North East of India

A view of Mon town, Nagaland

Recently, a friend and I travelled to some parts of North East India. Apart from the natural beauty that is so completely overwhelming, it was interesting to note the variety of work done by hand. There were handmade wraps of leaves to hold vegetables, woven bamboo containers that held oranges, bamboo baskets of all shapes and sizes, the matting for walls of tribal houses, thatched roofs and of course the beautiful cloth the region is famous for. 

The North Eastern region of India is not about 'wild and forgotten' lands and peoples (forgotten might still hold true). Modern machinery and goods have made its inroads into the villages and towns but demand is greater than supply. Instead of waiting for weeks or months for material to come over the mountains, from the nearby state of Assam, they continue to live as they have from time immemorial - self sufficiently.

A few photographs from the trip:

Ziro town, District HQ, Arunachal Pradesh

Woven baskets of bamboo used for all sorts of purposes

Woven containers and leaf wraps to hold produce & even live creatures.
Bottom left: hanging baskets hold crabs at a roadside market stall

Left: Hanging bridge with bamboo footboards but steel ropes & netting, the newer version.
Right: Only bamboo hanging bridge built fully by hand, the older version

The weaves created in almost every home with a smaller back-strap loom
(pink threads) or on larger hand looms mostly in govt. run craft centres

In and around the house - vessels from gourd to carry liquids;
backpack made of closely woven bamboo; walls of a home made of
bamboo matting and a ladder with deep notches for steps to climb up to the loft

Times are changing though, in larger towns, thatched roofs and walls of bamboo matting are giving way to concrete and tin roofs. Satellite dishes pop out of the tops of most houses and in the evenings as we walked along the homes, we could hear the latest soap operas and Bollywood tunes blaring from the television sets.  One can only hope that a modern outlook to life doesn't erode the better aspects of the traditional living all that easily.

The many chic ways of wearing a scarf

In India, our version of the scarf has traditionally been the dupatta or odhni. Larger and longer than regular scarves or stoles and covering a larger part of women's bodies than its western counterpart. 

Scarves are no strangers to us anymore, though. It's an essential accessory to jazz up a plain dress or add colour to a monochrome outfit. 

Wearing just one in different ways makes it look like a different scarf each time. Here are a few options:

A style that's perfect when you feel that nip in the air (like now!) 

Carry it off in style, draped across your arms, for an evening out

Falling down across your shoulders - looks chic as well as practical enough to leave your arms free











(The fuchsia embroidered scarf seen in the photographs above is available at A Full Moon.)

There are oodles more resources on the internet which show you intricate ways to wrap scarves, each one more creative than the other.

Goodies in block prints

In the suburbs of a large metropolitan city in Southern India, there are a few women's groups who have learnt the skill of block printing. The women who come from economically backward families are using their skills in block printing to create beautiful accessories like stoles, scarves, children's apparel etc. These products are now a steady source of livelihood for them. 

A few of their creations are displayed below - also availabe at A Full Moon.

Orange stole with gold leaf motif block printed

Blue stole with pink leaf motif block printed

Triangle block print motif on a beige stole

The women's groups also block print covers on journals and diaries (as seen below). Gorgeous raw silk covers in eye popping or elegant, timeless colours are printed with designs that are inherently Indian, though not necessarily traditional. 

Journal with autorickshaw motif on turquoise blue

Diamond pattern block print journal

Ganesha motif block print 

The groups were initiated by a non-profit based in the city and the women artisans continue to be encouraged and supported with design inputs and marketing efforts by them. Besides, income-generation opportunities, the non-profit works with the communities on maternal and adolescent healthcare and education.  

For more information about or to purchase these beautiful products, please visit A Full Moon. Alternatively, you can leave a message here or email us at pc.afullmoon@gmail.com. 

All blocked out

Printing with blocks in India is as old as time itself. OK, maybe I exaggerate, but it's pretty old nevertheless originating somewhere between the 8th and 12th century AD.

Carving a printing block
(photo courtesy:
architecturetraveljournal.blogspot.in)

Designs are carved onto wooden blocks, mostly teak wood. Some designs more intricate than the others, the skill of the carver that much more precise. 

Wooden block
(photo courtesy: Barenforum.org)

Paisley design on wooden block
(photo courtesy:
onceuponatime.blogspot.com)

The technique most ubiquitous is the dye printing done straight away on the cloth. The cloth is tightly stretched on the tables and readied for printing. Blocks dipped in various dyes are used to print the design. If there are multiple colours, then printing is done colour by colour in layers. Here's an interesting post of a 'live demonstration' - Block- printed awesomeness. Now imagine the same across reams and reams of fabric block printed by hand in different parts of the country - Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and maybe even more. 

There are other techniques of printing, some even more painstaking and time-consuming with fabulous looking fabric as a result. Mud-resist block printing is one of them. The blocks are dipped into a mud-based paste and pressed onto the cloth. Once the paste dries, the cloth is dyed in the required colour. Where the mud-paste is printed, the cloth retains the original colour while the dye catches onto the rest of the cloth. Dabu printing - another blog post that best describes this process. :)

Today, block printing has evolved into a DIY craft that has permeated homes in India and abroad. Even Martha Stewart's website has an article on it. ;) The blocks are easily available in the markets and are used to print on paper (tags, cards, bags etc) and even henna onto the hands. A quick & easy shortcut.

I'll leave you with some pretty prints you will have certainly seen in stores (images courtesy: Google.com/images).

Buying hand printed fabrics encourage the survival of the art form, allowing traditional artisans to continue the age-old ways of creating beautiful designs while earning their livelihood. Overall, giving a boost to the local economy.

Rock paintings

An early rock painting in India

As far back as 9000 BC, rock paintings have known to exist in India. Created using natural pigments, these paintings depicted the life of men as hunter-gatherers. These paintings extended from the Mesolithic (9000 - 3000 BC) to the early medieval historic period. More...

These could be seen as the pre-cursor to the folk & tribal art in India as we know it today which continues the tradition of painting scenes from life as well as the use of natural dyes and pigments. 

Mind boggling, isn't it? :)

(Image courtesy: wikipedia)

Writer's Corner

In continuation to the previous post on recycling and reusing, here's a collection of products from A Full Moon that have been created keeping this in mind.

Journals and notebooks are hand created using the 'waste to wealth' technology by underprivileged women in Madhya Pradesh. These products offer the women a steady source of livelihood while reducing the pressure on the environment which makes it a sustainable option all around.

The Butterfly series can be used as journals or scrap books or albums to store your precious memories. The butterfly designs on them are created from scrap cloth.

Butterfly series - Red.

Butterfly series - White

The Dilli series has the capital city's iconic monuments on the cover in sepia as well as in black & white. These can also be used as journals or as albums.

Dilli series - Red Fort

Dilli series - Qutab Minar

Other varieties include journals with coloured bindings in different designs as well as notebooks with patterns on the cover and a unique binding.

Journal with Orange Binding

Notebook with Yellow Diamond Print

In Karnataka, another group of economically marginalised women have been using recycled paper to create notebooks and jotters with unique block prints. The printing is done by hand using traditional wooden blocks on raw silk covers. Both traditional prints as well as modern ones are part of the collection. 

Auto-rickshaw block print on turquoise raw silk cover

Ganesha block prints on red/ maroon raw silk covers

The recycled products seen here are sourced from non-profits or NGOs who work with these women's groups to train them in skills that offer them a steady livelihood. Some of the NGOs also help create awareness amongst the women on access to quality education, healthcare and other services enabling them and their families to lead lives with confidence and dignity.

Recycle, Reuse: How hard can it be?

India produces 14.6 million tonnes of waste paper every year, out of which only 27% is recovered. In more developed nations recovery is anywhere between 45% to 73%. 

Knowingly or otherwise, Indians have been recycling newspapers, magazines, notebooks for years now. It usually gets sold to the neighbourhood scrap dealer from where it proceeds further to be recycled into paper packets, wrappers for street snacks etc. But it mostly ends there. 

Paper wrappers for street food in India
(image courtesy: www.forkspoonnknife.com)

Conscious attempts to recycle and reuse paper though is limited unless there an immediate economic benefit is perceived. "If I am not paying (money) for it, who the hell cares?" is more or less the attitude. How many times have we, in our own offices, seen paper wastage around printer spaces, colleagues indifferently discarding paper printed on one side or unthinkingly printing multiple copies of a document unnecessarily? 

Companies might repeatedly request and encourage employees to reduce wastage and think before printing a document but it barely makes a dent. It makes you wonder how employees who work mainly on devices (laptops, tablets, phones) can manage to generate so much paper waste.

The immediate benefits of recycling paper, money-wise, might not be too obvious. But the extent of its long term benefits are unquestionable. 

Paper is produced mainly using wood pulp, water (lots & lots of it), chemicals and energy (electricity, fossil fuels). Producing recycled paper uses far lesser amounts of resources and reduces emissions (water and air pollution) drastically. 

But there's immense reason to hope. :)

In India, usage of recycled paper cellulose has risen from 7%in 1970 to 47% in 2011. This has reduced dependence on wood from 84% to 31% in the same years. 

Recycled paper can be made out of waste paper, cloth, cardboard too. And it's not only paper that is recycled. Even PET bottles, drink cans, tetrapaks are recycled into various products. 

Enough of the heavy stuff! Here are some easy and some fun things you can do to recycle and reduce waste.

Doodling in class or during meetings

1. Use paper printed on one-side for less important work. Send it to the shredder only if really required. 

2. Turn off the taps while washing, brushing, shaving etc. Even if it's a few minutes, leaving the water running, day after day, wastes over 25 gallons of water a month. Now multiply this by the number of people in your home. 

3. Turn off appliances and electronic items when not in use i.e. switch off at the electrical socket itself or shut them down completely. As long as it is on, there is always electricity being consumed to keep the machine running in 'sleep' mode

4. Use reusable plastic bags, or better still, cloth bags while grocery shopping. Funky ones are available everywhere now. 

5. Walk or cycle short distances - to the shops, to the park, to your friend's house. For larger distances, use public transport as far as possible or carpool. The more individually owned vehicles are plying the roads, the greater is the increase in fuel consumption and air pollution. 

5. Don't throw your old clothes or toys away. If you aren't handing it over to someone else, you can give them away to be recycled. There are a number of NGOs who recycle them in various ways. It's certainly an excuse to get yourself a whole new set. :)

6. Gift your friends 'green' products for special occassions - a pottedd plant, recycled paper stationery, upcycled jewellery, naturally made cosmetics, clothes & other products made of organic or natural fibres. 

Potted plant

Recycled paper notebook

Recycled paper beads

6. Support an environmental cause - in your neighbourhood, your country or anywhere in the world.

There are many, many options, if you're but willing to look for them. After all, there is only one earth and we live in it. 

(info reference: www.thehindu.com; www.dosomething.org & images courtesy: www.google.co.in/images)

Masks from Cheriyal

Cheriyal (or Cherial) is only about a 100 kms away from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh (at the time of posting, at least:) ). The lure of the big city and better employment opportunities have spirited the younger generation away. Today, there is only a handful of people who make these bright & colourful masks. 

The masks are lesser known as they are overshadowed by the scroll-paintings which this village is famous for. They really are miniatures of what must have been life-size, rather face-size, in earlier years. Wandering story-tellers used these masks in traditional story telling when they travelled from village to village. Drawn from daily life and mythology, the smaller masks and other toys would be sold in the village once the stories were done with. 

Painstakingly wrought using a light wood base, tamarind seeds and sawdust, these masks are intricately painted, mostly in a red or blue base colour. You will find villagers - men & women in traditional jewellery, turbans, brides & grooms, evil eye protectors/ demons and more. 

Today, they are used as decorative items for the home or on your desktop. They add a eye-popping splash of colour to a dull corner, brightening it immediately. 

Visit A Full Moon store if you wish to buy one of these. The masks have been sourced directly from the artisans at Cheriyal. 

A Full Moon - Who? What? Where?

A Full Moon is a retail space offering home and personal accessories drawn from traditional Indian arts. Exquisite paintings, colorful bags, elegant scarves and more… hand crafted by traditional artisans or by community based organisations. It includes an assortment of products that are sustainable i.e. eco-friendly and created from locally available material, providing local communities a regular source of livelihood.

At the moment our products are available online only via Facebook. We are in the process of putting up a full-fledged website to make your purchases easier. 

There are many places where you will find traditional arts and crafts to take home. Some types of crafts being more popular than the others either due to the artisans adapting to more modern tastes of the general public, easy access to markets or low maintenance etc. The larger tourist hubs in the country are filled with markets and stalls where you can pick up Indian gifts and souvenirs easily - Dilli Haat or Janpath in New Delhi; Dakshinachitra in Chennai; bazaars of Jaipur and many more. 

(image courtesy: usatoday.com)

In many regions of India, non-profits/ non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been working with communities on issues of healthcare, education and livelihood options. Some of them work in the midst of local artisan communities who with their traditional knowledge and skills create objects for everyday use (e.g. bamboo craft, pottery) or for decorative purposes (Madhubani paintings, wall art). It helps keep traditional art forms alive as well as gives the communities a steady source of livelihood. 

(image courtesy: http://frommoontomoon.blogspot.in/)

A Full Moon sources its products from non-profits who work with community groups encouraging them in their traditional livelihood while also helping them get access to quality healthcare, education. Both rural and urban community groups are sources for these products. We also source our products directly from a few artisans. 

Currently, we are sourcing products from women's groups in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and artisan communities in Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

Being fascinated

I have always been strangely compelled to pick up interesting pieces of art and craft that I came across whether it was in my travels or at exhibitions or stores. India has so many different types of crafts, that one can easily lose count and themselves. 

This interest of mine possibly has its roots in a nomadic childhood as my home was always filled with bric-a-brac from the different regions my family lived in. It was mostly was the same with friends and neighbours too, so the scenario did not seem very unusual. 

And, my fascination for India's arts and crafts has only grown over the years. Here are a few things, similar to the ones I grew up seeing around me. 

Batik painting

Walnut wood carved partition

(images courtesy: Google.co.in/images)