Ikebana and us

Women’s Christian College Chennai Ikebana Demonstration/ Workshop February 20, 2017 Women’s Christian College, Chennai organised a demonstration/workshop of Ikebana to introduce students of the Botany department to this beautiful art form. 45 students were present for the session from 8.15 to 11 am. The Department staff and Head of Department too were present throughout the event and were very encouraging.  Sensei Trishala Vaishnav shares tips on palm weaving Senseis  Prerana Mehta and  Trishala Vaishnav  handled the session, and it  was a special day for Trishala as she is an alumnus of the College. Prerana began with a 10-minute introduction on Ikebana, followed by a demo of the Basic Upright style  by Trishala and Basic Slanting style by Prerana. They also did a freestyle arrangement each, and everything went smoothly as they had meticulously planned  and prepared for the day. Sensei Prerana Mehta doing a freestyle arrangeme...

February 10, 2017 "What's in store for me?" Members eagerly look for their lots This was a workshop with a twist—not theme based as always, but grew out of  Mrs. Padma Swaminathan’s idea of exchanging vases. It was decided that flowers and greens too would be exchanged and this suggestion was welcomed by all.  In most workshops the theme is fixed in advance, and members have ample time to plan the arrangement. But today the challenge was to create something from an unknown set of materials. Once everyone had assembled, the materials were numbered,  lots picked and all good  to go.  Eleven members were present and  it was good to have Ambika in our midst again, as she had been unable to attend a couple of earlier workshops . Sensei Padma works her magic Mrs. Malathi Pandurang began with a brief introduction of Sensei Padma,  who also demonstrated on-the-spot creativity,  arranging in  a deep brown ceramic vase, yellow and ...

January 23, 2017 January is a month of celebrations, with the festivals of Pongal, Shankranthi, Lohri, Bihu, among others, celebrated across India.  It is a  season of plenty, marked by good food, colourful kolams/rangoli, family time, traditional dances and sporting events.  In keeping with this, the theme of the  first workshop of 2017 was Harvest. The day started as usual.  T he pro-jallikattu protests in Chennai had entered the sixth day, unprecedented in the city's history  both due its peaceful nature and participation of people irrespective of age, gender, caste and any other distinction. However, j ust as we were patting ourselves on our back,  things took an ugly turn, and road blocks, arson, protests and traffic jams were reported from all corners of the city.   This did not deter our members from setting out of their homes. Many were stuck in traffic and finally eight members were able to attend the workshop. As an exception due...

December 19, 2016 The meeting began with Sensei Malathi requesting a minute’s silence in honour of our late Chief Minister Selvi Jayalalithaa and noted that she had been a strong person and capable leader. It has been a  difficult month for Chennai, what with the CM's demise being followed by the devastation of Chennai's green cover by cyclone Vardah which caused so many of the city's old and loved trees to be uprooted. So it was with relief to look to our Ikebana to change the mood and welcome the festive season. Some members arrived late due to heavy traffic and were welcomed by an array of colourful arrangements. They lost no time in getting down to business and completing their work. “Tis the season to be jolly”…yes, Christmas is round the corner and what better way to end the year! The theme of the last workshop of 2016 was Christmas as a celebration or as an art, using the festive colours of red, white and green. 14 members were present and there was a t...