Colours of India - ever changing, ever constant

Jodhpur, Rajasthan resplendent in blue.
Photo credit: indiamike.com

India!

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the name India?

People... lots of people, saris, COLOURS, yoga & spiritualism, Indian hospitality, food... these are some of the oft repeated phrases. And the list goes on... 

As cliched as it might sound, India is a land of many, many colours. In fact, the brighter, the better. It's in our lives everywhere - the flowers in this sun-drenched land, the food, the cities, the festivals... Heck! we even have a festival of colours! 

Holi celebrations - the festival of colours
Photo credit: nationalgeographic.com

No wonder then, our love of all things colourful is reflected in our clothes, our jewellery and even in our homes. 

I decided to look around and see how colour inspires and dominates our life in India. Here's a glimpse of what I found. 

Flowers of many hues sold outside a temple complex, Bangalore

Paper lanterns make an appearance just before Diwali, Mumbai

Multi-coloured flags at a local festival, Goa 

A Gulmohar tree with its fiery blooms, Bangalore

The brightest yellow taxis, Kolkata :)

The vividly coloured clothes make a splash against a blue-grey backdrop

A night market selling the blingiest creations, Ahmedabad

Colourful bundles of thread & wool in a local market, Nagaland

Fresh produce you'll find in any local market

Purple Bougainvillea thriving in India's warm climate

So, how inspired are you to add more colour to your life? :)

Patterns

The other day while browsing through some old photographs, I realised there were so many photographs of walls that I had captured over time. Not huge imposing barricades as the word conjures up but pretty colours, tiles and textures. Almost works of art that these walls (and some floors and ceilings too) were adorned with.

Interestingly, many of them hundreds of years old. Intact and surviving.

Take a look at what I found...

Ceramic designs decorating a doorway in Old Goa

Tiles long forgotten in an erstwhile 'chai' cafe in Mumbai. 

Rough, rugged walls of the fort in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra.
Standing tall since the 17th century, approx.

Patterened terracotta tiles decorating a wall 

Grass growing between stone blocks forming a
pretty pattern on the ground in Old Goa

Restored floor tiles at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai

Restored ceiling at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai

Here are two more that I just could not resist including. They are not Indian but their sheer opulence ensured they made it into this post. :)

Buildings at the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

Black & Gold

We've recently added stoles in black with gold block prints to A Full Moon's collection. Perfect for an evening out or to add a dash of glamour to that elegant outfit you have on.

Photo credit: A Full Moon

These stoles are sourced from a non-profit in Southern India that works with underprivileged communities to empower them to access quality education, healthcare and better livelihood opportunities. 

The non-profit has enabled women's groups to train in traditional block printing techniques. The women belong to low income families and their skills at block printing give them a steady source of livelihood. It allows them to provide a better life for themselves and their families. You can check out our block printed collection here.

At A Full Moon, you will also find other personal and home accessories, in black and its combinations. 

Wall Art: Madhubani paintings in shades of black

Cushion cover embroidered by women from a nomadic community in India

Embroidered pouches by women's groups in India

Thick cotton scarves handwoven by women from the North-East of India

Journals made of handmade paper sourced from a non-profit that uses
'waste to wealth' technology to create recycled paper

Happiness in black

Think of the colour black. Close your eyes. What does it immediately bring to mind? 

Here's a few that I thought of:

• The night sky (dotted with a million stars & a full moon, maybe)
• Cats :) like Bagheera (the black panther in Mowgli). Yeah, well, he's a fictional charcter. So?
• Classic films & photography - where would B&W be without the colour black (or white).
• Ink - on newly printed paper and in books fresh off the shelf. And I have always loved writing with black ink.
• Evening dresses - timeless, sophisticated, fashionable and elegant as always. Coco Chanel?
• Kajal (or Kohl) - the one thing most Asian women (and men) can't keep their hands off.
• Skin - beautiful, healthy, dark complexion. Think Naomi Campbell, Zoe Saldana, Nandita Das, Lupita Nyong'o, Padma Lakshmi etc. 

(photo credit L-R: Google search; learningfromdogs.com; homecologist.com; kuriouskitty.blogspot.com)

Yes, there's all that stuff out there about black being the colour of darkness & mourning & other sad things. But let's leave the negativity aside and focus on the more positive associations with the colour.

Black has long been perceived as the colour of power and prestige. In the 14th century when good quality black dyes became available, government officials and other important people started wearing black. It was seen as the next best colour to scarlet, purple and blue which only the nobility were allowed to wear. But not for long. Soon, even royalty were seen adopting black in their clothes, especially at court. Even today, the perception lives on - black cars in a presidential convoy, black tie-affairs, black suits in the boardroom.

Somewhere in the 20th century, it also came to represent the colour of rebellion - black leather jackets of motorcycle gangs, street gangs, Goth sub-culture etc. The idea was to remove themselves from accepted norms and conventions. Black suited fine. It implied an end to the old ways. And by default, the start of something new. 

(photos credit: Google search)

­A line of thought is that people use black at various times to also hide - some use it to hide their weight; some their feelings or insecurities, some to project an aura of mystery. 

To be honest, I have worn black many times because it makes me feel more confident & more in control. Who cares if it's all in my head... after all, it's how I feel that counts. 

Wearing black makes me happy!

(photo credit: pinterest)

How green is my valley

Continuing the posts on the trip to the North East, here's one more. 

I travelled with a friend in October 2013, after the rains had ended and the weather had turned milder and more accommodating. The roads too had opened up which were now motorable after the seasonal land and mudslides were cleared. 

We got to see clear blue skies and warm days, though the nights were chilly and we did need to wear woollies, even inside. During the day, the sun shone brightly, without a dark cloud in sight. Operative word being 'dark'; the clouds we could not escape for we were in the land of clouds, after all :).  

Everywhere around us, amongst the emerald green of forests and ferns, there were plenty of colours. All seemed to be thriving in the warmth after the cold, wet spell. Almost as if spring had arrived in October :)

Sometimes, photographs can express it better than words.

Emerald green paddy fields surrounded by greener forests 

The land of clouds where green is an alluring backdrop for brightly coloured flowers

A fern bank lining the roadside. If one ignored the 'modern' road, it could have been straight out of middle-earth (from Lord Of The Rings that is)

Wild flowers on the road side

Cheery yellow flowers lining village streets

A variety of colours in front of a traditional wooden home

More bright colours in the villages we visited

After the hustle and bustle of cities and the concrete jungles we've surrounded ourselves with, the colours were definitely a sight for sore eyes and the unpolluted atmosphere a balm for our bodies and minds.