Suggi - A harvest folk dance

In India harvest is celebrated in many ways. In our district (North Kanara, Karnataka), its celebrated by performing a dance "Suggi" by the farmers.
Suggi, dress itself is very colorful. Mainly it contains "Turai"- which is worn on head of the dancer. This is made of Solawood. "Gudigar ", a community of artists makes this.( About  Gudigars I have written in my previous post)
Here are some pictures  of making the Turai,
These are the Solawood collected by the artist

The solawood will be peeled , made into small pieces and colored with dark pink.

Also some white and colored flowers are made for decoration.

Then these are arranged on a thin stick.

 

The decorated sticks are made into colorful bunch. Here you can see an artist arranging the colorful sticks:

This is very beautiful , the completed bunches :

 

"Turai", is very specific to "Suggi". Most of the  dancers wear this on the head. All the dancers, go to temples and few houses , and perform the "Suggi ". They dance to the a Rhythmic music. Its really lovely to see the happiness of the farmers in the form of their dance.

"Suggi" , dancers( the image is not so clear :( )

Now a days some of the dancers dress differently also :

Here are the dancers , dressed as a woman and one more as Hanuman,

They perform the dance up to Holi  ( A festival which is celebrated with colors)
Now as other folk dances of India, this is also a vanishing. A very few farmers are left who perform this dance form.
Every year during March month I remember about "Suggi". I really miss watching "Suggi". This year collected these pictures from my brother, to share about this folk dance with you all.
Soon will share about many arts and crafts...

Until then,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Dhareshwara- Don't miss to visit this ancient temple

If you are traveling on NH 17 connecting Mangalore and Goa, then don't miss to visit this small ancient temple- Dhareshwara. I don't know the exact time of construction of this temple. It is one of the five temples which has Atmalinga, so I guess these five temples must be constructed at same time.
Other five temples are :

• Mahabaleshwara – Gokarna
• Sajjeshwar – Near Karwar
• Dhareshwar –On NH 17 between Mangalore and Goa
• Gunavanteshwar –On NH 17 between Mangalore and Goa
• Murudeshwar – This temple is also on NH17, about which I have already written in the following posts:  
• Murudeshwara- Temple on Seashore
• Murudeshwara- The story of Aatmalinga
  
  
  Its a very small temple. This is how it looks ,
  
  There is a small pond, (Pushkarani) in front of the temple:
  
  
  
  Entrance of the temple :
  
  Once yo enter the temple, yo can see beautifully carved interior of the temple 
  
  
  
   
  Some sculptress on the exterior of the temple: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
   Though its small temple, attracts because of its ancient history. What I am feeling is it should be maintained properly.But its worth to give a visit to this temple, if you are traveling on NH17 connecting Mangalore and Goa.
  Many more to share with you, but in next posts,
  
  
   Until then,
  Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,
  -Ranjana
  
  

Ananta Fine Arts- Heaven for Handicraft lovers

You have already read about Gudigargalli-Kumta in my previous posts:

Gudigaragalli- Street of Handicrafts

A visit to a handicraft shop in Gudigaragalli .And in the last post about the shop  Ananta Fine Arts, which has a vast collections of artifacts.
 I could not share all the details in a single post, hence continuing in this post.

 The artists of Ananta Fine Arts make excellent Chariots.It won't be exaggerated if I write "Most of the Hindu temples of coastal Karnataka and Goa have the Chariots made by  them".

You will definitely agree with me by seeing these:

They are good in stone sculptures :

You will love these eye catching clay statues. 

This post will be incomplete, if I don't write about the legend behind the art, Late Shri Shamba Shet.He had got many awards and appreciations from all over the world. Few glimpses are here:

Have a look at the carved portraits of Smt. Indira Gandhi and Shri Rajiv Gandhi

Now the next generation is taking the art forward.
There are many artists and shops of handicrafts in this street.
 I'm proud of the artists "Gudigararu".

I could not post all the photos here. You can visit this link to see the magnificant works of handicrafts.

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

A shop in Gudigargalli- Ananta Fine Arts- Heaven for Handicraft lovers

In my previous post you have read about Gudigargalli - A street of handicrafts.
Gudigaragalli- Street of Handicrafts
A visit to a handicraft shop in Gudigaragalli

Ananta Fine Arts is another shop in Gudigargalli, which really paradise for Handicraft lovers. If you don't visit this shop, in Gudigargalli, then your visit is incomplete.
During my school days, we used to cross  this shop, while going to school. Everyday, I used to peep inside, to have the look of magnificent world of handicraft. I enjoyed the view of statues of all Gods and Goddesses , which looked like Durbar of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Krishna, Rama , Sita etc. This is a part of my sweet childhood memories!
I wanted to write about this shop and the artists. But could not get proper photos. I requested one of the artists and shop owner Mr. Dinesh Shet. He shared the photos of the sculptures. So sharing the same with you. I'm sure glimpses will take you to world of art.
This is the shop:

Some of the wooden Mantaps :

Carvings are very beautiful

  

The lovely peacock on both the sides !

Divine Idols

They are the best when it comes to making of Chariots, stone sculptures and clay sculptures.

I will share about those in my next post.

Until then ,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

A visit to a handicraft shop in Gudigaragalli

In my previous post I have written about Gudigargalli- A street Of Handicrafts. As promised in the previous post, in this post I'm taking you to one of the handicraft shops in Gudigargalli.
Every time I visit my native, I visit Gudigaragalli to buy gifts for my friends and some collectives for myself. This time I could capture some photos. So sharing the magnificent works of art with you.
Mahalasa Kalakendra, is one of the shops, I often visit. So taking you there.

Mahalasa Kalakendra-This shop has good collection

Once you enter, you can see everywhere beautifully crafted wooden statues:

 

Statues of Lord Ganesha, in different styles:

 

And statue of Lord Krishna:

This is very rare one, Shri MahaVishnu, standing on lotus flower:

Very famous one : Geetopadesha:

And some beautiful wooden panels , with eye catching sceneries crafted on that:

The below are beautifully crafted wooden articles, which depicts blend of traditional art with modern theme:

 
    
I know you are appreciating the art. Major part of your appreciation shall go to Mr.D.D.Shet, who is the man behind the art,

He is awarded 3-4 times with State and National awards. No wonder!. Though the profession of art and crafts, started by his father, I can say, Mr.D.D.Shet has given new dimension to this art, by blending traditional art with modern theme. Now the third generation is taking it forward.

As I said in my previous post, I'm really proud of Gudigaragalli, which made my native Kumta famous :-).

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana