Ikebana and us

Malathi sensei did these lovely arrangements for the annual Emperor's party, hosted by the Japanese Consul at Chennai. I was privileged to accompany her and watch her work. Mr and Mrs Minagawa, (the Consul and wife) enjoyed the exhibits. They are so warm, gracious and friendly, that as Malathi sensei says, we do hope they stay on for another term!

To be able to "wonder" is a fascinating experience. To me the wasp's home, which is about 2 years old, is one such item. It is on the inner ledge of the drawing room's eastern window, very close to the seat which I usually use. Many a time, when the wasp was busy with its home, my husband would remark that I ought not to sit there, that I will be stung by the wasp and to move away. But I would sit still, more to show him that creatures in nature generally are harmless. The wasp built it day upon day and to me it was a truly wonderful event to see the progress. We do have squirrels entering the house for the same purpose, but they do damage our belongings in search of soft and fibrous material to complete their home, but they too can pick the most unusual places! So we generally close the window at mid-day while we are resting. When I woke up for tea and went to my usual seat, I saw the wasp hovering by the closed window, as I have obstructed her life's mission/ I ...

Prerana's handwork Celebrations all around. There was deepavali, which meant friends, family and food! The Sogetsu Group met at Prerana's just before the Deepavali weekend, and we were greeted with this lovely floor decoration by her. (Venkatesh almost sat on it, but that's another story!) The DVD of the felicitation function of Veena Dass at Delhi had arrived and we all watched and commented and critiqued and appreciated everything, so there was a lot of noise all through the session. In the midst of this, some Ikebana was also done. Prerana had done a combination vase arrangement, using seven kinds of material, with a tone of brown/rust. With some corrections from the sensei , it ended up looking fabulous, but of course before I got down to taking a picture, (I was busy chattering away, you see), it got knocked a bit, and so sadly I dont have a record of it. I quickly made sure I took pictures of these arrangements, though! Chitra Seethalakshmi Another celebration ha...

All pictures from the original article. FLORA JAP WAY - Exquisite Ikebana The little arrangements of exotic flowers have a method and mentality behind it Ikebana is a form in which nature and humanity are brought on the same platform THE Japanese art of flower arrangeC ment is catching up, with a lot of Chennaiites. Many women are learning this beautiful art form. This is not a simple flower arrangement in a vase, it's more about a form in which nature and humanity are brought on the same platform. Shape and form are important while arranging the flowers to bring out the essence of the arrangement. Stems and leaves are necessary to give the organic feel. "I didn't learn from a school, I learnt ikebana from books," says Lan Minagawa, the wife of the Japanese Consul General in Chennai. She shares that General in Chennai. She shares that she loves "Making ikebanas at home, when expecting guests." Along with flowers from her garden, Lan gets her flowers from Ame...

The Urali displaying colourful symmetry Hello all! After the team went off to Delhi and returned excited, happy and with renewed creativity, things have been quiet around the Sogetsu Chennai team. It was time for the September workshop to be hosted by Seethalakshmi, and what a treat it was! A gracious hostess with a lovely home, an innovative demonstration by Vaishali, gorgeous freestyle arrangements by others (except me!), and of course a super lunch!! Unfortunately, (ok dont yell), I forgot my trusted digicam, and had to rely on my phone cam. From next time, will somebody remind me the previous day to take my camera please?! So, my apologies to Molly and Chitra. Their other arrangements I have not photographed. As we entered Seetha's home, after negotiating the various "No Entry" and "No Right Turn" boards along the way, we immediately spied lovely granite vases as well as beautiful arrangements. Seetha's arrangement in the front lobby Another granite...

The Zen-Images Ikebana Blog Baiko has posted a series of four arrangements using Lotus. Please click on the link and enjoy!

Iemoto Akane describes her work... "There's something fascinating about the color white that's able to draw out a diverse range of possibilities. Cute blue dots are interspersed over the white glass vase while floral colors are scattered around the white background. Together, they aim to create a harmonious closeness between the vase and flowers." Moth orchid, Prairie gentian, Chrysanthemum, Sunflower, Alstroemeria Ceramic vase - 22×33×46cm Courtesy : http://www.sogetsu.or.jp/english/exhibition/index.html

I love berries in ikebana. And so I like this arrangement because of the lovely "Karaunda" berries used here. They are the sour ones that make awesome pickles we find in Northern India. They are pinkish-redish-white in colour!! There is a very interesting and amazing story behind this picture. In this picture, you see Mrs Veena Das showing "Two". Actually she was narrating this incident to me -There was this man who was heavily addicted to drugs for Two years! He couldnt kick the habit, though he wanted to. Someone directed him to Mrs Dass. He then took Ikebana lessons. Unbelievable, but true, through the magic of flowers and the power of the beautiful art of Ikebana, this man totally gave up his addiction to drugs!! Wow! I mean WOW !!!!!!! Nothing more to be said !!! I was speechless!! Well, I had missed out some pics from the first album on facebook. So here is another link. Just click this line and you can see the 40+ pics also!! Enjoy!!

Senpei Veena Dass Created a big arrangement. It was titled "Seasons". It was done on a square platform. In the centre were green Bamboo Poles. Around it, on the four sides, each season was depicted. It was difficult to get the whole work in one photograph. So I have taken the 4 of them separately. Here it is for you! This is "Spring" with the lillies and other flowers in full bloom This one is "Summer" - The warmth is felt through the flowers used here "Autumn" was evident from the brown, yellow and orange colours of Thistle and Bird of paradise and from the Citrine Fruits !! And "Winter" from the white, the pine branches and the soothing blue and violet colours!! The work that you see below is a "Rikka Shimputai" of the Ikenobo School of Ikebana. This is the work of Mr Vivek Rao from Bangalore. This work by Mrs Indu Punj was titled "Contentment" or "Commitment" - (Sorry I dont remember which one). And this...

Here, I would like to post pictures of some arrangements that I liked. Only a few of the many. This one is by Mrs Indu Punj. I like it so much for the gorgeous Chinese Peonies. I wonder whether they are available in India! Mrs Punj brought them from London a couple of days before the exhibition. They are so beautiful and fragrant too. She has combined Ixora branches, some vines and dracena leaves also - (sorry if I am wrong) This arrangement was liked by all, I am sure. The colour, the lines and the harmony is very striking. I dont remember the name of the artist. You can enlarge the pic and see if you wish. This simple but lovely arrangement is by Avni Chug. This is a "Rikka Shofutai" arrangement by Mr Vivek Rao of Bangalore. This a classical Ikenobo School Arrangement. I am sure everyone can make out the difference. This style of Ikebana is more than 500 years old, Mr Rao told me!! Wow! This is an Ohara School style Landscaping by Mrs Rahmatullah. This senior Ikebana member...

I am as relaxed and a bit lazy even to write today - as much as I was the morning after the exhibition.. The most important job over, we were all free in the mind. By 11.00am we had to be at Mrs Veena Das's residence for a Coffee Morning. We reached in time. The other guests had started to arrive. We were given a warm welcome by the graceful Mrs Dass. I couldnt take my eyes off the huge Tanjavur Painting of Subrahmanya-Valli-Devayani that adorned the walls.! And there were many Ravi Varma prints of Lakshmi & Saraswathi!!! The heads of chapters who had come from outside Delhi spoke on the occasion. Mrs Dass was congratulated for organising this exhibition. Mrs Indu Punj touched everyone's heart by reading out the words that came straight from her heart! She woke up at 3.00 am and wrote those beautiful words. She spoke about all the lovely years they worked as a team. And about the dedication of Mrs Dass to Ikebana. Mrs Veena Dass spoke about the remarkable support Mrs Indu P...