Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 Profile picture
Aug 21, 2021 7 tweets 5 min read Read on X
#Thread Most Indian art has some underlying spiritual meaning, as every little thing in this world is perceived as a divine creation. Even the humble #Kantha, once the recycling craft of the women of Bengal and Odisha, was a way to communicate with the Divine.
Women stitched together old, much washed sarees and dhotis and turned them into the softest, warmest quilts after embroidering them with motifs drawn from their own lives, culture, religious beliefs and nature. #Kantha was the art of story-telling and the stitches were the words.
In his book on quilts of India, Patrick Finn quotes a Sanskrit proverb that uses quilting as a metaphor. ‘Slowly one stitches rags, slowly one traverses the path, and slowly one climbs to the top of the mountain’. Did you know that there are special deities in India for rags?
Chindhadeo and Chindhadevi are the God and Goddess of rags, and even today, have temples dedicated to them. Maharashtra even has a village called Chindhadevi! The craft of quilting is the divine connection between the fingers that stitch old rags together and the Gods.
Today, #Kantha embroidery has undergone a metamorphosis. It is no longer the exclusive craft of recyclers. It is now an art form.
This exquisite Kantha bedspread has jungle motifs, a design theme inspired by the diversity of the flora and fauna found in the forests of India.
This theme has been popular in India since the pre-historic cave paintings of Bhimbetka. It is often seen used in varied art and craft forms. In Banarasi weaves, it is referred to as shikargah, in the brocade weave of Kanchipuram, it is referred to as Vanasingharam.
In #Kantha, it is called Anand kanan, the forest of joy. This quilt is exceptional due to the richness of its theme, the number of motifs and the neat finishing. It was created over a period of six months, with several women artisans working on it. Bought it at the @GoCoop1 expo

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More from @ShefVaidya

May 23
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
Apr 22, 2022
#Thread This is for the outrage brigade who froth at the mouth 24/7 abusing RSS/VHP/BJP/Modi, everyone, while pretending to be ‘Hindu activists’. If you are a @BJP4India voter, you have every right to question/criticise this govt. But why the tirade against @RSSorg?
As the name suggests, RSS is a volunteer driven org. They don’t owe anyone anything. They work on ground. They have different Sewa projects from orphanages to old age homes to #gharwapsi programmes to intervening in #lovejihad cases. Do you support them in any way?
Do you give your money/time/contacts to any of these causes? Do you at least provide intellectual cover to the parivar organisations that work on the ground for Hindus? Do you write articles covering their Sewa work? Do you defend them when they are attacked by the left?
Read 5 tweets
Jan 26, 2022
The responses to this thread were phenomenal. Collating them all together in replies to this tweet. Do check them out. #OurTrueHistory. It made this #RepublicDay very special for me. Congratulations to all the winners and participants. Watch out for the next context on 15th Aug.
A thread by @MumukshuSavitri on Vijayanagara empire and the role of women.
A wonderful thread on the brick temple of Bhitargaon, one of the earliest Hindu temples of India #OurTrueHistory
Read 8 tweets

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