Kalamkari And Its Colours! For May 2017

Colour Stories

The Indian subcontinent has always enjoyed a position of being rich in cultural history and tradition. Right from poetry inspired by nature and beautiful queens to dramas enacting the social circumstances under a ruler, the country and its kings have encouraged and nourished the arts, till every art form has a story of its own to narrate.

Kalamkari is one such art form, which was first restricted to cotton fabric and then extended to being practiced on silks and other varieties of cloth too. It originated about 3000 years ago and derives its name from Kalam meaning Pen, and Kari meaning work. The Kalamkari artist uses a bamboo or date palm stick with fine hair attached on one end as a paintbrush. The colours used in making these paintings are organic and are prepared using roots and leaves of plants along with mineral salts.

Kalamkari was introduced as an art from via people called the Chitrakattis as they moved from village to village. The people were painters, singers and musicians and depicted stories in Hindu mythology. They used to paint scenes from stories onto large bolts of cloth and hold them up for the villagers to see. Slowly, temples began including Kalamkari illustrations on their walls too.

There are three kinds of Kalamkari artworks based on the techniques and motifs used. Golconda, a hub of Kalamkars, was ruled by Muslims and thus the motifs and designs used in Masulipatnam Kalamkari are Persian in style and themes. The outlines and main features are done using blocks while the pen is used for finer details. On the other hand, the Kalahasti tradition which developed in the temples mostly concentrated on themes written in Hindu epics like Ramayana, images of Gods, and heroes. Lastly, Karrupur is a style of Kalamkari art from the Thanjavur region during the Maratha rule. This work was a further embellishment to the gold brocade work in the woven fabric, which were used as sarees and dhotis by the royal family.

The colours used in Kalamkari are exquisite earthy tones of reds, blues, greens, yellows and browns. Women are depicted in shades of yellow, gods in blue and demons in red and green. The use of synthetic dyes is strictly forbidden and thus every colour is procured using natural means. Red dye is obtained from madder roots, yellow from pomegranate seeds or mango bark, and black from myrobalam roots.

Kalamkari art and artists have gained more fame gradually all over the country and worldwide due to the exports of their products. The artists who worked on the Kalamkari painting scrolls were known as Jadupatuas or Duari Patuas meaning 'magical painters'. European trading merchants called the process and art form 'chintz' after the British. The Dutch used the word 'sitz' whereas the Portuguese referred to it as 'pintado'.

Colour Trivia

Colour Facts For May 2017

1. Did you know that the dyes that were used to prepare the colour pink were known as Madder roots? Madder roots are found in Turkey, Iran and India and is one of the oldest natural dyes. The principal pigment in madder roots is alizarin which produces the rich red colour it is famous for but in smaller quantities, it produces yellow and brown pigments.
2. While the colour Yellow represents the sun and is traditionally associated with cheerfulness and bright dispositions, in Egypt, it is the exact opposite. Yellow over there is the colour of mourning! According to Egyptians, man's journey did not end with his death but carried on in his afterlife and since yellow and bronze were colours of positivity and power, mourners wore it to give the deceased good vibes in his afterlife.
3. Were you aware that green is the colour used for night vision goggles? This is because the human eye is most sensitive to shades of green colour. The phosphors on their screens are deliberately chosen to make green pictures because it is easier to look at green screens for long periods than to look at black and white screens. Hence, even though the white light hitting the screen contains all colours, our eyes can pick out only green.

Colour Quotes For May 2017

• The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most.

  - John Ruskin

• Above all keep your colours fresh!

  - Edouard Manet

• Colour is like food for the spirit – plus it is not addictive or fattening.

  - Isaac Mizrahi

Colour Tips For May 2017

1. When people enter your home, the first thing that catches their eye is the foyer. To up the ante and ensure that the first impression is the right one, paint the foyer a bright, vibrant colour such as turquoise with a neutral trim. Or you could go for a bold, pink and grey geometric pattern and accessorize the space with contrast furniture. Since the foyer begins immediately beyond the front door, it is best to stick to glossy finishes which are more durable and don't lose their sheen as fast as matte finishes.
2. If you're painting an exposed brick wall or façade, the most important step is priming. Clean the wall gently with a soapy solution before rinsing and then make sure it is completely dry. Use about two coats of primer so that the chances of the dark brick showing through the paint reduces drastically and keep an extra tin of paint ready. Since bricks have porous surfaces and a lot of tiny holes and depressions, the paint may seep into them easily making you need more than you would on a flat surface.
3. Sometimes, the windows of a house look really stark and painting them could do wonders for your rooms. In this case, first clean and prime the window you want to paint on. Once that is done, you will need to draw and cut out a template of the design you want on the window. Using good quality glass paint, trace the outlines of the pattern first and after that is dry, fill in using colours chosen. Make sure the painted side faces the interior of the house otherwise the elements can spoil the paintwork

World Of Colours

Colours & Emotion For May 2017

1. Colour therapy , which is also known as chromotherapy, is a gentle and non-invasive form of healing that focuses on the balance of colour energies in order to sustain harmony between the body, mind and spirit. It is used for a range of illnesses and ailments, such as depression, nervous disorders, etc. But did you know that chromotherapy is also used to keep one's weight in check? The colour Blue is said to reduce one's appetite drastically and so if you want to keep over-eating in check, you might consider painting the walls of your kitchen in blue.
2. During pregnancy, the expecting mother often faces a lot of health issues, especially in the beginning and advanced stages, such as nausea, depression, hypertension, irritability, etc. To cope with these, colours can play a huge role in helping keep negativity in check. The colour orange for instance, is said to have a positive, uplifting effect on to-be mothers and aids in making one feel less lonely. The colour blue is also used widely since it calms the mother down, but it is best to limit blues to living or sleeping areas since it reduces the appetite.

Colours & Fashion For May 2017

Every decade focuses on something specific fashion-wise. Be it the metallic trends of the early 2000s or the clean lines of the 1930's. But do you know which decade boasts of the most colourful fashion trends? This decade threw open the doors of individual expression through clothes, experimentation and letting out one's inner wild child. You guessed it; we're referring to the 1970s! The 70's was a time of tie-tied clothes bursting forth in an explosion of colours, vividly printed maxi dresses and bright bell bottoms. Fashion meant making a statement and the more colourful, the stronger the statement!

Colours & Gems For May 2017

1. Were you aware of a stone called haüyne, which is part of the sodalite species? It has sulfur-like hackmanite but also incorporates calcium, bound water, and sometimes potassium. One of the more rarely isolated components of lapis lazuli, haüyne is famous for its gorgeous, supernatural-looking blue colour.
   It is quite fragile and brittle and hence limited to being parts of jewelry like pendants, brooches etc. It was first discovered in 1807 in Vesuvian lavas in Monte Somma, Italy and is named by Brunn-Neergard for the French crystallographer René Just Haüy who narrowly escaped the guillotine during the French Revolution.
2. Beryl, a gemstone also famous for its appearance in a Sherlock Holmes story, is composed of beryllium aluminum cyclosilicate. It is a single mineral with many varieties differentiated by their colour. It can be transparent or opaque and can be White, Colourless, Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Pink. Pure Beryls are colourless and were first used as lenses in 13th century Italy. Beryl is found in Norway, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Russia, as well as Brazil, Colombia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, South Africa, the United States and Zambia.

Colours & Nature For May 2017

1. Polar bears are the world's largest terrestrial carnivores found in the northernmost regions of Canada, Greenland, Siberia and Norway. So, one would think that these supreme predators have white fur to help camouflage them in the abundant snow, right? Wrong. The fur of a Polar Bear is not really white in colour but is actually hollow and transparent. The thinner undercoat is also colourless. Their hair looks white because the air spaces between strands scatter all light and when something reflects all of the visible wavelengths of light, we see the colour white.
2. The American Lobster, which is the heaviest crustacean in the world, is found along the Atlantic coast of North America. This creature is normally 'dark bluish green to greenish brown' with the body and claws being a shade of red, and the legs being green. But did you know that these lobsters can also be blue? This occurs due to genetic mutations in the crustacean. Approximately 1 in 2 million lobsters are blue. Blue lobsters produce an excessive amount of a particular protein; which, along with a red carotenoid molecule, combine to form a blue complex known as crustacyanin, giving the lobster its blue colour.

Decor

Unique Paint Design Ideas for Homes

There is something universally appealing about neat, clean and structured lines in design. Traditional architecture involves the use of symmetry, balance and structure when it comes to the layout of any kind of building. But considering that this formula works so well on the outside of one’s home, why not try and apply the same formula inside?

One buzzword of 2017's interior paint ideas is geometric patterns! Geometric patterns need not refer to psychedelic prints that hurt the eye. They can be subtle, soft, in a plethora of colours, and can bring the much needed zing to your home or even a particular room, if you decide to play it safe at first.

We've put together a couple of tips to help you get started:

• Start Simple
  You can divide the wall into three big triangles, and choose a colour scheme of shades from the same family, such as different shades of green. Paired with matching furniture, this wall will look pleasant and pop out from the rest of the décor too.
• Basic Patterns
  Using a scale, tape measure and stencil, draw simple geometric doodles on the wall. You can choose a pattern or draw them in lines all across the wall or just partially. Fill in these shapes with solid colours. If your wall is white in colour, you can consider using just black or if not, whichever is suitable.
• Mix and Match
  Chalk out sections in the wall and divide these prominently by using metallic colour Washi tapes. Paint different sections with colours that go well together. Pick mossy, earthy shades for a calming effect.
• Colour Schemes
  Consider your home's colour scheme before picking particular interior paint ideas. If your home is done up in neutral, cool shades, then for an accent wall, you can pick an asymmetrical geometric pattern and have each portion of that painted in different shades of your home's colour scheme. Ash grey, taupe and a dusty pink colour go very well together.
• Kaleidoscopic Patterns
  One cannot really talk about geometrical designs without touching upon kaleidoscopic art. Suited especially for kitchens, dining areas and playrooms, a bold kaleidoscopic pattern painted in vivid, complimentary colours can contrast beautifully with the major colour used in that room.

Now that you're updated with some interesting interior paint ideas, why don't you venture forth and try some out for yourself? You, your family and your guests will be awed by how amazing they can look!

Selecting the Right Exterior Paint

While picking out paint colours and schemes for your home’s interiors, you can be as whimsical as possible as this canvas is entirely yours, and fully personal. But with exterior paints, the choices get limited a little bit due to a variety of external factors such as weather, insects, etc. For exterior paints, since the surface area is so much, people prefer going for neutral shades, or soft tones since it blends with the surroundings well and lends a touch of elegance and stateliness.

Here are a few pointers you can keep in mind while picking out the perfect exterior paint!

• Invest Wisely
  Painting the exterior is expensive and it is not as easily changed as the interior paint for obvious reasons. Keeping this in mind, it is better to not scrimp on the quality of paint bought and the kind of finish selected. It needs to be durable, stain resistant, and not something that loses its sheen easily.
• Paint Colours
  It is true that there are lots of exterior paint colour ideas to choose from, but you must consider the other exterior elements like the patio, roof and setting of your house before giving a colour the go-ahead. If your home's base has a particular undertone due to its brickwork, etc., try to select colours that complement that.
• Architectural Style and Era
  If your house is a Queen Anne Victorian, a Gothic bungalow or a sprawling, modern ranch, the exterior paint scheme should be appropriate to the style otherwise it will just look strange. Imagine an imposing Gothic structure with its gargoyles and arched windows painted a bright purple. It just does not match! Check out our Get Inspired section for cool tips on style and era specific décor.
• Look Around
  You can always borrow exterior paint colour ideas from Mother Nature. Look around at your surroundings. If you're in a place with tall trees and structures all round, you can choose a cool shade like slate grey and robin eggshell blue to exude calmness. If you have a backyard garden displaying stunning flowers, consider a beige shade or warm tones for your home for it to be in sync with the landscape.

Armed with these tips, you should now be able to choose the right exterior paint more quickly and easily. Last tip before you go, whatever colour you choose, one absolute must is testing out a small sample of the paint colour in the corner of your home so you can have a better idea of how it will look

Wall Paints that Suit your Mood

Everyone grows up having some idea of what their dream home will be like. But even if reality does not match that image exactly, it is no reason why one’s home cannot still be just as comforting and well-loved.

For a house to become a home, one factor worth noting is personalization. Your house has to reflect bits of your personality for you to be truly comfortable in it. And what better way to personalize a house than by ensuring each aspect of its décor is tailored just for you; right from the fabric of bed-sheets to colours on the wall.

Colour trends change from year to year, but when it comes to selecting the wall paint colour scheme, it is better to leave fleeting trends aside and pay attention to how a colour affects you. Psychologically, every person is affected differently by different colours so what may seem like a peaceful shade to you, could well irritate your partner!

RED
Red is an energetic colour that gets the adrenaline pumping. For this reason, you will see walls of dance classes and activity centres usually painted with this colour. It is preferably used in small quantities as too much of a warm shade can be overwhelming. To counter the effect of this colour, you can choose deep, regal shades or relegate it to accent walls.

YELLOW
Yellow brings to mind cheeriness and sunshine, but as far as colours for homes go, it may not always be a wise choice. Yellow is believed to make an individual more irritable and depressed over time, however it can be easily used as an accent colour to complement a main colour.

BLUE
A favourite of many, blue, is a beautiful colour to use for homes but its effect depends on the shade used. Lighter blues like cerulean and periwinkle work well for living rooms. In bedrooms, it is best to pair shades of blue with warmly accented furniture. Dark blues give off a solemn air and aren't ideal for social spaces.

GREEN
Considered one of the best choices for any wall paint, green is extremely soothing to the eye. Shades of green such as mint and jade or darker tones like forest green look marvellous on walls. This is especially true when complemented by cool neutrals and wooden accents.

NEUTRALS
Most homes are painted in neutral tones of beige, taupe or white. The advantage of these colours is their versatility and they can be paired with multiple wall paint colour schemes and accents while being pleasing and attractive to look at.
Choose colours and tones which will help you feel calm and make you feel relaxed for it's your home and your safe haven, after all!

Colours & Ancient Sciences

Feng Shui For May 2017

If your home is looking a bit dull as we enter the warmer months of the year, Feng Shui is a great way to transform your home and also your life. Read on for some Feng Shui tips on how to make your home summer-ready…

Feng Shui Your Home

In Feng Shui, the high temperatures and bright sunshine of summer are linked with hot, yang energy. Focus on rearranging the Feng Shui décor for summer and cooling down your home by adding the counterbalancing yin, or quieter, energy.

Here are some of our favourite summer tips to balance the yin and yang energies of the summer:

• Balance your home décor with lighter accents of pale green or icy blue if your home décor colours are hot, like reds, oranges or purples. This will have a calm and cooling effect.
• Hang a crystal from the pull chain to lessen the harsh corkscrew energy of the ceiling fan located straight over your bed as it can cause pain or illness.
• Your deck or porch is considered a part of your home in Feng Shui. Choose top-quality outdoor furniture and keep it clean and in good condition all through the summer.
• People affected by an imbalance of fire energy can feel dehydrated, listless and dry. You can balance this energy by setting up a table top fountain. This will relieve the dehydrated feeling while introducing water energy.
• For your outdoor space, opt for plants in blue or purple varieties in the wealth corner and pink, red and white flowers in the marriage and romance corner. If you have a fence, it would be great to paint it in red, green, or black.
• Fresh green is a must-have colour in the house during summers. Green is symbolic of career advancement, growth and healing. An easy way to add fresh green into any room is with succulents, bamboo or a green vase filled with fresh lilies.
• Coral is another favourite summer shade. Coral is a very soothing colour that is associated with beauty and calmness. Using coral pillows and coral colour candles in the master bedroom will add that extra spark.

This summer, incorporate these Feng Shui décor ideas in your home for great energy and style.

Reiki For May 2017

Reiki is a great way to improve one’s memory and concentration. It also helps increase one’s confidence level and the capacity of logical and intuitive thinking. Read on to find out how you can use Reiki to help yourself or your loved one in preparing for any exam…

Reiki for Success in Exams

During examinations, some students may feel more stressed out than others. If you are one of those, or you know someone who feels that way, worry not. Reiki has some tips that can ease the experience and help one maximise their focus and nurture their concentration, so they can undertake the exams with a clear and steady mind.

Decrease Mental Stress
Anyone who is going to attend an exam may face some mental stress. This mental stress may affect one adversely in the preparation for their exams. You can relieve your mental stress and remove your mental blockages by placing your healing hands on your crown chakra, heart chakra, throat chakra and brow chakra. Your power of healing will dissolve all your mental blockages and charge your chakras to cure you from whatever mental stress you have.

Improve your Concentration
Concentration is the common problem with most students. Place your healing hand on your forehead to activate your pituitary gland to harmonize the functions of all other endocrine glands. Reiki will bring clarity in your thinking and make you concentrate better.

Improve your Memory
The power of retaining one's memory is essential when answering an exam. The brain or encephalon is the main organ of your body responsible for memory. You can activate your brain and improve your memory power by placing both your hands over your two hemispheres of the brain (either side of the brain). It will stimulate the memory centre by passing the energy. You can also do it while studying.

Improve your Logical Thinking
During exam preparations, piles of pressure and tension affect your mental ability. These factors reduce your capacity to think coherently. To get clarity in thinking and expression, you have to concentrate on your vishudha chakra or throat plexus. Give Reiki to this energy centre to improve your logical thinking, creativity and writing for better performance in your examination.

We hope that you find these tips helpful and can implement these fruitful techniques of Reiki to achieve success in your exams.

Vaastu For May 2017

Tired of the city life and planning on purchasing or renting out a farm land as a vacation home, alternative home or farm? We have some helpful Vaastu tips just for you…

Vaastu for Your Farm Land

It is essential that you consider every aspect of a plot when looking for a farm land to purchase or rent. As per the beliefs of Vaastu, some plots are more auspicious than others. Read on to know how Vaastu can help bring prosperity and good yield to a farm land.

Follow the guidelines mentioned below to find the perfect farm land and reap maximum benefits:

• Avoid choosing a land with the road on the south while looking for a plot for agricultural purposes.
• Opt for a plot which is on a flat surface. If it has a slope, it should be towards the east, northeast or north. Do not buy any land with a slope facing south or south west.
• Pick a land that is rectangular or square in shape.
• Land extended towards the north-east is auspicious. However, extension in any other direction is not good as per the rules of Vaastu.
• It is advised that one plant a tree with a good height on the south or west side.
• If you're planning on a pond, well or boring well, it should be located in the north-east direction.
• The water should flow from south to the north.
• A well in the south west may result in serious illness or death of the owner.
• A well in the south east of the farm may result in bankruptcy, theft.
• The farmhouse or outhouse should be made in the south-west location of the farm.
• Staff and labour quarters should be placed in the west or south-east corner.
• Electricity or transformer should be placed in the south-east corner of the farm. This is believed to bring good harvest.
• Any equipment used in the field should always be kept in the south-west corner or the southern direction. Never keep them in north-east, north or east directions.
• The ideal place to place the thrasher machine, the bullock cart and other vehicles is in the north-west or the north direction. Refrain from keeping these in the north-east corner.
• Animals should be on the west or north-west direction of the farm. They should be placed in such a way that they face north or east when tied to the rope. No animal should face south in the farm.
• Place a tulsi plant in the north-east corner of the farm.

Incorporate these Vaastu tips to ensure the prosperity and success of your farm land!