India & the Wonderful Workshops in Pictures

The TG's enjoying dinner at Vishala - a traditional restaurant outside Ahmedabad.....
Dear Reader,
Greetings from sunny Sydney! It is now one week since the Wonderful Workshops finished. After a couple of days of R & R & I must confess some final shopping, the TGs travelled home to Australia following our wonderful 3 week adventure experiencing the delights of India. It is said "a pictures is worth a thousand words" so I hope the following photos capture for you the essence of our Indian adventure including the sights of the cities, towns & streets; the great diversity & complexity of Indian life; the struggle for the poor to survive; the delight of retreating to the peace & quiet of the Diggi Palace Hotel garden after the noise & chaos of the streets of Jaipur; and especially the Wonderful Workshops which provided us a most unique opportunity to experience & learn traditional Indian craft skills! The photos include our travels from the streets of Mumbai (including the Gateway of India & the Taj Mahal Hotel); to Ahmadabad with its temples & an ashram established by Gandhi in 1917 which was his home until 1934; to the noise & chosis of streets of Jaipur; and our creative endeavours in the Wonderful Workshops - the jewellery created by TG Barbara; the sparkling wall plaques created by TG Robyn, and the book ends & mobile made by this TG!

The survival of the poor - a street vendor selling vegetables in Jaipur.........

The delights of the annual Kardhi Markets held in Jaipur each January offering wonderful hand made woollen & silks wraps, scarves & other home wares plus the essentials of life such as mouth freshers being sold in the above stall..................... below is a variety of the freshers on sale!! The TGs didn't succumb deciding instead to stick with our tooth brush & the trusty Colgates tooth paste!!

Back to the peace & quiet of the Diggi Palace Hotel garden offering many delights including shared friendships & catching up on the creative encdeavours of the day; wonderful teas, hot ginger & lemon drink & of course the delicious lemon pancakes!!!

A few examples of the amazing creative works of the Wonderful Workshops................................

Dancers in the Late Night Music evenings provided during the Wonderful Workshop week......

Local people enjoying Jaipur's annual Kite Flying Festival held on 14th January..................

It is a daily struggle for children & others to survive in this wonderfully colourful & complex city..........

To all who participated in the Wonderful Workshops may this be a sparkling & creative year for all.... May we renew our friendships again at some future Wonderful Workshop....

Nameste, TG Kate

Farewell Wonderful Workshops

Dear Reader,
After an amazing creative week of workshops, exploring the local culture, musical evenings, shopping & great food the Wonderful Workshops 2011 are over! All TGs agree that we have been fortunate to have shared this unique & special experience. TG Barbara has created a wonderful silver necklace & earrings; Robyn created sparkling artistic wall hangings, a brooch & napkin holder; & this TG created colourful book ends (Sydney Harbour meets Jaipur - the pink city); a splendid ring & a wonderful mobile which sparkles delightfully in the sun shine.
The Workshops ended yesterday afternoon with an exhibition of the amazing & creative items made in the various workshops. The exhibition was held in the wonderful Diggi Palace garden followed by high tea...........
We are spending today enjoying the sunshine in the garden & doing some last minute shopping! TG Robyn sends peace to all after a final day of frantic shopping including a visit to Madoh, an amazing haberdashery shop in the Bapu Bazaar where she purchased a wonderful array of embroidery cottons & braids!!! I must confess that I also weakened when confronted with the delights of Madoh, purchasing braids & other embellishments - ready for many a creative project to be explored in my new retirement..................
Must away as packing to be done, the TGs have any early morning start tomorrow for our flight to Mumbai & return to Australia on Wednesday.
Until the next post, Nameste, Kate

The TGs go Kite Flying!

Dear Reader,
Since our last post the TGs have been enjoying our wonderful workshops. Barbara is busy with her jewellery making & exploring shops selling wonderful stones & other jewellery - it must be reported that some purchases have been made!
Robyn & I have been busy sparkling our various surfaces & watching them emerge into sparkling masterpieces - wall plaques; broaches; rings; book ends & even a colourful mobile are in the process of being made. We are enjoying the workshop along with 8 other participants who have travelled from the UK & Spain. As ever Andrew Logan guides us & shares his wonderful artistic talent with great grace & patience. Andrew's trusty assistant is the beautiful Beatrice who is a dab hand at mixing resin - the essential ingredient in making our various pieces.
Robyn & I, along with Jacqueline another sparkling participant, braved the bazaars of the old city last night in search of essential items - the call went out for a tuk tuk to take us to the bustling Tripolia Bazaar where we purchased extra beads, wooden cutouts & many other delightful bits!
Today is a public holiday in Jaipur for the annual Kite Flying Festival & there are no workshops to enable us to view the kite flying from the roof top of an havelli (old hotel) in the old city. In recent days the locals have been out & about practicing their kite flying skills in preparation for today's festival. Many an abandoned kite can been seen caught in power lines & in tree tops; with some lying around the streets & being eaten by cows which freely roam the streets of the old city! Can't say I plan to add abandoned kites to my diet any time soon!!
Yesterday we enjoyed an early morning walk around the old city, just as the city was waking up for the day. The locals were rising for the day & getting about their business of opening small shops, and children were being taken to school by tuk tuk or rickshaw. We even had a short trip in a rickshaw - an interesting adventure!!
Well dear reader I must be off, as time needs to be spent cleaning my sparkling master pieces - a truly time consuming activity requiring much patience & attention to detail!
The TGs send their best wishes to our family & friends.
Nameste, Kate

Let the Sparkling Surfaces begin!

Dear Reader,

The TGs are eagerly anticipating the start of the Wonderful Workshops with welcome drinks in about one hour! We continue to "shop till we drop" in spite the occasional cry of "I'm over it......I'm all shopped out"! It has to be said that the TGs quickly regroup & the call for a Tuk Tuk goes out & its off to the bazaars and market again..........

In addition to shopping, sightseeing & taking in the sights, sounds & colours of the city we have been catching up with old WW friends including Gillian & Bonny from the UK. Yesterday we went to the polo to watch the final of the Jaipur Cup. Polo is a favoured pastime in Jaipur - the match was won by the Cavalry team with their splendid horses & very handsome riders..... Before attending the polo we went to the Khadi Markets - the annual market place where many people from surrounding areas come to peddle their wares including woollen shawls (known as "rugs"); quilts; bedding; herbs; spices the most amazing selection of colourful breath fresheners!!!!

Today we have been out & out shopping at Ridhi Sidhi (Readers can I let you into a small secret - the TGs Barbara & Robyn have each had 2 lovely coats made from delicious old cotton saris!) Never let it be said that the TGs would fail to support the local economy!!

Also, the TGs Robyn & Kate have been to the Tripolia Bazaar to purchase a few little pieces ready to be sparkled!!

Must away as people to be seen & preparations to be made for the commencement of the workshops.

Till the next blog, Nameste from Kate

More news from Jaipur

Dear reader

This is TG Barbara reporting. TGs 2 and 3 (Barbara and Robyn) have now arrived at the Diggi after our our adventures in Agra. Our car trip from Delhi to Agra was supervised by our trusty driver who adopted TG Robyn and myself as his 'mother' and ' grandmother'. The trip was punctuated by his constant attempts to explain everything we passed - in very broken English. We were blown away by the number of colleges and universities - one after another for most of the way from Delhi to Agra - most located out in the middle of rural farming land and most of them technologically based.

Arrival at the Trident Hotel in Agra provided us with a very luxurious haven from the unbelievable traffic. Day 2 at the Taj Mahal was amazing - when we finally negotiated our way through all the hawkers - with every possible kind of memento you could you imagine for sale.

The drive to Jaipur - again under the watchful eye of our trusty driver was an experience in faith. The fog was the worst we've ever seen and that, combined with the mayhem of the Indian driving habits made the trip extremely hair-raising. We passed at least three overturned trucks along the way.

Last night's arrival at the Diggi was all that we had anticipated. TG Kathy was waiting to settle us in and we've now had our first day shopping in Jaipur. TG Robyn now has to arrange for all her purchases to be shipped home!!! She's the last of the big spenders. She says hello to all and she'll report next!

Until the next blog- nameste

Barbara

First report from Jaipur

Dear Reader,
This is TG Kate reporting from Jaipur! Arrived at the wonderful Diggi Palace yesterday - the same familiar peaceful oasis...... Again this year it is very cold! TG's Barbara & Robyn are enjoying the delights of Agra & will join me tomorrow.
For those readers who know the Diggi, I've been out & about today in the trusty Tuk Tuk known as the Doris Express. The driver Shiva assured me he offers the best price & safety! Not sure there is much safety on the streets of Jaipur which remain as chaotic as ever. This it is a city of many contrasts from the gleaming newly constructed american style malls being built to serve the emerging middle class, to the great poverty of the people living on the streets. It has to said that the sights & sounds of this amazing city can be challenging & confronting!
In spite of it all I hit the shops today with visits to the familiar Anokhi & Fabindia as well as Bapu Bazaar specialising in traditional textiles including saris & other traditional clothing. The clothes & fabrics are as delicious as ever! Needless to say a few purchases were made!!
In the late afternoon I enjoyed the wonderful warming sunshine in the Diggi's garden with a cup of the obligatory ginger tea!
Must away - the Wonderful Workshops beckon, so designing to be undertaken for my Sparkling Surface master piece! http://wonderfulworkshops.org/
Until the next blog - Nameste, Kate

The TG's Report from Ahmedabad

Dear Reader,
We're back! This time the TG's are reporting from Ahmedabad - a fascinating city of over 5M.
Our Mumbai experience was great, especially New Years Eve celebrations (an experience!); the Taj Mahal Hotel & of course our visit to the fascinating Elephanta Island - but more about Mumbai later...........
While Ahmedabad is not a tourist mecca it is well worth the stop over to experience more of the wonderful & amazing sights, sounds, colours & smells of India - tuk tuks by the thousand; the continual sounding of horns & a seething mass of people & animals. The primary purpose of our stay was a visit to the Calico Museum & it didn't disappoint! Located in a fascinating old havelli, this museum holds a wonderful collection of India textiles from over the centuries. We also visited a local mosque which has been a place of worship since the 1400's - built from local sandstone with a wonderful carved facade. An unexpected pleasure for me was our visit to the wonderfully peaceful Gandhi Ashram where Gandhi lived for 18yrs from 1917. As ever in India these places provided peaceful havens in the midst of a noisy & chaotic city! Last night we had dinner at the fascinating Vishala Restaurant & Utensil Museum - a traditional restaurant in a local village. Food a bit spicy for my liking!!
We are staying at the charming MG Hotel located in the old walled city. The hotel is an old family home build around 1920. The rooms are very spacious & beds resplendent with mosquito nets. Its located at what appears to be a major traffic intersection - tuk tuks, cars, people, animals & a few trusting tourists all competing for space.......
TG's Barbara & Robyn had an early start today - 5.45am departure for the airport for flight to Delhi & then a 6hr drive to Agra for a 2 day visit to the wonderful Taj Mahal! I depart soon for my flight to Jaipur for some rest & relaxation at the Diggi Palace prior to the Wonderful Workshops commencing on Sunday (might fit in some shopping & a polo match!). The other TGs will join me on Friday.
Must away - more news from Jaipur. Unfortunately no photos as uploading them aways seems to be a bit of a problem at the hotels!
Until the next post - Nameste,
Kate
PS: When I departed breakfast the young waiters were gathered around the TV excitedly watching the cricket from Australia! (England vs Aust - I think.....)