Editor's Picks

Tandori-Spice Baluchari Sari from Bengal with Hand-woven Ramayana Episodes on Anchal

This is a Baluchari for the freshest bride of the season. A traditional saree dyed a powerful, statement-making shade of red, it has all the hallmarks of authentic make. At the same time this number would make you the most glamorous one in any party or wedding you go to. This Baluchari is just the pick for the contemporary traditional woman. The pure silk weave explains the sumptuousness of this variety of the Indian saree.

Because the Baluchari is the traditional wedding saree of the Bengali people, the colour is a deep rich red superimposed with gold. The superbly precise motifs on the endpiece depict scenes from the Ramayana, as visual folklore and episodes from the itihasas are the norm with these sarees. Zoom in on the plethora of gold-thread figures arranged in delicately woven panels, in order to appreciate the high-precision handiwork. The same is complemented by the luxuriant solid gold booties across the field of this saree.

Radha Krishna with Shringara

The divine couple of love are represented in their utmost aesthetic form. Here Shri Radha and krishna are showering the superior joy of their darshans. As being the personality of Godhead they have a transcendental form which has been described here. Moreover there is a clean and clear finishing on one of the finest marble figures.

The 'Tribhanga-Lalit' Mudra (Tribend posture) of Shri Krishna is purely depicted in this deity and along with the lotus-eyed treasure of beauty, Shrimati Radharani posing the Abhaya Mudra from her right hand and the left hand is symbolizing the holding of a flower.

The colour combination used here is a highlight as one gets to know the personality of the Lordships, which is mentioned in the Holy Scriptures that Shrimati Radharani has a fair complexion where Lord Shri Krishna has a darker one. So this an ideal pair of Supreme Lovers for a devotee who wants to serve the lord with all the pleasures.

Here as an add on advantage, one set of the ravishing Shringar from bottom to top will also be provided without any extra charges and that's amazing. Although the cute couple is astonishing and attractive all over.

The Graceful Bodhisattva Gunayin, Viewed Over The Himalayas - Brocadeless Thangka

Padmapani Avalokiteshvara is the most widely loved Bodhisattva. In Sanskrit, ‘avalokita’ roughly means ‘to look on’, which makes this deity the guardian supervisor of the human realm. Some interpret His name to mean ‘ishvara (lord) of all that is drishyam (seen/perceived)’. The figure you see on this thangka is the female form of Avalokiteshvara. Her name is Guanyin, which in Chinese means ‘one who hears’. Note how Her head is tilted slightly downwards at an angle, as if She is listening to the longing of Her devotees as She looks upon.

Like most Buddhist devis, She has the tall, slender form of the Himalayan ascetic. Her silken skirts drop to Her feet, barely revealing a long leg; while Her torso is strategically concealed by tigerskin and a hand raised in blessing. Coiled amidst Her eight arms is a sea of sashes floating about Her like the gorgeous black hair across Her shoulders. The quintessentially Buddhist five-spired crown and gold kundalas frame Her lovely, youthful face. It bears an expression of maternal comfort and bliss.

Indeed She is the Devi of compassion and mercy. In one of Her anterior hands She holds the mythical healing potion of Tibetan medical folklore. Generously She dispenses of it upon this loka. Surrounded by flowers (from Her pedestal to Her aureole) and offerings (in the foreground), the pristine stupa in the background completes the composition.

The Metamorphosis Of The Buddha

When we hear the name of the Buddha, an image of princely beauty in ascetic form comes to mind. We visualise the handsome Shakyamuni, the glamour of his regal life of the past contained within the dhyani roopa (meditative composure) of the enlightened one. First we know Him as the Siddhartha Shakyamuni, and then we know Him as the Gautama Buddha.

Between those two phases of the same Vishnu incarnation lies a long phase of transition. The work of art you see on this page seeks to capture the Lord in the midst of that metamorphosis. He spent those years traversing the subcontinent, leading the life of an austere sadhu. He lived in the wilderness and amongst people but not with them; He stopped on His travels, but did not stay anywhere; and in keeping with the precepts of hathayoga, He mortified the flesh (tapah) by seeking as little extrinsic nourishment (in terms of food, etc) as scarcely kept His boat floating.

Which explains the highly pronounced bone structure. The sharp lines where the flesh sinks into the abdominal socket and stretches taught over the girdle. The super-slender limbs gathered in the perfect padmasana. Note the solid halo framing the face with the sunken, half-shut eyes; and the pedestal carved with the images of homage-paying ascetics.

Offerings To The Ekdanta Lord Ganesha

The seated Lord Ganesha, of a gaze childlike yet full of wisdom, is one of the most reassuring images in Indian culture. The lalitasana assumed by the plump legs, the saffron laddoo in one of His hands, and the signature elephant head are quintessential. The oil you see on this page is replete with all these, and more. Somewhere in the singular colour palette of the Lord’s complexion or the angulature of His divine brow, the artist has infused his work with an appeal so lifelike that it is elevated to the level of a visualisation aid from a mere painting.

The son of Shiva (note the trishool tattooed at the root of His trunk) is clad in a marigold-coloured dhoti. A bunch of gold studded with rubies and emeralds betray His princely stature. A garland of pink and white flowers rests on His adorably chubby torso, clearly an offering of His numerous devotees. He is ekdanta (single-tusked), because He had to scribe the Mahabharata at the command of Vyasa.

The halo behind His head resembles the gentle glow of the sun setting over the tropics. The inky purple background is reminiscent of the skies that turn this colour once the cows have been home for a while. The Lord is seated on velvet-cushioned asana, the greens and golds of which match the sumptuous colours of His silks.

Very-Berry Baluchari Sari from Bengal with Woven Apsaras on Border and Pallu

Balucharis are known for their youthful, ultra-feminine appeal, to which this one is no exception. It is fashioned from pure homegrown silk, like all Balucharis are, which gives it a dynamic sheen. While the colour of crushed, barely ripe figs may not be a traditional bridal colour, it is a perfect one to be worn by the bride’s or the groom’s sister. Indeed this saree has just the right bit of embroidery - nothing too fancy; a simple statement of traditional elegance.

Every Baluchari is set apart by the embroidery on the endpiece. The theme is usually a popular episode from any of the itihasas. In a twist of the contemporary, this one comes with simple apsara motifs. Zoom in on the panels to appreciate the attention and precision with which the heavenly beauties have been depicted in the midst of their music-making, dance, and shringar routines. More of the apsaras are sparsely woven onto the field of the saree. Team this Baluchari with the best of your mother’s gold and jewel hand-me-downs.

Nritya Ardhanarishvara

The tradition of stone-carving in Mahabalipuram traces its origins in the Pallava period. It is under the patronage of these art-loving rulers that intergenerational practice of this art flourished. Its results can be seen to this day in the ruins that dot its landscape and within the studios run by families devoted to their craft. It is from one such studio that this dancing Ardhanarishvara has been curated.

Fashioned from karuppu kal (black granite), the process involved is time-intensive and speaks volumes about the skill and temperament of the sculptors. Multiple rounds of stenciling and chiselling call for the attention of up to 50 craftsmen on a single work of art such as this one. Note the graciousness of the curves at each juncture of the deity’s roopa, the dynamism of the silhouette - these are the hallmarks of the region’s devotional handiwork.

The trishool in His hand contrasts sharply with the sweet-sounding conch in Hers; the nakedness of His raised leg, with the pleats of Her dhoti; the musculature of His torso, with the sharp curve of Her waist; the fierce-hooded snake, with the shringar of Her kundalas. A single lotus-engraved halo behind the head matches the double-tiered lotus pedestal on which the tandava is taking place.

The Victorious Devi Mahishasuramardini

A lot of batik paintings feature the Devi theme. The style of waxed-and-dyed folk painting originates in the eastern part of the subcontinent, where the Devi ideal holds great importance. The personality of the Devi Mahishasuramardini is an especially revered one - the image of the dashabhujadhari (ten-armed) Mother Durga piercing the chest of Mahishasura (buffalo-demon) with Her trident.

This batik composition features a colour palette that is characteristically vivid. The mandapa that houses the central Devi figure is painted with brilliant orange brushstrokes, such that it gives off a realistic dimensional effect. A deep blackness permeates the space within, which is the colour of sattvaguna. The gaze of the Devi Mahishasuramardini has all the determination and invincibility of the wife of Lord Shiva, as She clutches the vanquished Mahishasura by the hair. Note the severed head of his vahana, the buffalo, lying at Her feet.

There are plenty of giveaways in this composition when it comes to its delta-style handiwork. The broad, multi-spired crown; the white and red saree draped after typical Bengali fashion; and the pastel-coloured chaandmala (garland of moons) that She holds in one of Her hands. Hints of green and red and strategic infusions of white add to the glamour of this painting.

More Colors

Long Summer Skirt with Stripes Woven in Multi-Color Thread and Dori on Waist

This skirt features classic stripes that are woven in threads drawn from mixed-and-matched colour palettes. Each variation this comes in is a great fit for the wardrobe of a fashionista of diverse taste. If you want a few key pieces of ethnic folk fashion in your collection, this is one signature skirt you cannot do without.

Standing Shiva-Parvati Raise Their Hands In Blessing

Wood has a particular texture, a highly specific kind of finish. It takes a certain level of dexterity to work with it and turn it into the kind of icons that India is famous for. The one you see on this page is a Shiva-Parvati composition, the divine couple ruling over triloka (all three realms of existence). They stand next to each other in gentle harmony, their hands raised tenderly in blessing. A clam, gathered, all-knowing expression marks their divine faces.

Lord Shiva is in His characteristic tigerskin loincloth. A bunch of snakes is His only adornment, besides the multitude of rudrakshas on His arms and torso. In one of His hands He holds a dotted kamandalu, without which no picture of the ascetic is complete. His wife, the beauteous Devi Parvati, is in a silk dhoti and gold shringar. She holds in Her delicate hand the lotus of compassion as She looks on at the realm of existence beneath Her heavenly abode. While Her hair is parted in traditional style down the centre and held back with a classical tiara, His is gathered in coils on the top of His head in keeping with the conventional iconography of Lord Shiva.

The couple is standing on a lotus pedestal carved with great finesse. It is in full bloom, its spaced-out petals engraved with dense lines along the edges and centre.