Octoberfest and Indian Autumn

Bhairav raga
Not to be confused with the Bavarian Oktoberfest in Germany, a funfair with lots of beer, The Third Annual Octoberfest” is a bloghop of ideas, themes, and inspirations for autumn celebrations hosted by Rita of Toltec Jewels, or Jewelschoolfriends as we all know it. The first time I saw the invite for this bloghop, I was hesitant to sign up, as I felt I couldnt really relate to “Autumn of the west” Let alone it being Orange and black, filled with yellow pumpkins and red orange leaves as we really dont have an autumn season per say in India, particularly the south where I am from.  Then I read Rita’s description of the hop –  “A Home & Hearth Celebration of Autumn’s Splendor” and realised that it didnt matter when or where as long as it was in the celebratory spirit and I decided to participate and talk a little of the “Indian Autumn” or  festive fall as we know it here.

Autumn in India is pretty muted, with leaves turning a stark dark green and and trees a darker brown. In the south, Yellow flowers fall off creating a soft velvety carpet on the roads waiting to be washed down by the south East monsoon. This monsoon often brings in cyclones making the atmosphere a moody blue, a slushy brown and gray – infact almost colorless. So we tend to make up for it, by dressing our brightest and loudest best for the entire gamut of festivals that are celebrated during this period (regardless of the religion they belong too) like Ganesh Chaturti, Janmasthami, Onam, Bakrid, Muharram and Karthigai apart from Diwali and Navaratri.

 Indian Autumn Color Palette

Navaratri and Diwali,  are the two most important festivals of the year which are a riot of colors with the aforementioned bright ethnic clothes and fine jewelry. To make sure that our houses dont get left behind we put up displays of dolls, add streamers and lights and draw kolams and rangoli in front on our houses. This is the Indian Autumn Color Palette that I can relate too. Warm and ethnic with yellows, reds and green, with strong blues and a dash of brown. Pink and purple peep in playing fun accents with gold and silver. Yup that’s the whole spectrum right there and its the most colorful part of the year.

A very tired me posing next to this year Navaratri Golu – Doll Display
2013 Karthigai Flower Rangoli
And I don’t miss out on seeing Orange and black together in nature, for we have glorious sunsets most months of the year.
What are festivities without good food and Music? Hindustani Music is one of the forms or schools of Classical Indian Music and it specifies a particular group of Ragas or Nodes to be played during different seasons of the year.  Raga Hindol in spring, Raga Dipak Summer, Megh in Monsoon, Bhairav in Autumn and Finally raga Malkauns in Winter. These Node families have been detailed in the book “Ragamala or Garland of music nodes” which was my inspiration for the recent Ragamala Collection of jewelry, where I created a piece of jewelry inspired by each raga specified. More on the Ragamala collection in a following post.
 Today, I would like to show you the pieces I designed based on the Bhairav raga family, the raga for Autumn season; you can see that the pieces look very colorful and festive .

Bhairav Raga

Parent Raga: Bhairav raga
Wives: Bhairavi, Bilawali, Punyaki, Bangli, Aslekhi.  
Sons: Pancham, Harakh, Disakh, Bangal, Madhu, Madhava, Lalit, Bilaval.

Bhairav raga Necklace- Image of Shiva seeking bikshai (alms) decoupaged and glazed in 32g brass handcut sheet with bead danglers, aptly adorned with rudraksha seed beads and coordinating yellow glass beads. Rudraksha (Holy seed of E. ganitrus species) represents Shiva and is often strung together in prayer malas. Bhairav raga was historically associated with glory and awe, but became identified with peace and devotion.Carnatic equivalent -Mayamalava Gowla

Ragamala Bhairav raga

Bhairavi necklace – This asymmetrical bead necklace in maroon, blue and green with sarafa closure has a handcut brass moppu of Bhairavi praying to Lord Bhairav in the form of linga. The second focal is a mini kemp rakodi. Bhairavi ragini is the foremost wife of Bhairav raga and is sung after midnight or early morning; Carnatic equivalent -Hanumatodi

Indian Beaded Necklace, Ragamala

  Indian Beaded Necklace, Ragamala

The Above piece was a festive hit and recreated again but many who saw it thought it was too big and wanted a similar feel and same image but in a smaller and less chunkier avatar. So I made a Mini piece of Bhairavi using Glass and crystal beads in the same red – blue – green color combo with Bhairavi ragini resin pendant in shiny silver bezel.

Indian Beaded Necklace, Ragamala

So that was a small tour of my Autumn celebrations and crafts, I hope you found it interesting. I Wish you all great autumn festivities and a very happy Halloween. Now I am off to Rita’s blog to check out what the other participants have posted and then have a great sunday meal. I hope that you’ll join me too on visiting all the blogs. Find the full list here

Cheers

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33 responses to “Octoberfest and Indian Autumn”

  1. Karin G avatar

    Thank you for this great tour of your Autumn celebrations and the jewelry associated to it. It is always so colorful and meaningful.

  2. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Karin, I am glad you found it interesting

  3. L. K. avatar

    Well, I certainly found out so much about your colorful festivals. I have to admit, the most I knew about Indian culture, I learned when I fell in love with Punjabi MC and was introduced to bhangra music. From there, I came to love the bhangra dancing which is a while of color and a pulsation of music. I am happy to learn so much more.

  4. Kepi avatar

    Wow, that was so interesting, thank you for sharing your autumn festivals with us. The jewellery is so pretty, so meaningful and so unique.

  5. Andrea avatar

    This is fascinating! I put this in the category of stuff I didn't know that I didn't know. This is what I truly love about blog hops that can span the globe. Not only do you get to view lovely visual inspiration, but the history and cultural significance and influence of it all. Thank you so much for sharing!

  6. Becky Pancake avatar

    Hi Divya, I really enjoyed learning about your autumn customs. Thanx. Your necklaces are beautiful.

  7. Shaiha avatar

    Thank you so much for joining in! I enjoyed seeing Fall in India. Great pics, jewelry and information.

  8. Janine avatar

    Oh I love your jewelry!! It makes me homesick to India. Beautiful

  9. WindDancerStudios avatar

    That's it exactly! You did a wonderful job of sharing the beauty of autumn where you are. Beautiful pieces, I'm so glad you hopped with us!

  10. Kim avatar

    Thank you for the tour of your celebrations, it was wonderful to read and very interesting. I love your jewelry, everything was beautiful.

  11. Saraccino avatar

    What a great explosion of colours! They all look really great 🙂 I especially love your use of yellow in your Bhairav raga Necklace (yellow being the one colour I am really, struggling with).

  12. Divya N avatar

    Oh I used to struggle a lot with yellow too – when I first bought these beads, I didnt know what to do with them. Eventually I got over it – try pairing yellow with orange, or green or brown – it usually works

  13. Divya N avatar

    Thanks, I loved visiting your blog too

  14. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Shaiha, am glad that you found it interesting

  15. Divya N avatar

    come for a visit soon!!

  16. Divya N avatar

    Yes its fascinating that way, I have been introduced to many techniques, products and ideas via hops than any other channel – thanks for visiting my blog

  17. Robin Reed avatar

    This was really cool to read and learn!!! Thank you so much! I love your designs. Have a Blessed Day!

  18. motidana avatar

    Lovely jewellery in the vibrant colors I absolutely adore ! It`s always so interesting reading your post ,and , this time too ,I really enjoyed myself reading about our Indian festivals , through your eyes 🙂

  19. Divya N avatar

    haaa 🙂 I hope I didnt westernise or generalise it too much

  20. Divya N avatar

    Well Bhangra is kinda like country music while hindustani and carnatic are classical like Jazz or old school music

  21. Esterina Indomacarons avatar

    Interesting post Divya… with something new to learn. Thank you for sharing.
    Your necklaces are gorgeous… with lovely color combinations, and the focals are amazing.

  22. Dini Bruinsma avatar

    How nice it is, to read all the information you give us. You tell me about a lot of things I did not know at all! Love the story, the colours and the jewellery especially…

  23. Kathy Lindemer avatar

    I enjoyed reading about your customs and seeing your pictures. I love your wonderful jewelry. Well done!

  24. Jasvanti Patel avatar

    Happy Diwali and Happy New year to you, your pieces are fabulous!!

  25. gloria allen avatar

    Loved all the color and pictures. the Jewelry is fabulos. I especially like the large piece with its Blue, Green and Red.

  26. Radhika Hobbycrafts avatar

    Lovely jewelry Divya..my favorite is bhairavi necklace I love the combination of maroon and blue beads and the pendent shape.. Beautiful golu display and you look gorgeous 🙂

  27. Divya N avatar

    thanks Radhika, Bhairavi is one of my favourite pieces too

  28. Renetha avatar

    I enjoyed reading about how music is tied into seasonal changes and Indian celebrations. Your jewelry pieces are really nice. I like the Bhairavi.

  29. Ann Schroeder avatar

    I am so glad you decided to participate. It is fun to see autumn from another perspective. I love the beautiful colors of your jewelry. Each piece is very beautiful.

  30. […] previous posts on the other Raga Families here: What is Ragamala? Bhairav Raga Megh […]

  31. […] other posts on the other Raga Families here: What is Ragamala? Bhairav Raga – Raga of Autumn Megh Raga -Raga of monsoon season Malkaus Raga – Raga of Winter Hindol Raga – Raga of […]

  32. […] I’ll post details on one family of Raga and the pieces inspired by it every week. Find the first post of the series here, on Bhairav Raga as a part of the octoberfest  Autumn celebrations here […]

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