Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 Profile picture
Jul 12, 2021 9 tweets 7 min read Read on X
#Thread On the auspicious occasion of #RathaJatra21, showcasing the ancient art of #pattachitra, traditional paintings with scriptural narratives done on cloth. The village of #raghurajpur near Puri in Odisha is renowned for pattachitra. @odisha_tourism @arunbothra @PattachitraP
Pattachitra is a combination of two Sanskrit words patta, meaning cloth, and chitra, meaning picture. Pattachitras are known for their colours and themes drawn from Hindu epics, scriptures as well as from folktales. @pramila_mallick @odisha_tourism @PiyushGoyal
#pattachitra themes are usually based on Thia Badhia - depiction of Lord Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra, Krishna Lila, Dasabatara - the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, Dasmahabidyas - ten aspects of Shakti and other themes from Hindu scriptures. @PattachitraP
The first step in the making of a #pattachitra is to prime the patta or the cloth by coating it with tamarind seed paste. After that, the cloth is coated with a soft clay paste, dried and polished with a rough stone. The cloth then becomes stiff and smooth like a canvas.
The paints were traditionally prepared from natural materials like conch shells, by mixing the powder with the gum of the kaitha tree. Different materials are used for different colours, e.g lamp soot for black colour. Colours are mixed in coconut shells. Brushes are locally made
Pattachitra painters are known as chitrakars. Entire household takes part in the painting activity. While the master painter does the freehand line drawings and works on facial expressions, others prepare the glue, prepare the patta and fill in the colours. @odisha_tourism
Master chitrakars do not use pencil or charcoal for the line drawings. They are so good at their work that they draw the line drawings directly on the prepared patta with the brush.Then the colours are filled in and facial expressions perfected.
The colours used in #pattachitra paintings were traditionally limited to red, yellow, indigo, black and white. The brushes used by are made of hair of domestic animals tied to the end of a bamboo stick make the brush. Entire process is very Eco-friendly.
This #pattachitra pallu of a saree depicts the incident from Kanchi-Kaveri Upakhyana where Manika, a milk-maid meets Lord Jagannath and Balbhadra as they go to fight with the king of Kanchi on behalf of king Purushottam Deva, the king of #Odisha. #sareeswag

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More from @ShefVaidya

Apr 20
#Thread #HinduTemple #TempleTrails #DharmaMusings #TemplesOfOdisha #Mukteshwar

Ever noticed the figures not dancing, blessing or fighting demons in a Hindu temple? They are not Gods or Goddesses or beautiful Apsaras. They are the Bharavahak Yakshas, the load-bearers of sacred architecture, holding up the temple, silently. They are not pretty to look at, often depicted as dwarf figures with rounded bellies and bulging eyes.

They are eternally crouched, bent at the knees, backs curved, arms straining under theburden of ceilings, lintels, and sacred vimanas that they hold up. In Hindu architectural treatises, they are known as Adhishthana-purusha, literally “the man who is the base.”Image
At the 10th century CE shrine of Mukteshwar in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, you will find them at the edge of the base moldings. Crouched under carved pilasters or projecting beams, these silent stone figures have taut muscles, every tendon etched by the chisel of time. Their faces are neither serene nor grotesque, but weary—deeply, achingly weary. You can feel the weight on their shoulders if you observe their faces.Image
These aren’t just sculptures. They’re metaphors. For every towering success, someone bears the invisible weight. In human life, it is Parents. Farmers. Soldiers. Caregivers. Teachers. Doctors. Labourers.. The Bhara-vahakas of real life.

In a world obsessed with who’s on top, Hindu temples remind us to respect who’s below. Bhara-vahakas don’t seek the limelight. But without them, there’s no light at all.Image
Read 5 tweets
Apr 17
#Thread The beauty of #HinduTempleArchitecture is breathtaking. Let me take you to a 10th-century marvel in #Odisha—Mukteshwar Temple in Bhubaneswar. Small in size, grand in detail. And home to one of the quirkiest features in temple art: the Monkey Windows. Yes, monkeys. Stay with me. #IncredibleIndia #DekhoApnaDesh #TempleTrails #DharmaMusingsImage
The so called #MonkeyWindows are not actual windows. They are exquisitely carved stone lattice panels—jalis—tucked into the sides of the temple. From afar, they look like decorative screens. But zoom in, and you’ll find mischief. Incidentally, these temples are more than a 1000 years old, remember that when some Marxist historian tells you that ‘Mughals gave us jaali’.Image
The latticed window has frolicking monkeys carved all around it, indulging in different activities, a monkey holds a mirror, another plays a flute, while another pulls the tail of the monkey in front of it. These vignettes capture monkeys in human-like antics, reflecting tales from the Panchatantra. The tale of the monkey and the crocodile is carved out in minute details.Image
Read 7 tweets
May 23, 2024
Even as the Jewish state of #Israel is in a state of turmoil following the brutal terr0r attacks by #Hamas in October last year, I sat inside the cool, quiet interiors of the #pardesisynagogue of Kochi and thought about the Jewish kingdom that existed in Bharat for centuries in peace, in Cranganore near Kochi. @danielocarmon @KobbiShoshani #AmIsraelChaiImage
2000 years of Jewish history in Kerala has been depicted in ten paintings displayed at the #kochi synagogue, that talk about how the Jews landed in Bharat soon after the destruction of their second temple by the Romans. While the exact date is open to debate, Jewish historians believe that Jewish people landed in Bharat as early as in 72 CE!Image
The Jewish kingdom of Cranganore, also known as Shingly, holds a remarkable place in the history of the Jewish diaspora. Cranganore (modern-day Kodungallur) served as an important Jewish settlement for close to a 1000 years! The Hindu Chera kings welcomed the Jewish refugees as honoured citizens.Image
Read 8 tweets
Dec 27, 2022
#thread on ‘inter-faith’ murders that were reported in India over the last ONE MONTH. 1) The case we all know - #AftabPoonawalla kiIIing his live-in partner #ShraddhaWalkar and cutting her body into 35 parts! This happened after two years of physical abuse and threats to murder.
Within a week of #ShraddhaWalkar’s murder, #NidhiGupta was pushed from a 4th floor terrace to her death by her ‘stalker’ Mohd Sufiyan because she refused to convert for him. Nidhi was only 19!
22 year old #Rabita, a tribal girl from a very small mountain tribe in Jharkhand was chopped into 50 parts by her husband Dildar and his family, within 10 days of her ‘marriage’. Dildar was already married.
Read 7 tweets
Aug 14, 2022
#ChanderiChronicles #thread The beautiful town of Chanderi, surrounded by the Vindhyachala ranges is one of the best kept secrets of @MPTourism. The town sits low below a ridge that is crowned by the magnificent #Chanderi fort.
When we say #Chanderi, most of us textile enthusiasts think of the diaphanous, light-as-air Chanderi sarees, a fabric known for its subtle jari motifs and gossamer thin translucence that made Chanderi the favourite of erstwhile royal families of Rajasthan, MP and Maharashtra
But there is so much more to #Chanderi. Once known as Chandrapuri and Chedi Nagri, the town of Chanderi and the countryside around it formed a part of the Chedi kingdom. Chandrapuri is believed to be the capital of Vakradanta, the father of Shishupal mentioned in the Mahabharat.
Read 14 tweets
Apr 23, 2022
#Thread Idi0t’s Guide to #NoBindiNoBusiness, for the trolls who deliberately misinterpret the hashtag n the thought behind it. Repeat after me, #No_Bindi_No_Business is about CHOICE. It is not a compulsion, it is not a law. It is about the right of the ordinary Hindu to say NO!
When brands advertise for Hindu festivals like #AkshayaTritiya #Ugadi #Deepavali #GaneshChaturthi it is a reasonable expectation that they should respect the consumer’s culture, traditions, symbols. A bindi/Tilak/sindoor is one of the prominent Hindu symbols #NoBindiNoBusiness
If a brand wants Hindu money, the brand HAS to respect Hindu sentiments. The ads have to reflect the Hinduness, the joy, the spiritual significance of the festival. You want Hindus to buy gold from you for #AkshayaTritiya then show respect to Hindu culture. #NoBindiNoBusiness
Read 7 tweets

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