[ THE PINK CITY OF JAIPUR ] Day 1: Palace Markets

Everyone knows a magnificently beautiful, culturally significant or historically important monument or building comes accompanied, de facto, by an abundance of tourist targeted market stalls, souvenir shops and bustling bazaars. Jaipur and, well, the rest of India, is no different. Thing is, in this country, and with my limited budget, I’m a bit of a sucker for these. What can I say? They are cheap, full of bright, bold, ethnic goodies such as embroidered bags and wall hangings, woven shawls, wooden puppets, block-printed multi-purpose cotton fabrics and of course the token draw string, printed maxi skirts  (lehanga) and embellished kameez and kaftans.  I was drawn to this particular stall with all its patterns and prints contrasting against the crumbling, honey-coloured walls of Jaipur’s City Palace. With a little bit of typical Indian ingenuity this guy has expanded out of his little hole in the wall using the washing line technique and a few trusty Coca Cola crates as display stands. Just to put your minds at rest I can safely say that I fell only into the trap of aesthetics and saved my 1000 rupee a day budget for a little later…

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[HAPPY HAMPI ] Day 1: The Gypsies

Having arrived in Hampi, Karnataka after another sleepless overnight bus (which I have to admit was more like riding a 7 hour roller coaster), I am happy to report my love for India has once again returned (spending 2 months in a pollution-ridden city being hauled around by con men rickshaw drivers will dampen the spirits of any well traveled foreigner). After a day-long bicycle ride around the sites bewitching yet somewhat forsaken landscape of Tomb Raider style temples, giant boulders and towering palm groves, I happened upon some rather interesting figures. It seems the gypsies have arrived in Hampi in all their mirror-worked, embroidered and bell-jangling glory. For these ladies, less definitely is not more. 

[ STITCH, DYE, WEAVE ] Namrata Shah

Today I was fortunate enough to be invited on a little day trip to the workplace of Bangalore textile designer Namrata Shah. Set amongst almost 350 coconut tress, and a multitude of other exotic home grown fruit trees, Namrata’s ‘farm’ as she refers to it, is a calming retreat away from the polluted craziness of Bangalore.

Whilst taking some photos for her new website Namrata started to explain to me how her textile business 2 Up 2 Down works. There’s far too much interesting stuff to write in such a small space so with Namrata’s cooperation I'm putting together a short video interview using some of the footage from today's venture, which I shall be posting as soon as I find a city with enough bandwidth to upload it! In the mean time feast your eyes upon some of 2 Up 2 Down’s beautiful, vibrant fabrics: hand embroidered shawls, silk sari’s and tie dyed scarves. 

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[ WHEN IN INDIA…] Watch Gandhi

Last night during some much needed downtime after my long and exhausting mini break in Mysore, there was nothing more welcome than the thought of bedding down in my Bangalore hotel room with my laptop and a good film. Not taking my stay India for granted I opted for a little bit of passive learning with Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982). Over 3 hours long, it was epic, to say the least. Detailing the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (aka Mahatma Ghandi (1869–1948)) from his early demonstrations against the segregation of Indians in East Africa to his fight for India’s Independence and finally his assassination in 1948, the film is most definitely a must see for anyone traveling or eager to learn about India’s turbulent past. For textile enthusiasts, pay special attention to Gandhi’s (played by Ben Kingsley) indoctrination of the Khadi fabric which played an important part in India’s rejection of British rule. More on that one later…! 

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[ I SAW IN MYSORE ] Day 3: Silk & Sandalwood

Famous for its production of premium silk, sandalwood and incense, I couldn’t leave Mysore without a little investigating into the cities time honored traditions. The Government Silk Factory is not just open but free (!!) for visitors to walk around at their leisure! You’ll have to bat your eyelids with the guards at the entrance if you want to keep hold of your very expensive Canon camera (promising of course not to take photos – this time I didn’t risk it, they had guns…). It’s a noisy but extremely fascinating insight into the production of a silk sari, if you’re a bit of a textile enthusiast. You can see the entire process from the twisting of the silk strands from the cocoon (8 whole cocoons for one single thread!), to the soaking, drying, dying, bobbin threading, and finally the machinated weaving on of the design on the looms. The enormity (not to mention the health and safety) of the mass scale production is bewildering but I was lucky enough to have some one-on-one demonstrations by a few of the weary workers (who I think may have been glad for the distraction), not that I could hear a word of what they were saying. 

The Government Sandalwood Oil Factory just down the road is much calmer, if not a little less stimulating a visit. A free (!) guided tour and explanation of the process is provided here and the employees actually refused my tip! Pick up a little sample of guaranteed 100% pure sandalwood oil here. I have to say I passed on this as at 650 Rs (£9.30 approx) for 5ml it doesn’t exactly fit into my idea of a traveler's budget.