Skip to main content

Featured Post

Odisha Part 7: The Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneshwar

The Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneshwar gets its name from the stone used to build it - the red and yellow sandstone used here is locally called Rajarani. This temple was once known as the Indreshwara temple, which is mentioned in the Ekamra Purana, which tells us about the temples of Bhubaneshwar, which was then known as Ekamra Kshetra. Today, the temple stands in a well-maintained lawn, and is the only ticketed monument within the city. The temple is built in the typical Kalinga style, with the tall curvilinear shikara over the garbagruha , and a jagamohana connected to it. The temple is believed to date back to the 11 th century, and is most well known for its sculptures. The entrance to the temple has two pillars with a Naga couple protecting the sanctum, holding garlands in their hands. The base of the pillar shows 3 lions standing over 3 elephants, a typical motif in temples of this region during this period. On the other side of the pillar is a horse and rider, and the two mo...
Post a Comment

Handmade Ganeshas - My first entry for Artsy-Craftsy September 2010



I have been following Shruti's Mindful Meanderings for a while now, and enjoyed the wonderful craft works posted by her, as well as the monthly contest and their entries. I have, however, never been able to participate, for various reasons. This time, as it happens, I actually have something to contribute, so here is mine...

These are the Ganeshas we made from clay for our Ganpati Celebration this year... the bigger one made by me and the smaller by Samhith.


Most of you would have already seen this, since I posted the pics earlier, as part of my Ganpati celebrations post. I am posting this again for two reasons - I wanted to add the link to the Mindful Meanderings blog for one, and secondly, I have recieved a lot of emails asking about how I made it...

The answer is that it was actually quite easy, thanks to the net (you arent surprised, are you???) I found the clay when I was searching for something for Samhith to do. Its available at most craft stores.  As to actually making the ganesha, here is what helped me out....


Labels:

Comments

  1. IndraniSeptember 19, 2010 at 2:42 PM

    Great entry Anu.
    The video captured well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anuradha ShankarSeptember 19, 2010 at 2:57 PM

    thanks Indrani. Finding that video went a long way in making the idol!

    ReplyDelete
  3. P.N. SubramanianSeptember 19, 2010 at 10:41 PM

    Very well explained. I remember, in my childhood, we used to go to the potter for two three buckets of clay and used to prepare the Ganeshas along with friends.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2010 at 10:41 PM

    oh Anu!! lovely videa.. and you've done a fab job!! also... Shruti's blog is awesome!! loads of artsy stuff on there!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AswathiBabuSeptember 20, 2010 at 10:02 AM

    Anu
    Great work and congrats to yr dedication. I will surely try this wishing you a very nice day

    ReplyDelete
  6. UshaSeptember 20, 2010 at 9:38 PM

    Thanks again, Anu! I will try this out!

    ReplyDelete
  7. subu.psSeptember 20, 2010 at 11:10 PM

    hey Anu nice work and thanks for sharing the video. I have been away from the blog world for some time.. Lots to catch up in your blog..seems like u have many posts on ganesha.

    ReplyDelete
  8. callezeeSeptember 21, 2010 at 6:50 PM

    It is made in clay,we can also do it in candle,but the pink ganesha is chubby looks great..

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw...
10 comments
Read more

Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
9 comments
Read more

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport.  That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’...
2 comments
Read more