Sarhad, we sat sipping our hot Khullad chai and just being in the moment.

(images by Arch, the last one by Mr. Husband)