Lord Shiva

Although the post title seems political, I couldn’t come up with anything better suited for this post!

Anyway, like a true Blue Desi parent, I was teaching KBee about how we, as Hindus, are into praying Nature. Plants, some animals, books, planets and stars are all part of the vast group revered by the Hindus.

This is how my training went….!

Day 1: The idol worshipping…..

Another day, during a visit to the temple: Worshipping the Cow, which is helpful to humans and giver of boons, the Kamadhenu.

And then one day when I was busy talking on the cell with Mr.Bee about some random stuff, I witnessed a funny and memorable incident! (I was at my parents’ place with both the kiddos)

KBee’s heart is in the right place. Animals are revered by us, but I hadn’t specified which all! Technically, he isn’t wrong!

Interestingly, he made me think. If at all any Hindu deity wanted an animal companion, who would choose a dinosaur? Hmm, probably a Goddess as dynamic and as powerful as Durga!

What do you say?

P.S:

1. Lord Ganesh had a Mouse, Lord Karthikeya used a peacock as a mode of transport. Lord Vishnu had Garuda(the king of birds), Goddess Durga was partial to the Indian National Animal, a Tiger!

2. GBee and KBee are fanatics of 🦕 dinosaurs. KBee can watch the same video of Blippi and his dinosaur adventure, N number of times, every single day. No wonder he gave his salutations to the T- Rex. The Triceratops toy that KBee has is his absolute favourite toy.

3. Recently Mr.Bee showed the kiddos the Jurassic World movie. Interestingly, both of them felt that the Earth, does not need any such dangerous dinosaurs after all..!

4. Happy Ratha Saptami to all my readers. I am attaching a Rangoli I made for the occasion.

Cheerio, till the next post…bubye.

We are already coming closer to the end of hobby posts and why not include our very own, Desi hobby, of Tanjore/Thanjavur Painting!

So, for T , let’s learn more about Thanjavur Painting.

The Thanjavur painting originated from the temple town rather city of Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu and the name was anglicized as Tanjore. This is one such art , which has originated in India, (Pukka Local!) and is the only art form to use gold foil in the designs.

Tanjore Painting of Ganesha with an Umbrella

Tanjore Paintings mostly comprise of Hindu deities and scenes out of important incidences in Hindu Mythology. Gold foil is generally used to enhance the paintings.

Radha Krishna

As you can see in the above image, precious and semi precious stones are used in Tanjore painting, which makes the paintings a costly affair, for the buyers of art, that is!

Lord Shiva, with his wife Parvathi and sons, Ganesha and Karthikeya

Tanjore paintings are all for extravagance and vibrant colours. Chalk powder is used in the painting, for 3-D effect, which are later covered with gold foil and semi precious stones. The gold foil not only brings a radiance to the painting but also makes it more durable!

Sri Rama Pattabhishekam – 58 x 82 inch

For example the above Tanjore Painting of Sree Rama Pattabhishekam costs nearly Ten Lakh Indian Rupees! A 10 x 8 inch painting may range from Rs.3000 to Rs. 3,00,000! The variation in pricing is mostly due to the usage of gold foil. If 22 or 24 carat gold foil is used, the pricing is high. If the price is less, then you should know the foil is fake! Infact the authentic and duplicates can be differentiated mainly through the gold foil that has been used!

If you are a perfectionist, who likes to make a simple hobby into a business, Tanjore Painting is a good option, since perfection is appreciated in such arts! So what are you waiting for? Get started!

P.S:

The other hobbies starting with a T are Table Tennis, Tattooing, Taxidermy(Preserving animal bodies, by stuffing them and mounting on walls), Tennis, Thrifting, Theater and Topiary(cutting trees and bushes into various shapes).
Tanjore Painting reminds me of Dasavatharam movie and particularly the Mukunda Mukunda song. Why? Because the puppets used in the song look so much like the ones from tanjore paintings! (May be just my wild imagination!)

Did you know Himesh Reshammiya is the music composer for the Dasavatharam movie? Surprising isn’t it? How can the nasal voiced singer with haunting songs, give out such amazing ‘South’ sounding tunes? It remains a wonder till date! I say haunting because, I have seen news about people in Andhra and Hyderabad, where his songs were used by people to stay away from ghosts! (Whatever that means!)

Till the next post, cheerio!

Tag: Lord Shiva

The Respectful Hindu!

Tanjore Painting

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