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!

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...

To celebrate four decades of Sogetsu School of Ikebana, New Delhi Branch and in honour of His Majesty Akihito, Emperor of Japan conferring "The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold & Silver Rays" on Mrs Veena Dass,Director, Sogetsu School of Ikebana, New Delhi Chapter an Ikebana Exhibition titled "Celebration" was held on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at Kamal Mahal, ITC Maurya Hotel, New Delhi. Mrs. Salma Ansari, Spouse of the Hon’ble Vice President inaugurated the event. H. E. Mr. Hideaki Domichi, Ambassador of Japan to India & Mrs. Noriko Domichi were the Guests of Honour. Mrs Veena Dass was conferred the decoration in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the India-Japan Relationship. Mrs. Dass’ association with Ikebana began in 1960. She became the founding member of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana Delhi Chapter in 1966 and continues to be its Director to date. Mrs Veena Dass, in her beautiful speech emphasised that rather than differentiating ourselves und...

In This Series, We Meet Unusual Groups. This Week, Learn About Ikebana With The Chennai Sogetsu Study Circle Priya M Menon | TNN They see beauty even in dry leaves and driftwood. In a discarded bouquet, they see a treasure trove of possibilities. For the members of the Chennai Sogetsu Study Circle, anything in nature has charm and is to be treated with respect. A sentiment which is reflected in the art they strive to master — ikebana or the Japanese art of flower arrangement. If you think ikebana is just flower arrangement, you couldn’t be more wrong, says Malathi Pandurang, who was instrumental in setting up the circle 15 years ago. “It originated in Buddhist temples as an offering of flowers,” says Malathi. “Priests used it to teach disciples the transcendent quality of life.” Ikebana has many schools, the oldest being Ikenobo. The Sogestsu school was founded by Sofu Teshigahara, who recognised it as a creative art. And it is to this school that the members of this Circle belon...

Chennai Sogetsu Ikebana 09 Originally uploaded by ambikach2002 Going through the Flickr gallery, I was tempted to do a post highlighting the large works by Sensei Malathi, over these last few years! This was the large arrangement from the 2009 exhibition, where she said she drew inspiration from the pyramids of Egypt. For me however, they reminded me of a Japanese garden, with the swept stones, the spare branches with their strong lines, and the chrysanthemums, so ceremonial and sacred to the Japanese. Chennai Sogetsu Ikebana 2008 Originally uploaded by ambikach2002 This water pot from my grandfather's home in Mysore found a new use, in this age of plumbing and electric water heaters! Chennai Sogetsu ikebana 2007 Originally uploaded by ambikach2002 The tall bamboos topped by elegant swirls was the feature of our 2007 exhibition. Chennai Sogetsu Ikebana 2006 Originally uploaded by ambikach2002 And 2006 saw Sensei Malathi use tall palms in a stylised fashion, with dramatic heliconia,...

The Hindu : Property Plus Chennai : Ikebana through your eye This is an abridged version of the email interview that Sensei Malathi had with Iemoto Akane, on her return from the Sogetsu 80th Anniversary celebrations, in 2007. The complete interview and article was published in this blog earlier in Nov 07, as "An Interview with Iemoto Akane".

The Hindu : Property Plus Chennai : Make way for a vase Notice the container? Yes, it is a copper water pot. In fact, using imagination and thinking out of the box, you can fashion vases out of a range of objects… the sky is the limit. In fact, you can even improvise upon the half of a tender coconut and create a vase out of it! That is how innovative and enterprising you can get with Sogetsu Ikebana. Vine, ginger lilies In this arrangement by Sogetsu Ikebana teacher Malathi Pandurang, the twigs branching across space towards the onlooker let out a sense of wilderness. Malathi has also used vine, ginger lilies, Ixora branches, and Heliconia in the arrangement. Sturdy branches The sturdy Ixora branches do stand out and dominate the arrangement, but it is the copper pot which actually inspired the entry of the Ixora branches. “I wanted to use something sturdy to complement the deep colour and texture of the copper pot, which is what the Ixora branches achieve. The same effect can be arri...

Ensuring a perfect balance Twin-core ikebana arrangement creates a unitary effect, writes Hema Vijay Seen as one: Ikebana can be used a pair to create a unitary effect. It is a twin core, where you can read two as one and one as two. This particular twin-core ikebana arrangement rooted in plant material leads our thoughts into philosophic material… concepts like dual self, virtual reality and so on. "The shape of these Sri Lankan ceramic vases inspired me to use them as a pair", says Sogetsu Ikebana teacher Malathi Pandurang. Marked split While the inner curving outlines of the two vases complement each other to create a unitary effect, it can also be read as a marked split. The perfect balance between the two vases enables them to be read as one, though they are two. Two kinds of plant material have been used too. The solid and vivid heliconia and the cloudy and fragile limoneum flowers. Rocklike "It is a very simple composition, actually. After putting the two vases to...

The year 2007 has been celebrated all over India as the 50th year of Indo-Japan friendship. In Chennai also, ABK-AOTS Dosokai have sponsored several exhibitions and cultural events to mark the occasion. As part of the celebrations, we had two Ikebana exhibitions as well in the city. As an Ikebana teacher myself, I was doubly delighted that this year was also the 80th anniversary year for the Sogetsu school of Ikebana. It was with much anticipation that I decided to attend the show in Tokyo, titled “Blooming Flowers For Tomorrow.” Having started in the Buddhist temples as an offering of flowers, Ikebana emphasizes “livingness” or Ikeru. It stands apart from other floral decorations, by its emphasis of the display of Line, the use of asymmetry, and other art concepts like texture, rhythm, form and colour. The Sogetsu school has been arguably the most important school in spreading global awareness about the ancient floral art of Ikebana, moving it from its original spiritual roots to ...