FIFTH INCARNATION of VISHNU - TRIVIKRAMA - @ CAVE TEMPLE of BADAMI

               A CRITIQUE of  WALL RELIEFS on  'VAMANA AVATAR'  - 
    THE DWARF INCARNATION  of VISHNU @ CAVE TEMPLE  of  BADAMI

A view of the access to 'MahaVishnu' Cave.

It is I  climbing up the steps. 'Trivikrama' in the far end.

At Badami, we find four Cave temples - 1st one dedicated to Siva and Shakti, 2nd and 3rd ones to Vishnu  and the 4th  - the topmost one - to Jain Iconography.For the purpose of distinguishing one from the other,the two caves are called 'Vishnu Guha' - 2nd one from bottom - and 'MahaVishnu Guha'-  3rd one from bottom by the local guides .

A discussion on  'VAMANA AVATAR'  need be done  in  three parts, before we move into the two wall-reliefs of Trivikrama, that we find at the Cave temple of Badami.

The 1st is the mythological tale - which might have started during rule of  the Gupta  dynasty. Gods' reign over the Heaven was threatened by growing influence of  King Bali. He was invincible in battles - yet a generous and kind person.  To protect gods' interest, Vishnu agreed  to their entreaty of neutralising Bali. On a particular day, when during  the ritual of 'Ashwamedh Yagna' - a big ceremony taking place around a sacrificial horse - Bali had organised a big event of granting donation to whoever came to his court seeking the same. Vishnu appeared incognito as a dwarf brahmin in this congregation.  Bali received the dwarf brahmin with adoration, ignoring his mentor Shukracharya's warning that the brahmin was  no ordinary person. Vishnu  asked for land just enough for his  three strides . When the king granted the same, Vishnu stood in front of the king in his full cosmic form  filling  the world . Vishnu's right foot covered the earth , his body filled the sky in all directions and  the left foot reached the heaven .  Vishnu then he asked the king: where the third step can be taken. King offered his head. Bali was then tied up and ready to be banished . Brahma pleaded for a benign treatment for Bali reminding Vishnu of his noble nature. Bali's wife Vindhyabali and grandfather Prahlada - great devotee of Vishnu - pleaded for Bali. Each in her/his way.Vishnu sent Bali to his own hermitage first and later to 'Sutal' - definitely a territory away from the heaven , Indra's kingdom . Vishnu also assured Bali  of  sovereignty of 'Sutal' after a while. ( based on 19th - 23rd chapters of 8th Canto, 'Srimadbhagabat Gita').

'Trivikrama' in the 'Vishnu' cave temple.Compared to the more well-known depiction of 'Trivikrama' in the next level, it appears to be a 'Draft' work.

This 'Trivikrama's'  stance is somewhat static. The celestial portion is incomplete.

Next is a discussion on the appeal of  the myth of Trivikrama - Vamana Avatar.  This myth combines in it both the 'vibhava' or 'avatar' - incarnatory - and 'vibhuti' - manifestational aspects of Vishnu. To prevent  Bali from getting control of the heaven, the domain of Indra, Vishnu incarnates himself as Dwarf  in the womb of Aditi. the mother of gods.  To generate awe in the heart of Bali, he manifested his cosmic form - 'Viratrupa' . Thus, in one myth, devotees of Vishnu find both the 'vibhava' and   'vibhuti' aspects of their Lord amalgamated.( based on 'Vaishnava Iconology of Nepal' by Prataditya Pal).

3rd point in this discussion - was Vishnu fare to Bali ?  His army, as expected, reacted adversely . They felt, Vishnu came incognito and usurped all that Bali acquired in his life , though he was a religious person, a ruler of high moral standing.  Their resistance was neutralised by Vishnu's companions - 'parshadas'. Bali's son Banasura caught hold of Vishnu's right foot and pleaded Vishnu not to banish his father . However, all these efforts made no impact on Vishnu. Only later, Brahma's pleading in favour of Bali and very carefully worded statements made by Vindhyabali and Prahlad brought a somewhat positive conclusion of this episode . Well, according to many, Vishnu was not fare to Bali!

 'Trivikrama' wall-relief is divided into sections, depicting the major events. 

Here we find 'Adoration of 'Vamana Avatar' by King Bali . Queen Vindhyabali, 

Shukracharya ( not separately distinguishable ) and  his courtiers look on.

Among all the major wall-reliefs on this manifestation of Vishnu,  two at Badami, one each at Mallapuram and Ellora are very well-known. So are the several ones found in Nepal. The characters in these wall-reliefs, placed around the huge figure of Trivikrama, tell the story of King Bali and adoration of Vishnu. Not all the characters are identical.  In the wall-relief at 'MahaVishnu' cave temple at Badami ,we find Namuchi  clasping left foot of  Trivikrama , same way as at Changu Narayana of Nepal , while in  the other wall-relief at Badami, this person   is  obese and cannot be young Banasura.

'Trivikrama' in MahaVishnu Cave temple is artistically much improved compared to the previous one. Trivikrama's face is  turned slightly towards his left - a stance very much unlike that at floor below and also at Mallapuram or at Changu Narayana,Nepal.Only at Cave 15 of Ellora, Trivikrama's face is turned towards his left , but that wall-relief carries much less details than this one.

We  find here the sacrificial  horse in the right-hand corner top, gods,the Moon , Rahu  , Namuchi kicked up and away in the other half at the top. In the lower half, we find adoration of Vamana Avatar below the left foot of  Trivikrama and persuasion of Trivikrama   by Banasura and hostility of Namuci around his right-foot. In the portion 'Adoration of  Vamana Avatar' we find eroded 'Vamana with his umbrella', thus robbing this portion of its beauty.

I have given copious notes under the pictures I have posted here . Hope my friends will enjoy the same.

Sacrificial horse - 'Ashwamedh Yagna'

'MahaVishnu' Cave temple, Badami

Upper half of Trivikrama in his full cosmic grandeur.  

As his head touches the sky where Ganesha and gods , 
the Sun, the Moon and Rahu adore him.

We can see some of Vishnu's divine weapons here -

discuss 'Sudarsana', bow 'Sharnga' and sword 'Vidyadhara''.

'MahaVishnu' Cave temple, Badami.

 One of the artistically finest depiction of 'Trivikrama'  .
 It is sad the 'Vamana Avatar' has been eroded.

The wall-relief has been so crafted that 
a section of the same hides under the drooping pavilion.

The details are astounding.

'MahaVishnu' Cave temple, Badami.

JOURNEYS TO THE HEART OF BIHAR

MY MUNGER VISITS

I  so far  used my e-address @ hubpages.com - hubpages.com/shyamchat - to post photographs which I click during my trip to Munger.

The reason I have to visit Munger a few times a year is associated with PANIIT's 'IITians For ITIs' project. I have been invited by ITC, Munger to be a part of their team @ Institute Management Committee of ITI,Munger, which has received Rs 2.5 Crores from World Bank for introducing a course on 'Electrical maintenance'.

These trips have taken to the hillock on the outskirt of Munger from where one can view the famous horse-shoe of the course of the Ganges, a famous Yoga Centre which is the crown jewel of Munger and the Fort-side shore of the Ganges.Unfortunately for me, the management have decided that short personal travelogues - kind of  photo-features - will not be published by hubpages.com any more. My latest 'hub' - 'Visit to Munger III' (http://shyamchat.hubpages.com/hub/munger_3) - has been 'unpublished'. I have here a part of the text  and some of the photos from that blog as well as photos I have clicked during my recent train journey to Munger ( 15/09/11) .

FROM hubpages.com/shyamchat dtd.02/08/11 :

'First a few words about the Yoga Institute. From a very small set-up, the Institute has flourished to a big Institute with residential facility. I was shown around with a lot of care - understand my host ITC, Munger is quite friendly with the Management of this Institute. I would suggest that any visitor of Munger must find an hour to visit this place and absorb the tranquility of the enormous prayer hall !

SILHOUETTE 

- Setting  sun has turned the Ganges golden.Two boys - one ready for a plunge into water.

 YOGA PRATISTHAN

 GRAFFITI

A visit to western flank of the town where the Ganges flow , specially at the time of sunset, is very enjoyable. One finds ripples of the river shining ,boats plying with sails up , young people enjoying a dip and far out - a bridge under construction. The photos with boys in silhouette was disallowed in many 'flickr' groups - including the one on river administered by me - because their internal checking system perceived that the boys were naked. Well they were not ! I found the glowing ripples of the Ganges and silhouettes made excellent composition !'

 TAKING OUT MY CAMERA !

Coming back to the train journey undertaken last week, I found good sunlight , a time span of an hour in the morning before I reach my destination - Jamalpur station and flooded country-side - quite interesting for trying out a few clicks. I was inside an A/C  compartment - as expected, with a 'point& shoot' camera, I could hardly get the desired result.A few of them are here, which may be liked by my friends from Bihar, especially from that region, as the scenery remind them of their homeland.

 

TOILING  HARD

- I found nos of persons walking past our train while we were waiting @ Sultangaunj for a 'crossing' of a train from the other side.

INUNDATED

BRUISED HILLSIDE

- As viewed from the train passing through countryside.

BIRTH OF KARTTIKEYA - THE SLAYER OF TARAKASURA

THE TALE AS TOLD BY VEDAVYASA IN 'MAHABHARATA' 

NOTE : Those, who worship Siva as an ascetic Yogi, or are below 18 years age, are requested to stay away from this blog. 

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Kartick joins Devi Durga while she is busy slaying Mahisasura.

His peacock is on his right side. 

Kartik the Lord of war arrives in Bengal twice every year - during the days of Autumn festival. He accompanies Devi Durgaa  and again return alone on the last day of the month of 'Kartik' for one day/night. We know him as  the youngest among Hindu gods - a very handsome god who rides an equally handsome bird - a peacock.

When one delves deeper into the mythology of Kartikeya , one learns about his  valour - his defeating Tarakasura who struck terror among gods for years together and  the  complex story of his birth where Siva and Parvati - the most powerful celestial couple in Hindu mythology, Agni, Ganga and the gods played crucial roles. When we follow this tale , we need remember that Hindu mythology is built with layers of allegory and story-tellers from various  sects  colour these tales  with their very own beliefs .

Our story - as told by Bhishma from his bed of arrows to Yudhistir in eighty third chapter of 'Anushasana Parva' in Mahabharata - begins when we find Siva and Parvati , having  traversed a long path filled with death, destruction, long and harsh years of  very severe Yogic meditation,  reached the point where they could enjoy  their conjugal life.

 Siva embraces Parvati while they relax and enjoy in company of Siva's followers - 'Ganas'.

Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal.

As we all know,the beginning of their conjugal life was fraught with distabilisation  by Ravana, whom Siva punished severely through prolonged imprisonment and then, a prolonged battle with Andhakasura. Andhaka was born in Kailasha .Parvati had so severe disliking for the new-born that Siva gave the infant away to Hiranyaksha for adoption. The adopted Asura , when grown up , became an invincible warrior. He blundered by coveting Parvati .Siva got engaged in a fierce and long  battle with Andhakasura and his companion Gajasura. The later was killed and Andhakasura was subjugated - converted to an ardent devotee of Siva , known as 'Bhringee'.*1

 RavanaDamanaMurti of Siva.Parvati clings to Siva as Ravana upsets her and inhabitants of Mountain Kailasha .

Siva punishes Ravana  holding him a prisoner under this hill for years.

Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal.

When all these  were matter of the past, Siva - who is called 'Hiranyaretah' and 'Mahabeeja' *2, the god with golden  and powerful seeds - and Parvati - the Mother of the Universe and embodiment of  'Shakti',i.e. Power -   were engaged  in Divine union, secluded in their heavenly abode. This was when  they heard the wail of the gods from outside :

' Oh Lord of the Gods!

Withhold - oh please do withhold

Shedding your seeds so Powerful !

You are the Super Yogi ! So is Parvati !

We  are so very afraid

You two together  will give birth

To such Power and Strength 

That  would vanquish us - the gods,

Oh ! His * power would not be contained in the Universe -

Alas! All will be singed !'

 Gods outside the abode of Siva -Parvati.

Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal.

Siva was moved by this appeal . He withheld his ejaculation through his power of  Yoga . When he withdrew, his semen spilled  outside Parvati's womb . His Yogic power has been hailed by his devotees when they address him as 'Urddhalinga' - Ithyphallic' - and 'Urddharetah' *2- in control of ejaculation.

I

Ithyphallic Siva.

SriMukhalingam temple.A.P.

Thus interrupted ,Parvati was furious with the gods assembled outside . Deprived of motherhood of Siva's child, she cursed them that they would not give birth to children in future*3. Agni was not present this gathering of gods - so he was not affected by this curse. Siva's spilled semen was collected by Agni which grew within  him *4 .

 Kartikeya on his peacock - he is placed in the gallery of Durga in 5th Century AD.

Siva Gallery, Cave temple at Badami.

Gods were faced with a great dilemma - they needed Siva's progeny to defeat Tarakasura. Very much scared of Parvati, Agni was then in hiding - first within water and then atop an 'Ashwaththa' tree. Gods chased and  hounded out Agni and coaxed him, who had Siva's seeds within him, to father a son in union with Ganga. Agni and Ganga complied  and the gods started waiting eagerly for the birth of the child growing within Ganga.

Ganga  found after a while that she would not be able bear the growing child within her for long . She gave birth to the future Lord of the war - prematurely - on mountain Sumeru . She described the child  to Agni as an infant  with  countenance as bright as that of the Sun, the Moon and Agni, with fragrance of Neolamarckia Cadamba flower and cool like water of a lotus-filled  pond ! With the flow of the river, the infant reached a water-body filled with weeds where he was nursed by six 'Kritikas'. Thus, he developed six heads.

 Siva blesses Kartikeya as he proceeds with his army to fight Tarakasura. 

Kartikeya clutches 'Shakti' in his right hand which has striking similarity with Siva's trident.

SriMukhalingam temple.A.P.

Soon, he grew to be a great warrior god and led an army to kill Tarakasura by an infallible weapon called  'Shakti'. He restored rule of the Heaven to the gods and Indra got back his throne after long years.

 Felicitation of Kartikeya .He sits relaxed and smiling, sans his weapons, in 'lalitasana' as celestial dancers celebrate his victory over Asuras. On top of the alcove, we find Siva-Parvati, 

together with Ganesha,Kartikeya, Ganas and Bhringee.

Someshwara temple,SriMukhalingam,A.P.

The name "Kartikeya' connects him to the 'Kritikas' who nursed him when he was an in infant.His other name "Skanda' connects him to Siva as 'Skanda' means spilling ( in this case ,that of  Siva's seeds ). He is also known as 'Devasenapati', meaning the leader of celestial army as well as husband of Devasena.He is widely worshiped as Lord Murugan in South India and as Katragama Deviyo in Ceylone. The word 'Katragama' comes from 'Karthikamam' . He is worshiped in a few other South Asian countries too.

 Kartikeya on a 'Torana' - a gate - among ruins

among ruins @ Vadnagar,Gujarat.

NOTES :

• One of the meanings of the word 'Skanda' is 'spilling'. If we refer to : http://bhagavata.org/downloads/SanskritDictionary.html , we shall find '
  skanda = a name of Kartikeya, god of war
  skanda = m. anything which jumps or hops (in {tRNa-skanda4}, `" grasshopper "'N. of a man) RV.; spurting, effusing, effusion, spilling, shedding (cf. {a4} and {ghraNa-sk-}); perishing, destruction Gît.; quick-silver L.; `" Attacker "'N. of Kârttikeya (q.v., son of S'iva or of Agni; he is called god of war as leader of S'iva's hosts against the enemies of the gods [1256,2]; 
•  *1 :Please read about the battle between Siva and Andhaksura in http://przmm.blogspot.com/2011/03/tale-of-siva-andhakaura-journey-from.html.
• *2 - Both the ascetic and erotic imagery of Siva is explicitly stated in  'Thousand Salutation to Siva' by Upamanyu, in presence of Vasudeva Krsna. Please refer to thirteenth chapter of   'Anushasana Parva' in Mahabharata.
• *3 - Gods had many sons - I do not understand if our scripture writers had any gender bias - among non-celestial. Pandavas and Hanumana are the most famous among them.
• *4 - If Agni was not among the group of gods outside the abode of Siva-Parvati, how did he collect the spilled seeds of Siva ?  

SRIMUKHALINGAM TEMPLE's MOST EXCLUSIVE WALL-RELIEF

 Siva and SaptaMatrika in fierce battle with Andhakasura and Gajasura :Wall-relief  above the main entrance to Inner sanctum

Front view of  SriMukhalingam temple. There are several temples 

around the main temple in the compound

The main temple of SriMukhalingam is built around the theme of warrior and fierce image of Siva. SaptaMatrika are in his side, Andhakasura and Gajasura on the other. Siva is depicted in the fierce image of  Bhairava, with his fangs  exposed - not only when he is engaged in fights, but also when he is dancing after vanquishing  Andhakasura and Gajasura. Siva  is ithyphallic, very masculine - the whole temple , as I have mentioned in my earlier blogs, exudes masculinity and valour !

Front view of  SriMukhalingam Temple.

View of Wall-relief obstructed due to the 'Amloka' of the Mandapa in front.

Taking photograph of the wall-relief  I am writing on was extremely difficult.It would be apparent from the photograph above. The wall-relief is practically at the centre of the  wall on which the door to the inner sanctum of the temple is located, just above of the roof of the Mandapa at the entrance - with naked eyes, one can hardly see the details of the central portion, leave out those of the four parts of the panel at top, bottom, LH and RH sides. Apart from the distance, the other problem is that this wall-relief, though at the centre of the front wall, can be photographed from the right side of the entrance. I found no way of viewing it from the left side of the entrance. Shall try to capture more details if I re-visit this temple in future.

 Sub-divisions of the wall-relief.

Actually, after I downloaded the shots in my computer   and catalogued the lot, I realised  the importance of this wall-relief. From none of the shots I could take, the characters of the bottom arc was clear.

On closer inspection. I could see that the wall-relief is divided into  five sections ( see above). The central part  depicts the core scene - the most important part of the event - Siva and SaptaMatrika engaged in fierce battle with Andhakasura. The top arc has Gajasura trampling Siva's soldiers. The LH and RH arc have a story of a healer woman - well, I know nothing about the details to-day.The lower part, as I have already mentioned, is hardly visible. I have selected these portions one after the other, 'insert'ed them in separate powerpoint pages, wrote out notes and converted .ppt document to .jpg format. Please read through the notes on the lower margin .

 Central Portion - 

 The most important part of this Wall-relief

Siva standing  @ the centre, holding a big mace in his right hand  and a pot of Andhakasura's blood in his left . He wears a big moustache. His matted hair falls on his shoulder . All these and  a huge erect phallus (symbolises his Yogic control over ejaculation  - called 'Urdhareta/UrdhaLinga) create the 'image' of a very masculine  naked warrior in the thick of a  battle. SaptaMatrika are around him , fighting Andhakasura and his soldiers. Andhakasura is regenerating ( read about the story of this battle in  http://przmm.blogspot.com/2011/03/tale-of-siva-andhakaura-journey-from.html )  while one of the seven Matrikas drink the blood of Andhakasura from the pot in Siva's hand.

Peripheral - LH

 

Peripheral - RH

I could not fathom the 'story' of the healer  woman, as depicted in the Peripherals - LH and RH.But, that there is a 'story' is clear. Whatever little I have understood about it, I have cited in the respective photo inserts.If any reader  has a clue about the background , please do share it with me.
Noticeable in this temple as well as the smaller temples in SriMukhalingam village are the various stories of religious persons, Devdasis and devotees of those days on the gates and external walls.This healer woman must be quite important to appear in close proximity of Siva and SaptaMatrika.

In the concluding paragraph, I shall  return to the subject of  Siva's battle with Andhakasura and Gajasura.   Andhakasura was born in the surroundings of  Siva and Parvati, was brought up  as a foster son of Hiranyalsha , was a very successful warrior and his end came when he cherished Parvati.He had the power of re-generation - so he fought a long battle with Siva. He survived as emaciated 'Bhringee' after he got pardon from Siva and ,very likely, from Parvati too. Gajasura was killed and dancing Nataraja is seen holding elephant's hide in numerous wall reliefs ( https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibR_mY_-eDSkduZp-oEc-hpbMJmAsJpD3BARu_Ff2a4JbWFvn1uYzZJfd2vYFbjQUpDeXy-nmkQB2S7Y8rP72fOhyphenhyphenFQ1wPsnj2Nr0FmbiRAXsjTNA_qkLk78i6pwrXwjAO6_LOSxzcGwk/s1600/IMG_1456_aw.jpg ).

SLAYING OF MEGHNAD - DRAMA STAGED BY KASBA ARGHYA

  A PERFORMANCE EXTRA-ORDINARY

I read about the  drama  enacted by 'Kasba Arghya'  group in Sunday 'Pratidin' published on 21/6/11. I searched for the group in the internet and found  them in the Facebook. I also found Anirban Ghosh, Ranit Modak and Seema Ghosh - the principal actors - in the Facebook. I enquired and learnt from them about their next show - which was @ Madhusudan Mancha on 24/6/11. It was quite a  wet evening - but we did not want to miss the chance.

 Anirban Ghosh as Indrajit.

The effort was worth-making.We were  rewarded with a performance that touched our heart.  An intelligent yet simple stage setting, excellent  lighting, music and choreography.  Ranit  and Seema performed in various roles - Ranit and Anirban simultaneously enacted the scene of 'Nikumbhila Yagna',  which was very well-conceived and  well-enacted. Over-all impact of direction of Maneesh Mitra and presentation by his team leave a deep impact on the viewer.

 Ranit and Seema.

A couple of years ago, I visited the temple cluster of Guptipara . The temple dedicated to Ramachandra has a long wall-relief on  'Nikumbhila Yagna', This wall-relief was crafted with a perspective in view , with Meghnaad in the 'front' and Lakshman aided by Bibheeshan was shown entering the scene stealthily towards the 'rear'. This panel is certainly a remarkable panel , created decades before Michael conceived and wrote 'Meghnaad Badh Kavya'.

This  wall-relief on 'Nikumbhila Yagna' inspired me a lot, I brought the copy of Michael's anthology from my library and enjoyed a his epic creation another time. That was the time when I wrote my blog
'Slaying of Meghnaad - a ballad' ( http://przmm.blogspot.com/2009/03/slaying-of-meghnad-ballad.html).

Needless to say, I had a special attraction towards this drama - 'Meghnaad Badh Kavya'. I must say that both Ruby and I enjoyed the drama a lot. I do have a few comments to make - I intend to share the link with 'Kasba Arghya' and hope that the Director and the team will accept the comments in a positive frame of mind.

First the positives. The production - lighting, sound - and music , stage setting, acting of Ranit, Seema and Anirban,  'Chow'-dance  - well the Director knows all these. He must have received many accolades  for all these and more. Shadow dance of Ranit , wallow of Ravan , 'Indrajit 1 and 'Indrajit 2' during 'Nikumbhila Yagna' in 3rd scene are the bits what we carried in our heart !The few areas where he can improve upon  are here :

• Was Pinaki Biswas  present in the stage show of 24/06/11 ? Why there was hardly any 'Kathakali' dance movement of Ravan on that day? Ravan, tall and elegant in the make-up and costume of a Kathakali dancer  appeared on the stage and stood nearly still !
• Pronunciation of one the two 'Kathak's - the one who was in the right-side of the audience - need improvement.He has miles to go.
• Indrajit was a great warrior. Why he would need so much effort to put string on his own bow ? May be Ranit was asked to show off his dancing skill - but his endeavour did not match the storyline.
• Ranit acting as Chitrangada and Seema  acting as Ravan  did not look OK to me. May be the Director showcased the actors' versatility. But, I was not impressed.
• Involvement  of the gods, their conspiracy  in Lakhsman slaying Indrajit have  been blanked off totally ! Director's liberty - but, I could not agree with the same.

Nonetheless, I shall recommend this production strongly. Enjoy the very interesting production of 'Meghnaad Badh Kavya' directed by Maneesh Mitra.

 'Nikumbhila Yagna'  

Wall-relief  from Rama Temple, Guptipara.

AN OEVURE OF HANDSTICHED DRESSES & SAREES _2

Another set of selected work from 'Ruby's Boutique'

A lovely party wear, can be given to the bride as an addition to her wardrobe, which she would treasure. It is done with a combination of two materials. Half is done in lace and half is tissue. The two piecesare then  joined .Next, the design is done upon. The work is done in such a way that it is difficult to make out the joint itself.The design has been done in silk and sequence and stones.

These are a close look to the design itself.

This is a combination of lace and chiffon, the work has been done on it. You can have a closer look to the details of the design below.

The sky blue raw silk kurta with hand crafted designs done on it.It brings out grace of a man of any age. Excellent for Indian party wear,shows our culture which we should be proud of . One can   make it a regular wear during such occasions we can call them our 'own'. Or showcase it in any other social event too.
A peep into the design can be taken in the next close up.

AN OEVURE OF HANDSTICHED DRESSES & SAREES _1

Photos of designs by 'Ruby's Boutique' on the occasion of marriage of Sujash and Moumita

Sujash and Moumita. The Kurta of Sujash designed by 'Ruby.

Silk cloth used as base and silk threads and jari threads have been used for the works done by hand by artisans.Design idea and colour combination has been done by me.

Details of Sujash' kurta.

The sherwani are done in South raw silk as base,the work is done using kashmiri stitches and a varied number of stitches,again lot of jari and silk threads have been used to bring out the motifs,a pains taking work done the the artisans.Was highly appreciated by invitees.
The lehenga has been done in brocade cloth,the blouse is in south raw silk and the top in tissue silk.The design has been thought for months before being worked upon. There are a lot of thread sequence and stone work done on it.
Men's dupatta has been specially bought from Bikaner to bring out the authentic look.

Sujash, Moumita and Surath wear Sherwani  and Lehenga designed by me.

Details of the needle work of Sujash' Sherwani.

The above pictures offer a closer look into the designs.

The South silk has  a shaded mauve colour sari with a second shade of blue hue showing. It is a perfect blend of colours, the work just complements the whole sari in totality. A perfect evening wear,for a reception or a party wear.One would love to own it, a princely possession I would like to believe.

One of the masterpiece the karigar has done, could really bring out the imagination on cloth which I could design on paper. Silk-Thread, sequences have been used to give it a dimension I was looking for.