everyday saris

a transition.

nestindia — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:28:39 +0530

i’m two weeks out of india. how is that possible? i’m currently in spain, with malaysia...

five days.

nestindia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:08:41 +0530

i have five days left in india. i knew this time would come and, for awhile, i couldn’t wait...

here’s one of my favorite photos from the last two weeks...

nestindia — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:53:49 +0530

here’s one of my favorite photos from the last two weeks :)

my mom and sister visited kolkata…

experienced my life,

whizzed through streets in auto rickshaws,

spent christmas eve volunteering at my friend’s medical clinic,

gorged on delicious curries and breads,

managed not to get sick (not even a little),

dressed as locals in kurtas and scarves,

and, of course, spent an entire day taking in the beauty of the taj mahal.

***

now i’m making my way through rajasthan with my friend, kayla. more to come when i get back to kolkata on the 10th!

tragedy in my city.

nestindia — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 12:58:28 +0530

why is it, that just when you get comfortable, when the weather is no longer suffocating,...

one of my favorite parts of india…and of my job…is...

nestindia — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:43:49 +0530

fabric swatches.

gypsy mala beads.

pantone color cards.

block printed poster on hand made paper.

hand-painted ceramic dish.

more gypsy jewelry.

hand-carved wooden block.

rug made of scrap fabric.

ceramic dish.

hand-woven scarf.

one of my favorite parts of india…and of my job…is that i’m constantly surrounded by beautiful art.

…

so, my apartment doubles as a stock room?

just a perk of the job :)

gratitude, in new ways & old.

nestindia — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:25:37 +0530

i’ve spent the past three thanksgivings away from home. while i’ve missed my family at...

anniversary.

nestindia — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:19:00 +0530

one year ago today, i began this india journey. and what a year it has been! people i didn’t...

artisan.

nestindia — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:26:03 +0530

artisan: noun; a worker who practices a trade or handicraft; producing something in limited...

recipe: channa salad.

nestindia — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:20:00 +0530

have you heard? india has some great street food. salty, sweet, cheap. potentially a bit risky...

make sure you read this for an explanation of these events :)

nestindia — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:03:00 +0530

a drummer looking + waiting to play.

these boys loved the camera!

i mentioned the drumming, right?

prayers + sacrifice.

carrying the idols to the water.

so heavy!

piercing eyes.

howrah bridge in the background.

photographers, in the river.

muddy feet at the immersion.

make sure you read this for an explanation of these events :)

Photo

nestindia — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:15:00 +0530

exterior of a pandal.

an amazing pandal, lit up at night.

biggest one i saw (see the line?)!

waiting in line to go inside the pandal.

inside. durga, with accomanying deities.

inside = massive crowd.

pandal ceiling = amazing artistry!

CROWDS.

pandal made of tin kitchenware.

inside, prayers and offerings.

coming back, part 2.

nestindia — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:10:07 +0530

you know how the united states gets during december? glittery… bustling… full of...

coming back, part 1.

nestindia — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:28:00 +0530

so, it’s been a month…over a month…nearly two, i’m afraid…goodness. i feel awful. forgive me? ...

i’m in trichy again! …as usual, with limited...

nestindia — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 01:59:00 +0530

marcella imparting her design wisdom!

kids looking into the work room.

women with the final designs!

obviously i had to include this.

i’m in trichy again!

…as usual, with limited internet.

…not as usual, with a nest designer! marcella has been in india for a week, working with nest’s groups in kolkata and trichy to design a new line of products.

the final collections are amazing. i promise you’ll want to buy them.

is that enough of a hook?

more to come soon.

check out these beautiful photos from the curriculum graduation...

nestindia — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:51:00 +0530

everyone cutting the celebration cake!

our wonderful interns, angela and rachna

nithiya

seetha

kannamal

check out these beautiful photos from the curriculum graduation in trichy :)

i could write several paragraphs about why this is a particularly significant accomplishment for these women. i could explain how, in the gypsy culture, days are quite fluid and unstructured. how people come and go as they please, when they please. how calendars and planners and schedules are virtually nonexistent.

i could explain how these women have little formal education. how they could have spent those classroom hours making beads to sell instead. how several of the other artisans, in fact, took that route.

i could tell you that the women were diligently working on a huge jewelry order, worried about meeting the deadline, and that they could have easily decided to continue production instead of stopping each day to attend these business trainings. with kids running in and out and all around the classroom.

i could explain how the discrimination these women have received their whole lives might have been a hindrance to them valuing their own time or potential. or how, in india, the education process tends to favor simple repetition and memorization, rather than independent and critical thought - and how this curriculum pushed them to exercise the latter.

yes, i could explain all of this.

but i think their smiles speak volumes on their own :)

extremes.

nestindia — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:00:00 +0530

yesterday - august 15th - india celebrated the 64th anniversary of its independence. happy...

why didn't i think of this earlier?!

nestindia — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:32:00 +0530

i’ve mentioned our two summer fellows several times, right? how wonderful they are. how...

nithya.

nestindia — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 22:06:30 +0530

a final story from trichy. *** Nithya is a quiet young mother with a four-year-old daughter and...

poonkodi.

nestindia — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:58:57 +0530

another personal story from trichy. *** poonkodi is an elderly woman with a smile that will warm...

kannamal.

nestindia — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:56:23 +0530

as promised, we begin the series of gypsy artisan stories :) *** kannamal is a mother of three,...