Christmas in the heart spells Christmas in the air !

The run up to Christmas is here and I want to wish you, my dear readers, a wonderfully warm and merry holiday season. I am sure you have been busy decorating your home, putting up the Christmas tree and adorning it with beautiful ornaments, painting your house red and green and baking all sorts of sinful goodies :-) I really hope that this time of the year is special for all of you, with your loved ones, and you get to share countless moments full of laughter and joy with your family.

I simply love this time of the year, for it is the season when the dew drops settle comfortably on the grass at night and wait for you to wake up to them in the morning, a time when you draw patterns with your fingers on the frost-covered window panes of your home, when fireball poinsettias are bright clumps of scarlet, ablaze everywhere, when the house smells like heaven, full of the intoxicating aroma of cloves, nutmeg and clementines that go into the mulled wine simmering on your gas top , when all hands in the house come together to chop candied peel and dry fruit for that delicious christmas cake. It is the season that makes you think of reindeers and the snow, of Santa and stockings, of pantomimes and puddings, holidays and hollies, of cranberries and celebration, bells and baubles, mistletoe and merriment, of family and fun.

It is also a good time to look back and think of the year that has gone by, to ponder over the experiences of the recent months that have enriched your life, to thank the Almighty for the blessings that have come your way, and also for the hardships, for they have made you a stronger person in turn.

More importantly, it is also an opportunity to give and to multiply the love, so if you have been thinking of adding a smile to someone's face, go ahead and do so now! Let it be a hand-written greeting to a family member, a phone call to a friend overseas, a new sweater or blanket for the help at home or anything that you believe can brighten someone else's day. I read this lovely quote somewhere, and am sharing it with you here...

"So remember while December brings only the Christmas day, in the year let there be Christmas in the things you do and say"

On this note, I fervently hope and pray that this Christmas kindles the spirit of charity and mutual respect in the heart of all, and that the season engages the world to 'accept', to 'tolerate' and to become a better and brighter place, for everyone who is a part of it. Let it not be limited to a date, rather let it be a state of mind. Signing off with all my good wishes to you and to those who are special to you. Let us attempt, best as we can, to spread the good cheer all around, and while we are at it, may the Yuletide spirit continue to permeate our lives and flourish in our hearts and minds. 

My love for Minhwa Art continues...

Hello everyone. It has been a while since I put a post together and I hope you are well and have been enjoying the last few weeks of this year. I have been reminiscing a lot about the months that have gone by and have realised that it has been a very eventful year indeed !I have spent time adapting to the ways and culture of this beautiful country, travelled quite a bit and seen new places around Korea, set up our home here, and spent many beautiful hours enjoying my time in front of the easel and pursuing my love for art. 

Today I am happy to share with you a project that I completed a few months ago. If you remember, I had written to you about 'Minhwa' (Korean folk art) painting earlier. The portrait of the tiger was my first piece of work and I was absolutely hooked onto the fluid grace and beauty of Minhwa art.  Subsequent to the tiger, I worked on peonies, a project that took many weeks of painstaking effort, long hours of concentration and an enormous amount of patience. After finishing the painting, I went to the local framing shop and got the panels put onto a traditional wooden screen and here is the result... :-)

Yes, we now have our first piece of 'DIY' 'furniture' in our home, this partition that adds the traditional Korean touch to our casa. Peony or 'moran' is the queen of flowers in Korea. They are said to symbolise wealth, happiness, purity, love and feminine beauty according to Korean folklore. 

Perhaps the most common way of depicting Korean folk art, right from the royal palaces to the houses of the common people has been the Korean folding screen. It has been said that the lives of Koreans began and ended with the screen, since they provided privacy during birth and respect during death. 

This screen has really added so much colour to our apartment. It helps me block out grey foggy days now that winter is in full swing here. It is also light weight enough to be carried to different areas in the house and helps me create new vignettes in the various corners of our home. 

Korean folding screens or 'byeongpung' can sometimes be as wide as twelve panels, with the continuation of a single painting across the panels. This particular painting with the Peony motif all over it is one of the most traditional patterns Korean art has seen over many centuries. 

It has nine peonies in full bloom on each panel, and others which are yet to bloom. Every flower is a project in its own right since the style of painting it, the techniques involved in shading it and the pigments mixed for it differ. 

I have learnt a lot of things as I undertook this project. Of course, the style of painting, the strokes, the control over the water brush as one shades the flowers are some of the learnings, but the key takeaway is a truck-load of patience :-) Art teaches us so many things, patience is definitely a virtue that one can hope to acquire when one undertakes a Minhwa project :-)

Am I going to be brave enough to do a twelve panel folding screen someday...? :-) Well, I never really thought I could pull off even two of them so I do believe in 'never say never' :-) While twelve panels maybe a little too ambitious right now for a novice like me, I am currently working on something different, and I promise to share pictures of it soon. Until then, leaving you with a few more photos of my peonies, I hope they have succeeded in adding a little colour to your day :-)

Looking forward to your feedback like always. I shall see you soon again. Have a lovely weekend !

Of sparkles, sweets & the light within your hearts...Happy Diwali !

Diwali this year...a day of many firsts...our first together...the first one in our own home...my first in Korea...the first away from India...and it has just been a wonderful magical experience recreating the celebration !

The day had started on a lovely bright note and the sunlight lit up every corner of our place, it shone upon the bunch of roses, and bathed my 'jhoola-ganesha' too...

The land of the 'khimchee' and the 'bibimbap' is still under exposed to Indian traditions...we do have a couple of 'Indian' stores where we get our desi provisions, but to hope for 'mitti-diyas' and 'torans' is asking for a bit too much :-) Nor do we have the luxury of Bikanerwala and Haldiram's outlets like some of the other Asian countries...so I ended up doing a bit of DIY (do-it-yourself, for the uninitiated) projects for our home such as these 'hand made diyas'...

...and converted unused mason jars into candle holders....added the 'fall touch' to them by glueing on a few maple leaves from my visit to the park a few weeks back, tied some ribbons and they looked all dressed up :-)

These combined with some lovely earthen 'diyas' that my Mom-in-law sent for us from India, we had enough to keep the home lit up and glowing :-)

Much as I love terracotta and brass, I do think glass has its own charm. I had picked up these textured glass candle stands last month in Korea, and tried out a combination of blue candles with them.Truly hadn't realised earlier how festive the colour blue can be too !

Don't they look magical ?

When you wish everyone 'prosperity' on Diwali, the most evident and 'visible' impact can usually be seen on the weighing scales, thanks to all the sweets that we end up gorging on :-) I made my own 'besan laddoos' for the festival. Did overdo the 'ghee' a little bit, but what the heck, it's Diwali and a little fat always helps the complexion, says my mother ! :-)

Thus far, I have always seen my mother lead the  'laxmi puja', today I thought of her as we replicated it in our home. Love my MIL for sending us two beautiful 'pratimas' of 'laxmi ganesha'...one in silver and the other in my favourite terracotta...I lined them with a simple pattern made with coloured rice, lit up some 'bandhani' covered 'diyas' around them and prayed for the well being of all those I love.

I must share with you that almost everything that could be converted into votive holders in our home was transformed into one :-)

Here is a lovely antique glass butter dish, shaped like a mermaid, gifted to me by my parents that I used to float some flowers and a tea light...

...a handwoven bracelet garlands the candle in this one...

...and a bright and beautiful 'toran' (that I picked up from a timely trip to Singapore last week) surrounds the flickering flame of the candle here...

The 'paan-daan' that I love so much also became a host to some blue tea lights and flowers...loved how this one turned out !

Fresh flowers adorn the home as always...nothing quite compares to the way they light up the home. I arranged a few as the centre piece on our coffee table to add floral festivities to our apartment !

A spanking new 'urli' is an addition to our home that I absolutely love...used it to float some marigolds and candles...

The better half indulged me with this lovely brass 'ganesha' lamp...it looked so beautiful all lit up, with the Lord assuming a graceful dancing pose...

As the lamps flicker in our home and the lights sparkle around us, I wish you and all those dear to you the greatest joy this Diwali ! May you 'shine' in all you endeavour to achieve, may your homes be blessed with all that is divine and may the light of hope and optimism never fade from your hearts. Best and nothing but the best for all of you....have a beautiful and safe festive season. Do continue to enjoy the revelries ! :-)

Snippets from my 'Sun'day !

When was the last time that you dropped all your weekend plans, visits to Costco, brunch reservations, grocery shopping and all the other zillion 'to-dos' on your list and just turned the car around and said, 'I can do without the bread and the milk, as long as I get my quota of sunshine...' and headed to your neighbourhood park for a 'date' with the sun ? :-)
...Well that's exactly what we did today once we left home with all kinds of ambitious plans of getting things done- however, the only thing we did do in this regard, was to joyfully cancel the plans and head to the family park near our home ! And boy, are we glad we did that, for it was one of the most spectacularly beautiful days Korea has seen in the past few weeks with the sun lording over the mighty blue sky and the breeze just mild enough to gently play with your hair and rustle the maple leaves at your feet ! The weather was beautiful, conversing with us, cajoling and coaxing us to put away our cell phones, to disconnect with the world and chase a deeper connect with the universe instead, to indulge in some quality time away from the rigmarole of our regular routine and we happily did as directed !

The park we went to is a huge rambling place and lovely most days of the year (barring the dreaded winter months of course), but today there was something special about it, it just felt so 'alive' ! Alive with butterflies flitting from one flower to the other, with dragon-flies pausing for a fleeting second on our shoulders as they played 'hop-scotch-jump' amongst themselves and with the birds twittering away in flight from one tree to another.

The lotus flower stood proud and 'resplendently-pink' in the centre of the pond,  the sun-kissed mane of the weeping willows waltzed from left to right with their silken strands glistening in the sunshine, the centre of the pine trees showed off their newly acquired deep- orange tan and if you looked carefully you could see spots of autumn on the branches and in bushes, pops of crimson, yellow and red.

The lawns were dotted with colour with the presence of little boys and girls out with their footballs and skipping ropes, and one particular girl stole my heart with her pink butterfly net, chasing butterflies in the sun... :-) There was also a group of Korean toddlers, about three or four year old, out for a school picnic. They made such a delightful sight, darting around the grounds, laughing and running after each other. It brought back fond memories my own school picnics, my friends, the food, the races and the games we would play....of running on the green grass and of the simple pleasures of childhood days spent outdoors ! :-)

There was music in the air as someone hummed a tune and strummed their guitar and it was the perfect moment to kick those shoes off, stretch out on your belly and catch up on your reading or simply lie on your back and catch the streaks of the sun making their way through the leafy arbour above your head...we enjoyed the quiet company of a lovely magpie as he chose to sunbathe its deep blue wings two feet away from our camping rug...how could anyone not embrace a day as gorgeous as this one !! :-)

Today, the park made for a perfect spot for solitude as well as for some time for togetherness, for quiet reflections with yourself as well as for some moments of silent companionship on the wooden benches under the trees...

I shall share another glimpse of it once it has attained its autumn glamour in entirety, but for now, I hope you enjoyed reading about my day as much as I loved telling you about it...getting back to finishing my book, promise to be back here with more very soon. Have a great week ahead :-)

A beautiful belief called 'Karva Chauth' !

'Karva Chauth' is an essential part of this beautiful warm up to the festive season in a large part of the Hindi speaking world. Having spent half of my adulthood in Delhi, this festival is one that I have seen being celebrated with great commitment and reverence in the Northern part of the country. While I always did notice the festive air about the market place near my home in NCR through the corner of my eye, this is the first time I have reason to truly internalise it and read up about it and I was happy to learn some interesting dimensions to it.

Most of you know it is for the well being of your beloved, to pray for his good health and long life. But I was also happy to discover that another origin to this occasion is to celebrate 'god sisters' or 'kangan-sahelis'. In ancient times when the girl got married and left for her husband's village she was far away from her family and home with few to call her own in the new locality. With no relatives to talk to or to meet regularly, she would befriend another woman in the same village who would be like her 'god-friend or god-sister' and this friendship would be sanctified and blessed by the bride's in-laws. 'Karva Chauth', according to some, is also a celebration of this bond of friendship...

I also loved reading about other folklore and legends about this festival, the stories that trace back to the age of the Mahabharata, where Draupadi too observed this fast, as did Queen Veeravati and Savitri. 

I loved chatting with my mother-in-law the past few days and understanding from her how to go about the fast. I do believe in all things traditional, and I enjoyed making notes of the 'dos-and-donts' for the day. I must also share with you that she made the special effort of lovingly sending me my 'sargi' (a ton of goodies that are sent from the mother-in-law to her daughter-in-law) all the way to Korea...a bag full of beautiful things...the 'mehendi', the 'mewa', the 'anjeer ki mithai' , the multi-coloured 'choodis'...so Mom if you're reading this, love you ! :-)

Many have contradictory views on the subject, and debate whether this custom or practice should be allowed, terming it as 'outrageous' and 'blasphemous',  describing how it has a negative impact on the health of the woman observing the fast, staying hungry and thirsty from sunrise to moonrise, while some argue that this is submissively putting the man on a pedestal. Everyone is justified to their opinion, and am sure they have their reasons to form them. I just feel observing the fast makes neither of the two 'less equal', to me it is just another way of expressing your affection for your beloved and making him feel special, from the time the sky is still star spangled in the wee hours of the morning,till it is punctuated again by the sliver of the moon. And what can be more wonderful if the love and commitment (and the fasting) is reciprocated by the other in the equation, as a symbol of mutual respect and devotion :-)

So all you ladies out there who are observing this ritual, enjoy it, dress up and look even more gorgeous today than you always do. Enjoy the 'mehendi', matching the bangles and the 'bindis', the bright colours of your silk sarees and bejewelling yourself. Festivals call for it ! I know am looking forward to my day ahead, to putting my feet up, to getting spoilt and relaxing through the next eight hours or so and to the 'katha-and-kahani' and the 'badaam-ki-puja' with the other ladies in our part of the world later this evening. See you on the other side...have a beautiful day ! :-)