HECTIC DAYS......

Returned from a ten-day holiday to Masai Mara and Dubai, wild jungle to concrete jungle, so to speak. Returned to several rounds of washing. Must learn to pack less most definitely. And carry less luggage. I am planning to do that in real life too, starting with my hair, cutting it so short that sometimes the scissors just snip at the air. It is difficult to give up things, but koshish jaari hai.....

Even as settling down was happening, there was a workshop I had to attend. A much planned event, it was a workshop with Creative Bee. The founders of this beautiful place are Bina Rao, the head of design and her husband Keshav Rao, the dye master.

Together they design for various labels, keeping their principle intact of producing handmade textiles with the help of their rural partners including hundreds of women. In this direction they also conduct a lot of rural training programmes, teaching the populace about their eco-friendly production processes.

And this is precisely what we learnt at the workshop. Keshav spoke to us about the various dyes which are all found in nature and that was tremendously enlightening and also very playful, since we were a group of ten. Some of us learnt about dyes and its process, while others learnt about block printing, which was equally fascinating. 

It was just a few years ago when I took such interest in all these things and used to read up a lot. It was nice revisiting though and all thanks to Creative Bee. It was a week of culture and the next evening I heard Surya Gayatri sing for more than an hour. What a blessing is her voice. It was the 60th birthday of my friend so this was the treat that evening, along with a delicious spread. My aunt who had arrived that day was trilled to little bits for this treat and I did not even organise it. 

Then along with a few friends took my aunt to see the Statue of Equality. Earlier on when I had visited it the first time, some construction was still going on. They still do not open all the gates for easier access and the barefoot walk is quite long and wet, especially if you visit the ladies' washroom. While the flush did not work much to our dismay, the hand wash worked well and all the women insisted on washing their feet. It was sloppy, wet, slippery and then you step out into the common area. 

The women security actually clicked their tongues at us and sympathised with the women washing their feet. This time though the fountain was working and it was a very pleasant sight, especially when the lotus on top opens and shuts. The sight of the mighty statue with the lighting is gorgeous and when on top, you get to see the other temples all lit up. A very soothing and marvellous sight.

The return journey was better still, for we had climbed up and down and now deserved mirchi bajjis and the vendor served us hot ones. Do we talk more when we are in the company of women only? I think so. Plus we are never boring for we can jump from one topic to another seamlessly and carry on loudly. It must also be a dizzy experience to have climbed those steps and feel the fresh air.....

One of my favourites these days in the mornings is to listen to Sanjay Subrahmanyan and his On that Note.....he always leaves us making us want more and waiting for the next episode....

I personally think that was a lot of activity immediately after the holiday and all. But then....