My Prized Possessions: Ganesha at Home :)

I often get emails and messages for a tour of my house. Loads of motivation from blogger friends and I decided to show case my abode and the curios I have collected over the years. Nothing better than starting the feature with my Ganesha. *

My Love for brass has been there forever now. Vacations with parents in Tamil Nad n kerala (Southern States in India) meant trips to temples and a compulsory detour to old markets laden with beautiful handmade brass and bronze artifacts. I am quite blessed to have found pieces I love. My collection has grown over the years.  Do enjoy the vignettes :)

My love for music prompted me to pick this up. It has been there with me for over a decade. I fondly call the set

Kaccheri pillayar or The Ganeshas in Concert :)

The relaxing ganesha enjoying a quite evening

another vignette of the same idol

And ending this post with my ultra modern singing ganapathy (a.k.a. ganesha) the lord is holds a sitar (musical instrument) and seems to enjoy the outdoors a lot :)

A  few friends tease me about this idol and call it Organic pillayaar Ganesha). The reason behind this is Lord Ganesha is known for his love for food. Its very rare to find an idol with out a belly :). This idol was a gift from a dear friend and is lean and unconventional.

Also read about my handmade Ganeshas for the Ganesh Chathurthi festival. Loved doing the post. Thanks for stopping by :).




PS:  Coming up with a wonderful home tour. So stay tuned

*In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is considered the remover of obstacles :)

Friday finds ~ Antique Foot Scrubbers

Been a while since I went to my thrift and antique stores, hence the lack of friday finds on the blog...this time around it was an interesting dicovery online..and it is all about keeping your feet clean!!

Yes, it is about Foot scrubbers. I had a brush with this very beautiful piece recently. A fellow blogger recently held a contest where readers were asked to guess what the antique piece was :).

and the base

michaelbackmanltd.com

Amazing isnt it...

A little more digging later (phew!! thanks to google).. I found that  this object, called  "vajri", was from India  and probably from the early 18th and 19th C. to be These lovely pieces were used as foot scrubbers by women bathing in a local pond or the river. These vajris have bearings (tiny metal balls) inside and were designed to jingle or rattle while in use. This was to let people know to respect the bathing women's privacy and stay away from that area (source: a friend's grandmother :))!!! I wish she had one and i could have it from her :P 

rillajaggia.blogspot.com

( I am sure there must be similar ones in existence long before the 17th century. India had a flourishing civilization with indoor plumbing etc almost 5000 years ago!- remember Indus civilization - Mohenjadaro and Haraapa!)

Antique brass ones seem to have been quite popular and were made in many shapes and decorated with an animal motif, for e.g. peacock, elephant, lion, etc.  The sculpted base are what makes them functional and gentle to use. 

A few other shapes :-)

lots more!!

michaelbackmanltd.com

Having such pretty foot scrubbers indicate the exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail in Indian Handicraft...I am swept off my feet :P


Not sure if it related...but Vajri in Sanskrith means Thunder or even Lord Indra ..Let me know if you have any idea how the name for the foot scrubber must have been derived :) 




Before I say adios! a reminder about the giveaway : Here



PS: silly me..i asked for the paati's inputs after i posted my answer on the co-blog.:). 

Brass love!

One from our collection....