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Hot summer Delhi

Too hot Delhi weather its approx 44 deg Celsius today . Whole day hiding inside my room .Waiting for Showers .....Rain ....Cold ...Calm...Breeze ....

Stitching:Beads Work

I was walking towards district park from my home at Vikaspuri ,New Delhi. While passing through to the nearby market ,there I saw a man stitching with colorful beads in front of a boutique shop.It was so attractive design works that I was looking attentively .I sat before him seeing his stitching with a instrument called Aari Hook (Aprox 6" needle).I was so fascinated and spent a long three hours there.Next day again I went there to see his beads work and asked him about my keen interest for learning the stitching with beads. He agreed and the following day went to a market and bought a Wood made Frame, sewing threads, a piece of cloth, a needle. He fixed the frame in our house and made a beautiful needle work on the cloth. Everyday he comes to our house early in the morning to teach and then goes to his working place in the boutique shop.

I am practicing now how to stitch.Really I am very happy and passing time peacefully after my retirement from job nearly three years ago I took VRS (Voluntarily Retirement Scheme) from Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

I search learning tutorials from Internet everyday.There are lots of web pages about stitching process .Now something I want to share with everybody articles , designs, styles,pattern , beads,

different types of stitch.

ATURDAY, MAY 24, 2008

Zardosi Embroidery of Uttar Pradesh and Surat

Surat in Gujarat and Varansi and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh are the main centers for gold and silver embroidery; popularly known as Zardosi work a persian tream for gold embroidery.In the 19th century two distinct types of gold embroidery predominated:

1. Zardosi - heavy laid work upon velvet, satin or heavy silk.
2. Kamdani - light and delicated work in gold and silver plated threads and spangles upon very fine muslin or silk, with the help of aari hook ( tambour ) creating a delicated chain like effect.Material used in olden days were real gold and silver flatted strips and thread plated with the precious metals, pearls, reals and semiprecious stones, beetles wing eases, leather etc. Now to make it affordable immigration material is being used. Sequins, glass beads, bullion or salma a very thin metal wire tubularly twisted, gold cords and silk floss is used. Fabric used are silk, velvet, Georgette, chiffon, muslin, organza, net and some polyester blends. Designs and motifs are mostly floral and birds and animals, like parrot, peacock, elephant and camels are seen sometimes. Stitches are Stem, Satin, Long and short, Beading, Couching and a chain like stitch with different spacing, done with the aari hook.

This is the most popular embroidery used by the top most designers for embellishing fineries for special occasions.

SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2008

Embroidery of Chinai

There was a community of Chinese embroiderers living in Surat. South of Gujarat, who produced work that was completely Chinese in both designs and technique, specially for the Parsee market. Their embroidery was known as ' China work'. Embroidery was done using fine floss silk and tightly spun two ply silk, imported from China specially for 'Gara work'. Now four strands of silk thread, twisted together or rayon thread is used.

Motifs of flowers and birds, inter connecting, predominantly in off white, against a dark background were most common in this form.

Stitches used in Chinai work are Satin, Long and short, Chinese knot, Pekinese, Stem, Double stem and Zardosi work embroiderers in Surat, Kolkatta and Mumbai are embellishing many priced outfits.

Chikankari of Lucknow

Chikan work is similar to the white work of the Western countries. This embroidery seems to be a gift of the Mughals to India, also there are several other myths as for the origin of this dainty art. Originally this embroidery was done using white untwisted cotton or silk thread on very fine white fabric like muslin or silk. Now voile, organdy and terry voile are also used and twisted cotton or raron thread is used for embroidery. Now Chikan work has become very popular in India. So many artifacts like table linen, hankerchifs, saris, salwar kameez, dupatta, gents Indian ethnic wear, shirts etc. are embroidered by the woven of Awadh.

Designs are mainly of scrolling floral or leafy patterns, when embroidered, creating a shadoo- like effect on larger flower motifs and raised effect when smaller motifs are worked.

Stitches used are six basic stitches, which are used in combination with a series of some other stitches, to create a fascinating and delicated effects. Shadow work- Herringbone stitch or Appiqu'e done on the wrong side to give a shadow effect. Buttonhole, very fine satin stitch called murri work is very typical of Chikan work; Cretan, Stem stitch and Pullwork and Khatao or Darazdar- an appliqu'e technique is worked upon to complete the repertoire. Some other stitches used are Chain, Couching, Whip running and Roumanian.

Kashida of Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir lies in the foot hills of the Himalayas. The beautiful vally of Kashmir is famous, largely, through the exquisitely embroidered Showls because of its unmatched workmanship on intricate traditional patterns.

The beautiful( local costume) , Salwar Kameez, Saris, Men's ethnic wear, Ponchoes, Coats, Wall hangings, Carpets and Bed linen are also embroidered using several embroidery techniques. Fabrics used for different articles are pashina, ruffle ( ordinary wool fabric) , silk, leather, some polyester blends and hand loom cloth.

Embroidery thread used on pashmina Shawl is very finely spun pashmina and locally spun untwisted silk. For most of the other things, staple yarn is used but for crewel embroidery on curtains, bed linen and carpets, slightly thicker but soft, wool yarn is used.

Designs are mainly used floral, of sprawling creepers. common motifs are China leave (maple) , Aamli ( mango) , Badam ( almond) , plum and cherries and flower motifs of rose, Irish, tulip, apple, blossom and cherries blossom. Sometime birds and animals motifs are also used.

There are three main techniques and some have evolved recently-

Sozni and Rezkari: It is mainly done on Shawls using single strand and sometime double strand of silk or fine pashmina floss. The stitches are open chain, open stem, couching, fly, buttonhole and herringbone stitch locally known as Kashmiri stitch.

Aari hook embroidery: It is also known as crewel work, is done using a thick aari hook applying wool or staple yarn.

Zardoshi or Couching : It is done mainly on Shawls and ethnic out fits.

Panjabi Phulkari

Pulkari is flower work, mainly done on Shawls, worn with a tight fitting choli( blouse) andghaghara( long skirt). This was the traditional costume of the rural women of the this region.

Fabric used for this embroidery art is thick hand woven cotton(Khaddar) ; usually in rich earth red or indigo blue. Thread used in this embroidery is thick untwisted flass silk, mainly in yellow, orrange and white, with small accent in green or other colors.

Stitch used is simple and akin to the Damask stitch.

The motifs are embroidered from the reverse side of a thread outline, particularly in the case of chape or Bagh designs. Only one thread is taken up with each pick of the needle, leaving a long stitch below to from the pattern on the right side, each stitch being not more than 1/4th" long.

In addition stitches, double running or chain stitch is used from the outline of figures of birds animals and human, which are then filled in with darning or satin stitch. Satin and stem stitch is used on Phulkari borders and blanket or buttonhole stitch for finishing the edges.

Motifs of Phulkari and Bagh are mostly made up of horizontal, vertical and diagonal stitches producing geometrical floral patterns as the name itself implies.

Kasuti, Embroidery of Karnatka

Kasuti embroidery belongs to the Karnatka district of Mysore state situated on the Western southern part of India. It is a highly developed embroidery, representing the art and culture of the Karnatka. Embroidery is done using cotton and silk thread, in colors which harmonize with the background cloth. In this embroidery, precision and neatness is must in Kashida.

Motifs used are Parrots, Peacocks, Deers, Elephants, Nandi( sacred bull), Squirrel and some house hold outfits like Cradle, Rattle, Flower pot and Tulsi vrindavan( basil potted in a decorative pot). One will rarely see horse, lines or tiger. The lotus theme is dominant.

There are four different names for the stitches used in Kasuti-

Gavant: Double running stitch which is worked in horizontal, vertical and diagonal direction.

Muri: Zig- zag running stitch which appears likes steps of ladder.

Nagi: It also known as Darning or weaving stitch, because it has an overall effect of a woven design. This stitch is used for longer designs. In this style wrong side is different.

Menthi: It is ordinary cross stitch. Generally it has a heavy appearance, hence is not so popular.

MONDAY, MAY 12, 2008

Gujarati and Rajsthani embroidery

Gujarat and the princely state of Rajasthan on the western side of India and sindh in Pkistan, are the richest source of folk embroidery. A community of cobblers called Mochi embroidered different articles for export as well as local market. Mochi embroidery was done using aari hook(Tambour). This embroidery is very popular now, specially for leather articles, wall hangings and cusion covers etc. Bright color threats of cotton or twisted and untwisted rayon is used. The colors are red, parrot green, sun yellow, blue, shocking pink, mergenta, black and white on white, marroon or black background.
In a particular style gold or silver plated thread is also used. Other materials used are mirrors, glass beads, metal plates, buttons and shells. Designs are mythological, specially depicting Krishna's stories, perrots, paecocks, birds, elephants, camels. Stitches used are open chain, herring bone, cretan, back running, variations of feather and fly, satin, sisha and some other native stitches.

SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2008

Kantha embroidery

Old undivided Bengal on the Eastern side of India has an ancient textile tradition. Kantha quilts of Bengal are world famous and is a folk art executed by the women of this region for use as a winter covering or for ceremonial use. Kantha are done in two round. First the layered cloth is worked using very small running stitch creating a ripple like effect, using the same colored threads as the fabric. In the second round motifs are transferred on the quilted surface and working with colored threads varied designs are embroidered. This technique is called Nakshi Kantha. Threads used now, are mainly unbleached cotton yarn and Anchor skeins.

Designs and motifs, originally embroidered were several petal lotus creepers, mythological figures and stories, articles used for day to day need, animals like elephant, deer, snake, fish, peacock, parrot etc. Now best of the designers are creating many modern and new designs wring the same technique, colors - like red, yellow, green and blue are being replaced by contemporary color schemes.

Knit Shirt

Consumption Formula

One of my friend working in apparel industry since 1991.Dhaka is his working place.His name is

Azam.Mainly he looks after all productions in his factory.Azam bhai gave me a fabric consumption

formula what he applies frequently and the result is excellent .

fabric required :

Body length [plus] sleeve length [plus] 10[ multiply] 2[ multiply] Half chest[divide by] 10000[multiply] GSM[multiply]12[divide by] 1000 [plus] 15% [[plus]Rib 5%]].

If you have any knit fabric consumption formula other than above , So please mail me.

Russia

Hello
In the summer vacation, we will go to Moscow on 26 june 2009.

The Idiot and the Browsing Camel

AN IDIOT looked at a browsing camel. He said to it: ' Your appearance is awry. Why is this so?'
The camel replied: 'In judging the impression made, you are attributing a fault to that which shaped the form. Be aware of this! Do not consider my crooked appearance a fault.
'Get away from me, by the shortest route. My appearance is thus for function, for a reason. The bow needs the bentness as well as the straightness of the bowstring.
'Fool, begone! An ass's perception goes with an ass's nature.'
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Maulana Majdud , known as Hakim Sanai the Illuminated Reviving Sage of Ghazna, writes extensively in the unreliability of subjective impressions and conditioned judgments.
One of his sayings is: ' In the distorting mirror of your mind, an angel can seem to have a devil's face.'
This parable is from his 'Walled Garden of Truth'. which was written about 1130.

Isa and the Doubters

It is related by the Master Jalaluddin Rumi and others that one day Isa, the son of Miryam, was walking in the desert near Jerusalem with a number of people, in whome covetousness was still strong.
They begged Isa to tell them the Secret Name by which Isa restored the dead to life. He said: ' If I tell you, you will abuse it.' They said: we are ready and fitted for such knowledge; besides, it will reinforce our faith.
'You do not know what you ask,' he said, but he told them the Word Soon afterwards, these people were walking in a deserted place when they saw a heap of whitened bones. 'Let us make a trial of the Word,' they said to one another, and they did.
No sooner had the Word been pronounced than the bonesbecame clothed with flesh and retransformed into a ravening wild beast, which tore them to shreds. Those endowed with reason will understand. Those with little reason can earn it through the study of this account.
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The Isa of the story is Jesus(pbuh), the son of Mary. It embodies a similar idea to that of the Sorcerer's Apprentice, and it also appears in Rumi's work and again in oral dervish legends of Jesus, of which there are a large number.
Tradition invokes as one of its famous 'repeaters' one of the first men ever to carry the title of Sufi: Jabir son of el-Hayyan, the Latin Geber, who is also the founder of Christian alchemy.
He died in about 790. He was originally a Sabean and, according to Western authors, made important chemical discoveries.

The Food Of Paradise

YUNUS,the son of Adam,decided one day not only to cast his life in the balance of fate, but to seek the means and reason of the provision of goods for man.
'I am', he said to himself,' a man.As such I get a portion of the world's goods,every day.This portion comes to me by my own efforts,coupled with the efforts of others. By simplifying this process, I shall find the means whereby sustenance comes to mankind,and learn something about how and why . I shall therefore adopt the religious way, which exhorts man to rely upon almighty God for his sustenance. Rather than live in the world of confusion,where food and other things come apparently through society, I shall throw myself upon the direct support of the Power which rules over all. The beggar depends upon intermediaries: charitable men and women,who are subject to secondary impulses. They give goods or money because they have been trained to do so. I shall accept no such indirect contributions.'
So saying , he walked into the countryside, throwing himself upon the support of invisible forces with the same resolution with which he had accepted the support of visible ones,when he had been a teacher in a school.
He fell asleep,certain that Allah would take complete care of his interests, just as the birds and beasts were catered for in their own realm.
At dawn the bird chorus awakened him, and the son of Adam lay still at first , waiting for his sustenance to appear. In spite of his reliance upon the invisible force and his confidence that he would be able to understand it when it started its operations in the field into which he had thrown himself, he soon realized that speculative thinking alone would not greatly help him in this unusual field.
He was lying at the riverside, and spent the whole day observing nature, peering at the fish in the waters , saying his prayers. From time to time rich and powerful men passed by, accompanied by glitteringly accoutred outriders on the finest horses, harness-bells jingling impriously to signal their absolute right of way, who merely shouted a salutation at the sight of his venerable turban. Parties of pilgrims paused and chewed dry bread and dried cheese, serving only to sharpen his appetite for the humblest food.
'It is but a test, and all will soon be well,' thought Yunus , as he said his fifth prayer of the day and wrapped himself in contemplation after the manner taught him by a dervish of great perceptive attainments.
Another night passed.
As Yunus sat staring at the sun's broken lights reflected in the mighty Tigris, five hours after dawn on the second day, something bobbing in the reeds caught his eye. Thish was a packet, enclosed in leaves and bound arround with palm- fiber.Yunus , the son of Adam , waded into the river and possessed himself of the unfamiliar cargo.
It weighed about three-quarters of a pound. As he unwound the fiber a delicious smell assailed his nostrils. He was the owner of a quantity of the halwa of Baghdad. This halwa , composed of almond paste, rosewater, honey and nuts and other precious elements, was both prized for its taste and esteemed as a health-giving food, Harem beauties nibbled it because of its sustaining power. It was used to treat a hundred ailments.
'My belief is vindicated!' exclaimed Yunus. 'And now for the test. If a similar quantity of halwa, or the equivalent, comes to me upon the waters daily or at other intervals, I shall know the means ordained by providence for my sustenance,and will then only have to use my intelligence to seek the source.'
For the next three days, at exactly the same hour , a packet of halwa floated into Yunus' hands.
This, he decided, was a discovery of the first magnitude. Simplify your circumstances and Nature continued to operate in a roughly similar way. This alone was a discovery which he almost felt impelled to share with the world. For has it not been said: 'When you know, you must teach' ? But then he realized that he did not know: he only experienced. The obvious next step was to follow the halwawa's course upstream until he arrived at the source. He would then understand not only its origin , but the means whereby it was set aside for his explicit use.
For many days Yunus followed the course of the stream. Each day with the same regularity but at a time correspondingly earlier, the halwa appeared , and he ate it.
Eventually Yunus saw that river, instead of narrowing as one might expect at the upper part, had widened considerably. In the middle of a broad expanse of water there was a fertile island. On this island stood a mighty and yet beautiful castle. It was from here, he determined, that the food of paradise originated.
As he was considering his next step, Yunus saw that a tall and unkempt dervish, with the matted hair of a hermit and a cloak of multicoloured patches, stood before him.
'Peace, Baba,Father,' he said.
'Ishq, Hoo!' shouted the hermit. 'And what is your business here?'
'I am following a sacred quest.' explained the son of Adam,' and must in my search reach yonder castle. Have you perhaps an idea how this might be accomplished?'
'As you seem to know nothing about the castle, in spite of having a special interest in it,' answered the hermit, ' I will tell you about it.
'Firstly, the daughter of a king lives there, imprisoned and in exile, attened by numerous beautiful servitors, it is true, but constrained nevertheless. She is unable to escape because the man who captured her and placed her there, because she would not marry him, has erected formidable and inexplicable barriers, invisible to the ordinary eye. You would have to overcome them to enter the castle and find your goal.'
'How can you help me?'
'I am on the point of starting on a special journey of dedication.
Here, however , is a word and exercise, the Wazifa,which will, if you are worthy, help to summon the invisible powers of the benevolent Jinns, the creatures of fire , who alone can combat the magical forces which hold the castle locked.Upon you peace.' And he wandered away, after repeating strange sounds and moving with a dexterity and agility truly wonderful in a man of his venerable appearance.
Yunus sat for days practising his Wazifa and watching for the appearance of the halwa. Thenn , one evening as he looked at the setting sun shining upon a turret of the castle, he saw a strange sight. There, shimmering with unearthy beauty, stood a maiden, who must of course of his bounty.
'The source of the Food of Paradise!' cried Yunus.Now he was almost on the very threshold of truth. Sooner or later the Commander of the Jinns, whome through his dervish Wazifa he was calling , must come , and would enable him to reach the castle, the princess, and the truth.
No sooner had these thoughts passed through his mind than he found himself carried away through the skies to what seemed to be an ethereal realm, filled with houses of breathtaking beauty. He entered one, and there stood a creature like a man, who was not a man: young in appearance , yet wise and in some way ageless.'I' said this vision , 'am the Commander of the Jinns, and I have had thee carried here in answer to thy pleading and the use of those Great Names which were supplied to thee by the Great Dervish. What can I do for thee?'
'O mighty Commander of all the Jinns, 'trembled Yunus, ' I am a Seeker of the Truth, and the answer to it is only to be found by me in the enchanted castle near which I was standing whenyou called me here.Give me , I pray, the power to enter this castle and talk to the imprisoned princess.,
'So shall it be!' exclaimed the Commander. 'But be warned, first of all, that a man gets an answer to his questions in accordance with his fitness to understand and his own preparation.'
'Truth is truth,' said Yunus, ' and I will have it, no matter what it may be. Grant me this boon.'
Soon he was speeding back in a decorporealized form(by the magic of the Jinn) accompanied by a small band of Jinni servitors, charged by their Commander to use their special skills to aid this human being in his quest. In his hand Yunus grasped a special mirror-stone which the Jinn chief had instructed him to turn towards the castle to be able to see the hidden defences.
Through this stone the son of Adam soon found that the castle was protected from assault by a row of giants, invisible but terrible, who smote anyone who approached. Those of the Jinns who were proficient at this task cleared them away. Next he found that there was something like an invisible web or net which hung all around the castle. This , too , was destroyed by the Jinn who flew and who had the special cunning needed to break the net. Finally there was an invisible mass as of stone , which , without making an impression, filled the space between the castle and the river bank. This was overthrown by the skills of Jinns , who made their salutations and flew fast as light , to their abode.
Yunus looke and saw that a bridge, by its own power, had emerged from the river-bed, and he was able to walk dry shod into the very castle. A soldier at the gate took him immediately to the princess , who was more beautiful even than she had appeared at first.
'We are grateful to you for your servics in destroying the defences which made this prison secure,' said the lady. 'And I may now return to my father and want only to reward thee for thy sufferings. Speak , name it, and it shall be given to thee.'
'Incomparable pearl,' said Yunus, 'there is only one thing which I seek , and that is truth. As it is the duty of all who have truth to give it to those who can benefit from it, I adjure you, Highness, to give me the truth which is my need.'
'Speak , and such truth as it is possible to give will freely be thine.'
'Very well, your Highness. How, and by what order, is the Food of Paradise, the wonderful halwa which you throw down every day for me, ordained to be deposited thus?'
'Yunus , son of Adam .' exclaimed the princess,' the halwa, as you call it, I throw down each day because it is in fact the residue of the cosmetic materials with which I rub myself everyday after my bath of asses' milk.'
'I have at last learned,' said Yunus ,' that the understanding of a man is conditional upon his capacity to understand. For you , the remains of your daily toilet. For me , the Food of Paradise.'
###########===========##########===========

Only a very few Sufi tales, according to Halqavi(who is the author of 'The Food of Paradise') can be read by anyone at any time and still affect the 'Inner consciouness' constructively.
'Almost all others,' he says, 'depend upon where, when and how they are studied. Thus most people will find in them only what they expect to find: entertainment , puzzlement, allegory.'
Yunus, son of Adam , was a Syrian, and died in 1670.He had remarkable healing powers and was an inventor
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*IDRIES SHAH
TALES OF THE DERVISHES
Teaching-stories of the Sufi Masters over the past thousand years

Uniqueness

Word meanings : From Oxford Dictionary
Unique adj.1 of which there is only one;unequalled,having no like, equal , or parallel. 2 disp.unusual,remarkable(a unique opportunity).[based on Latin unus 'one']uniquely adv. uniqueness n.
'La ilaha illalah' -There is no ilah(God) but Allah .
Answer the following sentences using T(true) and F(false)
There is no Allah but Allah.
There is no God but Allah.
No God but Allah.
No Allah but Allah.
No I but I.
No you but you.
No He but He.
No he but he.
No she but she.
No S/he but S/he.
There is no my father except my father. There is no my mother except my mother.
No consciousness but consciousness.

Kutub-Minar

Qutbuddin Aibek laid foundation of the now world- famous Qutub-Minar, a tower of victory but also as a minar attached to the Quwwatul-Islam mosque for the use of the mu'azzin to call the people to prayer.

Later Nagari inscription on the minar calls it "Alauddin's 1296-1316)victory-column(bijoy stambha).

With a height of 72.5 meter and 379 steps, it is the highest stone tower in India.

There exists a tradition that the Qutub-Minar was built by Prithviraja,the last Chauhan king of Delhi, for enabling his daughter to behold the sacred river Jamuna from its top as part of her daily worship.Its entire architecture,however,bespeaks an Islamic origin,with two of its proto-types in brick still existing at Ghazni,although Hindu craftsmen were certainly employed for its construction (like Taj Mahal),as is evident also from certain Dev nagari inscriptions on its surface.Originally the Minar had only four storeys,faced with red and buff sandstone.The uppermost storey which was damaged in 1368 during Firuz Tughluq's(1351-1388) reign,was replaced by him by two storeys,making free use of marble but leaving the lower portion of the fourth storey built with sandstone in its original condition.Qutubuddin had perhaps only succeeded in raising the first storey,the remaining storeys being eventually completed by his successor Iltutmish(1211-1236).Sikandar Lodi(1489-1517) also carried out some restoration in the upper storeys in 1503.

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Source:

Delhi-And its neighbourhood by Y.DSharma[(M.A.,DD.Phil.(oxon.)]

Published by the DG Archaeological survey of India, New Delhi

2001.

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