My country blog hop is a wonderful concept where handmade artisans from around the world come together to show people something about their home, their country via a handmade product. This year 25 people from 11+ countries are coming together in this blog hop hosted by Nan Smith of Nanmade – Handmade jewelry to narrate stories about their respective countries, states or provinces.
I thought that this would be a great opportunity to display one piece from my new- upcoming collection – The second season of my most popular collections of all times – Chithiram.
Chithiram is a tamil word that means art, painting, movie or even a story; Chithiram by Sayuri, is an art to wear collection. In 2012 my focus was on Raja Ravi verma’s (A great Indian artist who is well known for his portrayal of women in a classical way) paintings and I had used them on upcycled/recycled objects to create one of a kind wearable jewelry. Two years later, the entire line and concept being ripped off by dozens of jewelry makers and many requests from clients to bring back the original designs, I decided to bring it back with a twist.
This time around – the collection would be divided into two distinct lines – Chithira katha (Picture stories) and Ragamala (Garland of ragas or musical nodes). We Indians have a strong tradition of narrating stories using pictures, so the piece that I have chosen to showcase today – Purva Raga, falls under the Chithira Katha Category.
Purva Raga
Purva Raga is inspired by the Story of Radha Krishna, one of the greatest myths and Godly love stories of India. Its a glimpse of the eternal love story of Sri Krishna and Radha Rani which is filled with unconditional love and devotion. Theirs is a story of two soul mates forever separated yet together in their minds – a symbol of the purity of love.
Sometimes when we hear a person or catch a glimpse of them (in a dream, photo or even in real life) without really interacting with them or listen to somebody else talk about them, we might get attracted to them and/or fall in love with them. This is what “Purva Raga” means. There is indeed no rhyme or reason to it, it just happens due to connection between souls.
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| Purva raga – Painting by Vridavan Das |
The design is an amalgamation of both North and South Indian aesthetics which are extremely different from one another. But our love of gold and preference to auspicious colors like red, green and yellow bind us together.
As red is the color of love, I have chosen a red colored fabric to create the necklace stuffed with hollow beads. The focal is divided into two parts The first pendant is one half of a traditional South India hair accessory called Chandra prabha (meaning the moon, the other half is called Surya prabha meaning sun). The stones are artifical kemp (made from glass) and set in a plated copper setting, This style of jewelry is called Vadaserry or Temple (dance) jewelry or Simply as Kemp jewelry. It is worn especially during weddings and Bharatanatyam dance performances.
The second focal contains a decoupaged image of Radha looking at an image of Krishna on an acrylic base and has been rimmed with peal stone chain to coordinated with the wire wrapped pearls on the chandra phrabha. Both focals are wire wrapped together and then to the necklace.
Recommended reading
Bridal series- South India
Types of Indian Jewelry
What is Kemp
I hope you find it interesting
Cheers
26 responses to “My Country Blog Hop – India”
waaa…more knowledge about India =)
I'm watching Mahabarata and Mahadewa now. Playing on our national TV channel. So I know little bit about Krishna. What make me interesting is about banana leaf. Interesting way =) we in here, use banana leaf as steam food wrappers namely bothok and pepes.
I love the colors. You are endowed with the expertise to mixing and matching bright colors. I wish I have that talent too.
What a beautiful story as a setting / foundation for your new collection. The above necklace bears an incredibly lovely story.
Phenomenal use of banana leaves btw!
Thanks Maya, Its the cynosure of my new collection, so I thought it would be a befitting introduction to my country's culture
Oh Lilik, thank you, I wish I had your patience when it comes to doing intricate work
(pardon me if my comments show up twice – not sure the first one went through) Lovely story and so many fascinating facts about your home. I had seen food served on banana leaves before (in movies) but didn't know the details behind it. The necklace is spectacular.
I love your color combination and the explanation of Purva Raga and Radha Krisna. Also it was nice that you introduced Ravi Varma, the famous artist. I wonder what is this blog hop about. It is going on? or finished. I am interested in it, but did not know about it. Any way nice post, Divya.
What beautiful jewelry, I am inspired to ask if it is for sale divyan, I like having words that express the concept:Purva Raga. I always learn so much about india on your blog
Gorgeous – the Chandra prabha gives such a rich element to the focal.
Wonderful story, and your necklace is absolutely stunning, perfect tribute!
Thank you so much, Divya. You really tell a fascinating story about purva raga. You say that Indians have a tradition of telling stories with pictures and you have illustrated that here very well. Your necklace with 2 pendants is intricate and unique. I wish you great success with your new collection. I find the idea of banana leaf as a plate intriguing and practical. Too bad I can't do the same with maple leaves! LOL
Thanks Sheila – This particular piece is sold, but I am make you a similar one. Please mail me a confirmation request with your address to place an order
Anindita, its an annual one day blog hop where participants tell stories about their countries. Do read about my previous chithiram collection if you are interested in it
Thanks for the lovely comment Debbie
thank you for hosting such a wonderful blog hop. You can do it with maple leaves to – just stitch up dried ones into plates, we do that too here
Truely its a Beauty Divya and you have potraited our Indian culture in your necklace very well ..your collection gonna rock .. I enjoyed reading your post 🙂
My feeling about Indian traditions are just like in the postcard – lusciousness of color, texture, nature, beautiful and richly ornamented clothing, make-up and jewelry. Such a beautiful story about eternal love! Also told by your jewelry – sparkly and romantic in a traditional way but also eye-catching from a modern high-end design perspective!
we are a country with very diverse cultures and our textiles, jewelry, decor ranges from extremely simple and spartan to highly extravagant but extravagance sells. Though the story is from a myth, In my opinion its is very real and relevant even today
thanks a lot Radhika, I just hope that I have done justice to the theme
What unique and wonderful creations! I love your idea of using traditional jewelry pieces such as the chandra prabha and adding it to a more recent technique of decoupage to create this beautiful collection 🙂
Hello Divya, I'm very impressed by the colours (and design) of your piece! They are what I have in my mind when thinking about India, it's what I see in movies. Perfect (-: Love your story too and thanks for telling me about Purva Raga. I had no idea yet, now I have… There could not be a bigger contrast in our worlds…
Is it still available to purchase ? How much ? How can I buy this ?
Thank you!
~ Yashashree
It was made and sold 4 years ago
Thank you Divya for the reply! Can you still make one and how to I buy it ?
~ Yashashree
Sorry. it is not possible to remake it now. Pls look at the shop page for the current products
I looked at the shop pages but it’s not giving me the option to buy or enter the payment info. How to do that in future ? Thank you!
please email me to buy. It is mentioned in the description above the products