Welcome aboard! You are on a time travel device. And, are advised to hold tight, keep your jaws from dropping and eyes from popping out as Aparna Andhare, the maverick pilot, swooshes you through the lanes and by-lanes of Shekhawati in north east of Rangeelo Rajasthan. The region of Shekhawati is probably one of the... Continue Reading →
Have you visited your local Museum yet? We have :)
March is here, everyone will get busy with their financial work in India as this month ends the financial year here. It’s a stressful time when you realise that most of your investments have gone wrong and the essential papers are missing! For a de-stressful time, visit the local museum in your city to marvel... Continue Reading →
Poetic freedom
Dear Manju Your instant creative responses to this photograph taken at Pondicherry on 31st December, 2018 offered me the luxury of choice... Instead of forcing my choice on the readers, yesterday, on social media, there was an opinion poll. Everyone scrambled to find the poet/ess in themselves. The answer - equal responses to both :)... Continue Reading →
2019 has an exciting start!
#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 →
Thank you for accepting #projectinterpret ❤️
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 →
#throwback to BodhGaya Biennale: 2016
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 →
A 600 year old trek!
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 →
Button Masala talks to the soul
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 →
#projectinterpret’s 3rd quarter
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 →
Ganesha: the Elephant God
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 →
