Stop by at Artisans Centre, Kala Ghoda, for a glorious glimpse of the past through an exhibition of saris. For over four decades, Chimy Nanjappa and Pavithra Muddaya from Bangalore have endeavoured to revive ancient crafts, preserve family heirlooms and revitalise tradition

It is one thing to spot a tag on a sari that explains the technique of its weave, it’s quite another to drape a family heirloom, a grandma’s memory or a forgotten generation’s story over your shoulder. Ironically, it was during overseas visits, over four decades ago, that 83-year-old Bangalore-resident Chimy Nanjappa first recognised the immeasurable value in every fold of an antique sari that was otherwise destined to be discarded.

Recalling the birth of the enterprise that she became a part of in the ’70s, Chimy’s daughter Pavithra Muddaya shares, “My mother used to work for the Cauvery Arts and Crafts Emporium. When she represented the Handloom and Handicrafts Export Corporation at fairs overseas,  around 1965, it occurred to her that if foreigners could appreciate the beads of culture that are woven into these garments, shouldn’t one get Indians to recognise their immense value too?”

That’s when Nanjappa began experimenting with techniques that breathed new life into antique garments. “She’d find creative ways to restore and revive old saris and, eventually, she started selling them — just a small stock of painstakingly restored garments — literally out of a box at our home,” recalls Pavithra.

Incidentally, their traditional sari store, Vimor, gets its name from the Indonesian word for Pavithra (pure). “We started restoring temple saris — saris that people would donate to temples — which would be auctioned off eventually. We’d touch up these antiques by patching up a torn border or concealing damaged embroidery and metal stains, all the time ensuring that we stayed true to the traditional style.”

However, sourcing such garments became something of a challenge in due course, Pavithra tells us. She points out that the saris typically boasted of a very traditional aspect, a feature that was representative of a specific period, for instance, peacock and rudraksh-bead motifs. “Some saris even had the donor’s name embroidered on the pallus,” Pavithra says, as she explains why they decided to replicate and revive the old weaves. “We felt there was a need to encourage weavers to retain the old techniques and and they required a steady income.

We also felt it was important to instill a sense of cultural pride to show the weavers that what they’re creating is more than just a piece of apparel and that they’re contributing to safeguarding a valuable piece of our heritage.”

The collection to be exhibited in Mumbai includes only hand-woven saris with very intricate, traditional South Indian weaves. “We’ll be showcasing revival pieces that resemble garments one may find at museums today,” Pavithra smiles. “There will be reproductions of temple saris and Cubbonpet, Ganduberunda, Lakshadeepa, Surte, Adike and Ghine saris, in cotton and silk, with prices starting from Rs 1000 onwards. Heavier saris will be priced Rs 12,000 onwards.”

“Years of documenting and studying these garments have earned Pavithra a reputation as a textile expert,” says Radhi Parekh of Artisans Centre, whose family’s association with Vimor spans back two generations. “Since I was a child, we always made a stop at Vimor whenever we were in Bangalore,” Radhi recalls.

“The workshop is a small space inside their home,” Radhi shares, telling us how charmed she was by the framed images of motifs that adorned the walls of the modest space. “Each image bore a description explaining the root and significance of the motif,” Radhi describes, excited to be able to present the products of such passion to this city.

“People trust us with their great-grandmothers’ saris, so we really have to ensure that each garment, each weave, receives due respect,” she adds. “When we sell saris like those we usually include the ancestor’s story,” Pavithra points out.

The Revival collection displayed in Mumbai won’t include these naturally, but what you will get with each purchase  is an analysis of the weave, a small account of the region the style hails from and a sense of satisfaction for having played your part in the preservation of our tremendous heritage. Vimor’s Heirloom Saris, From My Grandmother’s Cupboard, will be on display  from December 1 to 3.

At: Artisans Centre, 52/56, Dr VB Gandhi Marg, behind Rhythm House, Kala Ghoda. Call: 22672290 / 22673040

source: http://www.mid-day.com / Mid-Day / Home> News> Life and Style News / by Anjana Vaswani / December 01st, 2015

One of the iconic restaurants in Bengaluru, Ebony was the first to introduce Parsi food to the city. The 22-year-old culinary point, known for its pan Asian flavours, constantly keeps reinventing itself. The latest additions to their comprehensive and rather exhaustive menu are Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) food and authentic Mudaliar signature dishes, which are unlikely to be found in other restaurants in the city.

If all goes well, a wide range of Hindu Goan dishes—found rarely in Bengaluru, as Mangalore and Kerala-styled sea food are more popular here—will soon be introduced here. ‘Chandraseniya’ literally means ‘people from the valley of river Chenab or Chandra in Kashmir’. People of this community are known for their love of food and drink. After they settled in the Konkan region, they used locally available ingredients like rice, fish, kokum, tamarind etc., in their cuisine. However, their food is distinctly different from other cuisines of Maharashtra; it has a Kashmiri influence that can be seen in the use of poppy seeds, khus khus and saffron.

Owner and managing director of Ebony Rajesh Rajaram and his associate Krishna Shantakumar have been working to introduce some à la carte dishes  and cuisines in addition to their popular value for money lunch buffet. Rajaram’s mother-in-law Lata Palekar, who has Konkani roots, helped introduce a Konkan platter of sea food delicacies, including fish fry and prawn bhajjiyas that was well-received by the people here.

Palekar’s simple and wholesome CKP chicken has been a sell-out. Besides coconut milk, it has lot of fresh coriander leaves and green chillies that give it a nice green colour. Whole cashew nuts, poppy seeds and shahi jeera give it a distinctive flavour—an amalgamation of Konkani and Kashmiri influences. She plans to do in depth research on CKP food and gradually introduce many dishes into the menu.

Palekar, a Goan by birth, holds a diploma in cooking from Nirmala Niketan in Mumbai. She is assisted by Shantakumar to guide the chefs at Ebony and teach them to perfect dishes like Goan fish curry, roast chicken, masala eggs, shakoti or Goan wild pig (can be substituted with mutton or chicken) curry with lime juice, as opposed to the version made by Goan Christians who use vinegar and jeera. Stuffed pomfret with green chutney, Goan prawn pulav (which is vastly different from the Mudaliar one), roast chicken, fried mutton chops and stuffed prawns are some of the other interesting dishes that will be introduced.

A pineapple sabji is traditionally cooked with mangoes and jackfruit, but since all fruits may not be readily available, Palekar uses only pineapple to create a side dish using coconut, chana dal and uncooked cashew nuts. “Cashew nut is used very liberally in many Goan dishes as English vegetables were introduced later and cashew was grown in abundance,” says Palekar.

Meanwhile, Shantakumar has introduced authentic Mudaliar dishes—Arcot mutton chops and prawn pulav being the two most popular ones. The chops have just five ingredients—Kashmiri chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, sour curd and garam masala. “This was the  staple dish of our family during long train journeys. The prawn pulav is an old family recipe of the Mudaliars, which I managed to pick from my mother, who in turn learnt it from a family cook,” says he. The pulav is prepared over dum by carefully layering half-cooked basmati rice with prawn masala.

Variety is the spice of life. Ebony, with its variety, adds the right spice to food that gastronomes in Bengaluru are looking for

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> LifeStyle> Food / by Sangeeta Cavale Radhakrishna / November 28th, 2015