Breaking news from Nature: Spring has arrived! If you've not been aware, Spring slowly peeped in through the especially cold Winter of 2019 in a riot of colours... Well, Spring has always been around, about to jump on Winter and whisk her away 🙂 like those streaks of mischievousness in most of us which we... Continue Reading →
The Forest Research Institute, began in a small forest school at Dehradun in 1878 to impart training to forest rangers. In 1906 it became known as the Imperial Forest Research Institute located in Chand Bagh Estate. The objective was to “organize and lead forestry research in the country”. It also trained forest officers and rangers... Continue Reading →
#projectinterpret started 2019 with a tour of the nearly 2000 year old Kanheri Caves in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali East, Mumbai. Easy to reach, through winding lush green path, spotting deers enroute, this cave cluster needs to be climbed by foot once a vehicle takes you to its base. Not for the... Continue Reading →
It has been a very exciting 2018 for VarnikaDesigns 🙂 The biggest was an attempt to reach out to more and more people through launch of its venture #projectinterpret - a multi sensory, cultural, interactive and inclusive space With #projectinterpret we travelled, excavated stories, explored multiple perspectives and interpreted them through experiential tours to heritage... Continue Reading →
The first BodhGaya Biennale was organised by the Bihar Government in the historic city of Bodhgaya in December 2016. The theme for it was appropriately selected as 'Peace' - as, "the intriguing idea of 'peace' is the focal point ...this allusion is hopefully not too late to recall an utopian urge and, hence, a... Continue Reading →
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Ralph Waldo Emerson One Saturday morning, we went in our quest for the Kondapalli fort - if you had read the previous post then you would know why 🙂 yes, the crafts community that makes... Continue Reading →
A wide variety of beautiful textiles ranging from embroideried, woven, printed and painted comprise India’s rich textile heritage. For most of us, there is a familiarity with most of the textiles coming from all parts of India – like Banarasi, Baluchari, Chikankari, Kalamkari, Kanthas, Kanchivaram, Ikat etc. The skill of Indian weavers is... Continue Reading →
Sukol, Derrida and Solitude It’s been a year that Sukol took his life, and his dreams and ambitions with him. A year in which we discovered his desperation to belong to a society he believed in. A poor Santhal tribal dark complexioned boy in his late teens who stood at 5 feet height had been... Continue Reading →
In the months of July - September, #projectinterpret explored new avenues of Access through live coverage of talks, apart from the usual heritage, history, museums, arts and culture visits, explorations, workshops and postings. Knowyourcity challenge: started on VarnikaDesigns Instagram and Facebook social media profiles in the last quarter, this game continued with insights across... Continue Reading →
Lord Ganesha or ‘Ganapati’ denoting the Lord of the Ganas, is also known as Ekadanta, Gajamukha, Lambodara. The eldest son of Lord Shiva and Parvati, he is considered the ‘manas’ or mind if Shiva is ‘atman’ or the soul. He is worshipped for his various qualities in the beginning of all religious rituals as he... Continue Reading →
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