Manjal, M.Rm.Rm Cultural Foundation. Chennai

We were in Chennai for a couple of days and despite our hectic schedule, one place that I needed to visit was the M.Rm.Rm Cultural Foundation.

M.Rm.Rm Cultural Foundation is a non-profit organization run by Ms. Visalakshi Ramaswamy, that supports and undertakes documentations of, and works towards the revival of rural crafts, textiles and architecture that are fast disappearing today.

I reached Manjal, their craft store one hot afternoon and as I pushed the glass door into the cool room I was welcomed by blocks of vibrant colours! 

Square niches' in the wall saturated with colourful woven baskets, bags and boxes in various shades. 

The crafts supported by the Foundation include the Chettinad Kottan which is the traditional palm leaf basket, handmade tiles made in the village of Athangudi, the Kandanghi sari both in cotton and silk, the Chettinad lime-egg plaster and plastic baskets.

The colours tantalized the eyes while woven baskets transported me to a bygone-era where in the Sourthern India, the grandmothers in their leisure hours would weave the plastic wires into bags.

"The traditional Palmyra basketry of Chettinad, 'Kottans' were once woven by the women or ‘Aachis’ of affluent families and found a place in every Chettinad activity, from ritual and ceremony to daily use. Over the passing of time, kottans, often decorated with beadwork and crochet work, slowly stopped being made. The Foundation has revived the craft in its’ original colours and patterns by teaching it to a group of village women from Keelayapatti"~ M.Rm.Rm Cultural Foundation

Beautiful designs and patterns on Kottan baskets

"Plastic baskets are the latest innovation that the Foundation has undertaken. The baskets are woven by some of the women from the Kottan project who have difficulty working with palm leaf and who depend on these baskets for their livelihood."

"These brightly coloured baskets are washable and very durable, and being reusable, do their bit towards the environment. Available in different sizes, these multi-purpose baskets may be put to a variety of uses from gift packaging to home accessories like laundry baskets, plant holders, waste-paper baskets, beach bags and market baskets."

~ M.Rm.Rm. Cultural Foundation

I completely fell in love with these mini-coin purses!

Must confess, I was a bit of a kid in a colourful candy store;-) I did pick up a few beautiful products for my home and for friends.

A tiny little plastic basket that seems to have many uses:-)

Some gorgeous Kottan basket boxes for my beads and bangles...

...and a huge woven plastic bag that will always remind me of my grandmom and to carry my own vibrant shopping bag!

I must thank the very gracious people at Manjal for allowing me to take photographs of their lovely store and share them with readers of Rang Decor.

Great admiration for Ms. Visalakshi Ramaswamy for an initiative like M.Rm.Rm. Cultural Foundation that is dedicated to reviving rich art & crafts of our country and for helping sustain the talented artisans by providing a livelihood. Kudos!

So do drop by at their store if you are in Chennai or visit them on Facebook~

M.Rm.Rm Cultural Foundation

(Images by Arch)

aPaulogy ~ Curious Illustration

I met Priya Sebastian for a cup of chai few days back.

She suggested we drop by at this quaint place at the edge of Richard's Park in Richard's Town, which houses the work of Bangalore-based illustrator Paul Fernandes.

Not knowing what to expect I just followed her obediently into this space, habitually taking out my camera while she exchanged pleasantries with Mona and Jatin of aPaulogy~ Curious Illustration.

As I looked around this colourful space, I was at once enveloped in a multi-hued world of water colours!

What followed was an hour of surfing the waves of sheer nostalgia of the years spent in the beautiful Cantonment area of Bangalore.

Paul Fernandes' illustrations are an ode to this charming part of Bangalore. Light-hearted, funny depiction of scenes from the days gone by~ the 70's, his memories and experiences and of friends and families.

He's work has captured some grand landmarks of the area, which conjures up numerous memories in people who have lived here. The work is also a satirical take on these fast disappearing heritage buildings and structures.

The charming Mona taking us on a trip down memory-lane. She narrated such delightful little stories associated with each illustration and also some very interesting piece of information.

Thom's Cafe, a landmark building on Wheeler's Road! I have such fond memories of picking up their warm, fresh out of the oven bread, you drop a blob of butter on it and it would melt:-)

Mona tells us that, in 'those days' it was the only cafe in the Cantonment area which had a Jukebox and they played some lovely music.

His gallery is peppered with vintage furniture, collectibles and memorabilia's that are remnants of the old Bangalorean charm.

Paul is a collector of miniature vintage cars...

An old framed photograph.

Miniature cars glide on window sills and on tables...

Paul has captured some beautiful heritage houses, which are fast disappearing.

This illustration depicts the sincere policemen of yesteryears checking for lit oil lamps on the cycles. There is an antique lamp placed next to the artwork, which almost brings the scene alive!

Priya and Mona engrossed in one of the illustrations depicting a scene of a pre-wedding Mangalorean party.

What a fabulous treat it was to the senses, we walked out feeling like one of the characters that Paul Fernandes so beautifully brought to life, from another era.

A little melancholy lingered in my heart thinking about the heritage buildings, that filled us with so many happy memories, were slowly disappearing giving way to huge concrete structures.

Presently Paul Fernandes walks the various mains and streets trying to paint the other remarkable landmarks of Namma Bengaluru!

Kudos Paul Fernandes!

(images by Arch)

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)