Enabling the Disabled Update, 2012

Indira Govindan is back with an update on some of the wonderful activities that she has been doing with the Sukriti Social Foundation - a organization founded by her sister, Sowmya Simhan, to provide activities, education, and assistance to the mentally disabled in India.  You can read our original blog post about the Foundation here.  In addition, all of the proceeds from Indira's Etsy Shop, DharmaKarmaArts, go to help further the programs.

\

Children at mid-day lunch at Shri Arunodhayam

All concentration! Road Safety Poster Contest

Despite some unexpected events during this recent trip to Chennai (Dec, 2011), I managed to do two projects for the Sukriti Social Foundation: a craft workshop for special educators for mentally challenged children, and jurying a road safety poster contest. Sukriti is a non-governmental organization that I support. Founded by Sowmya Simhan (my sister), it is a  cross-disability organisation based in Chennai (Tamil Nadu, South India) that addresses key disability issues with initiatives in the areas of prevention, rehabilitation, employability and advocacy. (Sowmya too is a victim of childhood polio.) My support for Sukriti usually takes two forms: (1) donation of funds from sales from my handmade shop Dharmakarmaarts and (2) free arts and crafts workshops. (During my visit to India last year, I conducted a jewelry making workshop to a group of physically challenged young women at the Andhra Mahila Sabha.)


I. Paper Crafting Workshop: I was requested by Mr. Iyyappan, who runs a home for orphaned mentally challenged children called Shri Arunodhayam, to conduct a craft workshop for his special education teachers and care-givers. 

Good lunch and Happy Smile!

After much back-and-forth, I decided to do a paper crafting workshop for them. One of the core principles that I follow in teaching these workshops is that the tools and the materials used are economically priced and locally available and, the techniques are accessible and sensible (no burning of Tyvek paper here!). The goal is that the participants, should they choose to, be able to continue with the craft after the workshop on their own. With that in mind, I took a collection of stamps, inks, punches and papers from my own stash for use by the participants. Though my own stash was American bought, I made sure that equivalent materials are available in India. 


The workshop participants were from both sexes--all of them have vocational training in special education. None have been exposed to paper crafting tools like punches or stamps. So, it was a totally new craft experience for them. I started it small with tag decoration and then moved on to decorating book covers.  Each participant first created a blank book using the slot-and-tab method and the proceeded to decorate the cover using scrap papers, old greeting cards, cut outs etc. They were like kids in a toy store, punching and stamping away to glory. Overall, it was a very enjoyable morning.

Happy crafters!

II. Road Safety Poster Contest: It may seem strange, but the biggest contributor to childhood disability in India is not natural diseases like polio, but road accidents. So, it is not surprising that organizations such as Sukriti that focus on disability put a lot of time and effort on raising awareness about road safety among school children. In addition to road safety workshops, Sukriti also sponsors poster contests at local schools. This year almost fifty children participated in the contest and I, along with another artist, juried the contest. I was impressed by their seriousness and many of the posters were creative and accurate on facts. It was tough choosing the winners! Here are some photos of the day and the winning entries.

Road Safety Poster Contestants

Tips on Becoming an Artist

Winning Entries

If you are interested in knowing more about Sukriti, please check out its website.

Thanks for visiting.

~ Indira Govindan 

Follow our daily updates at the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace on Facebook and Tumblr. 

Hindu Temple: A Pilgrimage to the Sacred

Thank you for sharing this wonderfully informative post with us Indira.  What a beautiful temple!

Ornamented Exterior, Big Temple

Main Entrance, Big Temple

The Hindu temple is a condensed image of the cosmos constructed as a mandala  known as the vastu purusa mandala. The Purusa refers to the Universal essence which is without form or substance; Vastu refers to the site or the bodily existence or substance of Purusa. At the center of the mandala is the sanctum where the divine image is placed; this divine image, made in stone or wood or brick is the material consecrated representation of the Universal essence.

The building of the Hindu temple is not left to the imagination or the creativity of the shilpi (architect) or the artisans; it is strictly guided by the sacred texts called the shilpa shastras. The construction of a temple, from start to finish, is considered a ritual activity. Architecturally, the Hindu temple resembles a mountain and represents the link between heaven and earth. The triangular tower like structure is called  the shikara or gopuram and is located directly over the inner sanctum. Like a mountain, the exterior of the temple is lush with intricate carved representation of various plant, animal, human and divine forms, while the inner sanctum, where the main deity is placed, with enclosed walls is dark. The interior of the temple directs our attention to the center, the garbha or the womb, that which is the source of the Universe. The inner sanctum is called the garbagraha or the womb chamber.

The journey of the worshipper to the temple is considered a pilgrimage in itself. The pilgrim starts the journey by circumambulating the temple first, the exterior form of the Universe, then walks to the interior sanctum, the center of the Universe. Approaching the sanctum, the worshipper performs another circumambulatory passage around the sanctum before "seeing" the deity at the center. The deity in the inner sanctum is the primary consecrated image of the temple, though a temple may have several secondary gods housed in various shrines placed in appropriate quadrants of the mandala.

A Hindu goes to the temple to receive 'darshana', a Sanskrit word meaning "seeing". It is a dialectical act, seeing the divine and being seen by the divine. According to Hindu theology, God is present in the image and is real.  By standing in front of the image and looking into its eyes, the worshipper seeks the divine blessings.

The images shown here are of the Brihadeeshwara Temple, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site that turned 1000 years old last year. It is located on the banks of river Cauvery in the town of Tanjore, Tamilnadu, India. It was built by one of the emperors of the Chola dynasty, Rajaraja Chola. As befitting the richest empire of its time, it was built on a large scale and came to be called the Big Temple. Dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, its most striking features are the 200 ft tall tower (gopuram) that rises from the base sanctum, the massive granite cupola (vimana) at the top of the tower and majestic stone image of Nandi, the sacred bull.  It is one of the best examples of the south Indian style temple architecture.

I have not been the temple myself but my husband got the chance to see it just as it was being renovated. I think these photos have captured its majesty and magnificence.Hindu god Shiva,

Nandi, the sacred bull

 

Thanks for visiting.

  ~ Indira Govindan

Indira's beautiful journals, artwork and jewelry can be found in her shop on Etsy.

(Photos courtesy: S.V. Govindan)

Follow our daily updates for the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace on Facebook