28Oct08
1) Swati, the visiting academic, wore a sari, today being Deepavali. She cooked some mashed potatoes with onions and I had some, yumm, like the potato filling in massala thosai. The embroidery on the entire length of her sari is hand stitched (I looked on the reverse and although it evidenced individual hand sewn stitches, yet it was so neatly done so that there are no unsightly criss crossing of threads and knots!) It is expensive.
This type of embroidery is called "kantha" and originates from the cloth that newborn babies in India are placed on. Usually the grandmother of the child will lovingly embroider a lovely piece of cloth, with beautiful designs and even with well wishes - so that it is like a token of blessing for the child, and when family members and relatives come to see the baby, they will also see how beautifully framed the child is, lying on the intricate embroidery. This art is now taught to village womenfolk as a cottage industry for them to earn wages and escape poverty. She also has a cashmere shawl and drawstring purse with kantha embroidery.
2) Don't ask me why, but I suddenly noticed how fine the workmanship of tiles is here in The Netherlands. Just take a look at this close-up.
3) I'm posing before a large map of the town of Tilburg just outside the library.
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