artnlight

 "Each piece is individually hand embroidered or handwoven using trditional techniques and giving each product its own unique and original personality."

 "TIA PAKHI collections blend the traditional Indian crafts with Anais’ poetic, bold and colourful style to create a contemporary ethnic style."

One of the best things about exhibitions for me have always been to meet fellow entrepreneurs. Its a great opportunity to meet people who like you pack in their work into cartons, set up shop for those 2 days and put their best foot forward and prepare to meet the people who will see, like and buy their work. Sometimes you've seen their work online and have heard a lot about them and a lot of times you get to see and meet new people and the very interesting work they do for the very 1st time. And if you are at a well put together exhibition both these things happen and its a win-win situation.
1st up is LOOSE ENDS with whom I shared a stall - the organisers really gave both of us a lot of room & it really didn't feel like we were 'sharing' space. Thank you Praneeta Bedi for that and for a brilliantly put together set of brands and designers.
This is how the Artnlight work looked at the Trunk Show. It was a brilliant feeling to have people come back for my products, its was great seeing people who were pleasantly surprised to see me here, recognise the products and buy it. And even better to see new people discovering and reacting to the products. It was a great 2 days when a lot of friends and ex-colleagues dropped by just to encourage me.

 

I know I am late in announcing the winner of the Diwali MORA stole give-away. The very lucky winner is Lotus Gal. After reading all the heartfelt entries, we were tied up between 4 and then 2 people and because we were finding it really hard to pick up one person, Ritika said "read the 2 final comments to aunty" (my mom) and let her take a call who will win. And that is what I did. But through this give-away the heartfelt comments that came in touched me immensely, I know each of you wrote from your heart, your truth and that for me is invaluable and one of the most meaningful things to have happened on this blog till date.
Ritika has been travelling and has no connectivity to the internet and I used to read out the comments to her and when we were discussing the entries and comments is when I realised that she remembers each and every comment. Incredible. I was the one who was sitting in front of the comp, but she remembered everything she read. I told Ritika "they've done this for you and it comes out of the love and respect they have for MORA. I know you are travelling but for all of them who did not win, it will mean the world to them if you write them a message." So Ritika said she has anyway wanted to, I said text me the few lines & I will incorporate it in my post. Ten minutes later Ritika calls me as says, "this is becoming really long, I can't seem to stop writing - it is becoming a post & I have no access to the net to blog".  And this is what she mailed me, for all of you who commented and all of you who love her and what she does,  I'm handing it over to Ritika, unplugged.

 I grew up in a small village in punjab and in a big big joint family with my grandparents, uncles, aunts and lots of cousins... We were always a "gang"! Rains meant pooris and pakoras, summers meant icecream soda, winters meant amma(my grandmother's) hot hot halwa. Each season had a distinct smell, colour and energy for me...
That energy stayed with me beautifully...
I still look for the same "everything" that I experienced as a child... It is what connects me to my purest "me"... The unadulterated innocence... It connects me to what and how I was born as and my roots...
Tradition for me is reconnecting and carrying forward my roots... and my "collective memory"... The more I travel the more I get closer home...
The more the bonds get stronger between "me then" and "me now"... And suddently travel becomes a way for me to go back in time...Suddenly, my travels found their true calling... The moment I started I wasn't traveling into kilometres ahead but I was going back in time... it became about how many years I can travel in the past seeking lost tradition...
Mora gave me my "magic carpet" to fly me back in time...

Suddenly I was in the middle of tribals far far away from "the adulteration of the civilised world"... I connected with their innocence... They bared their souls to me and I to them... They shared their life through their weaves and the stories attached to them and I shared mine by making some if the traditional food I grew up with for them... In those hours I saw the mothers and daughters sitting together exchanging weaving notes and  singing their folk songs and they saw me running to my village home's kitchen asking for a second helping of amma's halwa.

This tradition of reconnecting with who I was keeps me going... What also keeps me going is the respect I feel for all others who have not lost touch with their identity... This is what keeps me afloat... Keeps me humble and never let's me forget who I really am.
We are a result of the choices we make. Those choices for me are directly related to how closely we feel connected to our roots, our tradition.
For me tradition is the oxygen for my soul... the lifeline of my journey... And the foundation of my existence.
When vineeta mentioned about her beautiful blog's giveaway, I had nothing else but happiness to share with her!! 5 years of commitment and still going strong is a beautiful thing...
I had never done this before and what better than to do this my vineeta... I have loved her with all my heart for the joyous energy with which she reached nagaland to connect with me "no matter what"... That talks volume of this dynamite of beautiful happy energy vineeta is.We all in nagaland call her kaali- mahakaali- the goddess that gives me strength and wisdom and when am done fighting my battles holds me tight in her lap with all that affection.Vineeta is a friend, guide and madness that completes me and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have found her in all of these avtaars in just one life.

Thank you my vineeta and thank you each one of you who wrote regarding tradition and what it means to you...
Though we haven't met but we are already tied by this thread...I will call this event vineeta's chai party- high tea of sorts...It just feels like we all sat together over a long cup of chai and spoke heart to heart... Laughed and cried together and said our stories that were carefully tucked away in our memory box...
All I can say is group hug! We all just became one!
Vineeta, take a bow... What a wonderful host and what a beautiful memory...
Lots of Love,
Ritika & MORA

Lotus Gal, congratulations for winning the beautiful MORA stole, I hope you have read this post, because we don't have your email id and therefore no way of contacting you, do get in touch with us by leaving a comment with your address here or by mailing me or leaving me a message in my FB inbox.