Qutub Minar

Qutab Minar is one of the prime attractions amongst all the historical monuments of India. Situated in the Qutub complex at Mehrauli in South Delhi, it is one of the finest examples of Indo Islamic architecture. With regard to the name of the tower, historians have conflicting views. Many historians believe that it was named after Qutubu’d - Din Aibak, the first Muslim ruler of India while the others contend that it was named in honor of Khwaja Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiar Kaki, a saint from Baghdad, who was highly venerated by Iltutmish. Moreover, the Qututb complex is also surrounded by many other architectural marvels. For some more interesting & fun facts about Qutab Minar, read on.

Interesting & Fun Facts about Qutab Minar
Qutab Minar is the tallest brick minaret in the world.
The Qutub Minar and its adjoining monuments are all listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The diameter of Qutub Minar is 14.32 m at the base and 2.75 m on the top.
The height of Qutub Minar is 72.5 m.
There are 379 stairs inside the tower, which lead to the top.
The foundation of the tower was laid down by Qutubu’d - Din Aibak in 1199 AD.
The purpose behind the construction of Minar was for the use of mu'azzin (crier) to give calls for prayer.
The first storey was completed during the reign of Aibak.
Many historians believe that the Qutub Minar was named after the first Turkish sultan, Qutb-ud-din Aibak. But there is a different view also. Other historians contend that it was named in honour of the Sufi Saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki
The next three stories were added by Shamsu'd-Din Iltutmish, the son - in - law of Qutubu’d - Din Aibak.
The fifth and the last storey were constructed by Firuz Shah Tughlaq.
All the stories are surrounded by protruding balconies, encircling the tower.
The Minar contains numerous inscriptions in Arabic and Nagari characters, which narrate its history.
As per the inscriptions on its surface, it was repaired by Firuz Shah Tughlaq and Sikandar Lodi.
The Minar was also repaired and restored by Major. R. Smith in 1829.
According to the Archeological Survey of India, the site at which Qutab Minar is located was once occupied by 27 Hindu and Jain temples.
Qutab Minar is made up of red and buff sandstone, containing intricate carvings and verses from the Holy Quran.

1000 pillar Temple Wonder

About 150 kms. from Hyderabad lies the ancient city of Warangal. Noted today for its beautiful lakes, magnificent temples and wildlife, Warangal possess the marvelous thousand pillared temple, built by King Rudra Deva in the 12th century. The famous Thousand Pillar Temple, built in 1163 AD, by king Rudra Deva is an important monument situated near the Hanamkonda-Warangal highway. One thousand richly carved pillars and a magnificent black basalt Nandi bull are unique to this temple which is dedicated to Lords Shiva, Vishnu and Surya.

The temple is in shape of a star and has three shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Surya. The temple is built on a 1m high platform on the slopes of the Hanumakonda hill, and has a majestic monolithic Nandi. The black basalt Nandi, a monolith, has a lovely polished finish. There are many small lingam shrines surrounding the gardens. The temple is famous for its richly carved pillars

Supermodels in Saree

Naomi in saree

Bollywood and Saree -

Isha Koopikar Sangeet Ceremony

Isha the bride

Indian marriages are great get togethers of friends, family and media especially if its a bollywood marriage. Catch a glimpse of what people wear for their friends marriages. The marriage is the grand finale. Before that there are smaller events which calls for different dressing. Watch the bride first and then watch all.

One of the most popular and widely celebrated rituals is the sangeet ceremony. It is mostly an occasion for the female members of the bride’s family to gather together and celebrate. There is much singing and dancing and the event is looked forward to with much excitement by everyone. The party continues all through the night amidst much fanfare. The sangeet is one of the most significant pre-wedding celebrations and is often held on a grand scale by most families

Accessorize Indian way

The Proper Way to Accessorize in Saree

Do not mix gold jewellery and silver embroidery.

Match the style of your dress with the accessory. Victorian jewellery goes well with victorian lace embroideries. Zari borders will go well with gold jewellery.
Accessorise to the border of the outfit and not the main color. This way the look is definitely enhanced by the contrast provided.

Only bangles on the wrist can be a great accessory by itself. On trendy sarees accessorise with a bangle that is very trendy and way to go.. Bangles come in various ways. Traditional kundan victorian style bangles, art bangles, enamel bangles, pearl bangles, lac bangles and so on. One can be trendy in making a bangle too. Get one of your long necklaces and wound it on the wrist. Voila,, u have a bangle. Whatever bangle you wear, if you are wearing necklace and earrings try and match them especially over a saree.

Anklets. On a saree the anklet may not be visible but if you are wearing one wear one that stands out . Anklets also come in various hues and tones. Gone are the days of the traditional silver or gold anklet. Match the anklet to the type of jewellery and complete the look.

A long necklace can be strung over the waist too to add to the accessory. Try this to make the look very traditional yet very trendy.

More on accessorising in the next few blogs to come.

Women and Jewellery Series Part 1

The people of India have expended limitless energy and creativity in the invention of ornaments that celebrate the human body. Adorning the visible, material body, they feel, satisfies a universal longing for the embellishment of its intangible counterpart, namely the human spirit.
Indeed rarely is a traditional Indian ornament simply decorative and devoid of inherent meaning or symbolic value. Symbols found in Indian jewelry act as a metaphorical language communicated from the wearer to the viewer. Such a jewelry is created from an infinite reserve of symbolically significant forms and images, some obvious, some subtle, and some whose meaning is forgotten.



Complementary to such thought is the conventional view where the graceful form of a woman is said to epitomize the ideal beauty and mystery inherent in nature. Thus befittingly each and every part of the feminine physique including the head, torso, limbs, and between the appended parts - have consistently been used to support ornaments, often in ingenious ways. The Indian idea being that only things covered with ornaments are beautiful. Poetry must overflow with rhetorical ornaments (alamkara), metaphors, alliterations, and other musical effects. The verb alam-kara, "to adorn, to decorate," means literally "to make enough": for the simple appearance without ornament is "not enough"; it is poor, disgraceful, shocking, except in the case of an ascetic. Hence the stress on adornment of the women, who are but the poetry of nature.



Ornamentation not only serves to please the eyes of the beholder but also fulfils an auspicious purpose. The impulse to adorn stems from a deep rooted sensibility to mark every occasion of life with auspicious symbols, designs and figures to obtain good fortune and protection from evil. Thus a fully bedecked woman evokes in the viewer a deep and ingratiating feeling of tranquil contentment, springing from an intuitive realization that evolving before him is an image of perfect beauty, symbolically conveying the richness and completeness which is but natural to nature.




The ancients who translated the abstract nuances of Indian philosophy into images of everyday reality went even further and canonized the adornment of the female form into sixteen different ornaments (solah shringar), covering her entire being from the head to toe. The choice of the number sixteen too is not without significance. It is a significant number among the Hindus, and corresponds to the sixteen phases of the life of the moon, which in turn is connected with a woman's menstrual cycle. This is another pointer to the feminine physiognomy being a microcosm of the rhythms of natural processes. Further a woman of sixteen is considered at the peak of physical perfection in her life. At this stage of her life the aspect of delight is most pronounced. Her nature is to play, seek new experiences, and to charm others to her. Her innocence attracts to her all that is true and good. Indeed it is common for deities to be described as eternally sixteen years old, which is considered the most beautiful and vigorous human age. In fact an important goddess is named after the Sanskrit name for sixteen (Shodashi), and is visualized as having all the above mentioned qualities.

Tanjore painting (Tamil Language: தஞ்சாவூர் ஓவியம், Thanjavur Oviyam) is an important form of classical South Indian painting native to the town of Thanjavur (anglicized as Tanjore) in Tamil Nadu. The art form dates back to about 1600 AD, a period when Nayakas of Tanjavur encouraged art—chiefly, classical dance and music—as well as literature both in Telugu and Tamil. Tanjore Paintings are known for their surface richness, vivid colours and compact composition. Essentially serving as devotional icons, the themes of most of these paintings are Hindu gods and goddesses, and saints as well. Episodes from Hindu tradition are drawn upon as elaboration to the main figure / figures placed in the central section of the picture. Tanjore paintings are in fact panel paintings (done on solid wood planks ) and hence were also referred to as 'palagai padam'( palagai - wooden plank ; padam- picture) in local parlance. In modern times, these paintings have become a much sought after as souvenir during festive occasions in South India; or as pieces to decorate the walls ; or as collectors' item by art lovers.
The process of making a Tanjore painting involves many stages. The first stage involves the making of the preliminary sketch of the image on the base. The base consists of a cloth pasted over a wooden base. Then chalk powder or zinc oxide is mixed with water-soluble adhesive and applied on the base. To make the base smoother, a mild abrasive is sometimes used. After the drawing is made, decoration of the jewellery and the apparels in the image is done with semi-precious stones also known as Jaipur stones. Laces or threads are also used to decorate the jewellery. On top of this, the gold foils are pasted. Finally, dyes are used to add colors to the figures in the paintings.
High quality gold foil is used to ensure the paintings lasts generations and becomes family heirlooms. They generally appreciate in value and are considered collectibles. Paintings come in three finishes, Classic, Antinque Style and Embossed. In the classic finish, bold colors and striking backgrounds are combined with high glitter gold foil, while in the antique style, the gold's glitter is more sober with more subtle colors and plain backgrounds. The emboss paintings are similar to the classic style but are super embossed to bring about more depth.

Thanjavur Paintings are made on canvasses. The CANVAS for a Thanjavur painting is usually a plank of wood (originally wood of the Jackfruit tree was used, now it's plywood) over which a layer of cloth is pasted with arabic gum. The cloth is then evenly coated with a paste of limestone and a binding medium and let to dry. The canvas is now ready for painting. The artist then draws a detailed sketch of the painting on the canvas. A paste, made of limestone and a binding medium, is used to create 3D effect in embellishing and ornamenting the theme using a brush. Gold leaves and gems of varied hues are used in selected areas like pillars, arches, thrones, dresses, etc. The shine and glean of the gold leaves used by the Thanjavur style paintings last forever. Finally, colours are applied on the sketch. In the past, artists used natural colours like vegetable dyes, whereas the present day artists use chemical paints which enhance the sharpness and provide better shade contrasts. The old Tanjore artists restricted their scope to divine figures and used to mix their natural colours.

The modern ones have, of course, no need to do so. What has survived in this convention is the choice of colours for painted personalities or objects. For outlines dark brown is usually used. Red is favoured for the background. Scholars say that a red background is the distinctive mark of Tanjore paintings, but green is also sometimes used. Lord Vishnu, appropriately enough, is coloured blue, and Lord Nataraja chalk white. Yellow is used for the Goddesses. The sky, of course, is blue, but black is employed on occasions. There are conventions in regard to the use of embossing and bejewelling. But these do not appear to be followed very strictly these days. Often individual preference settles the matter. The portrayals of the figures in the paintings are breathtakingly brilliant. Almost all the figures have rounded bodies and almond-shaped eyes, which is unique to THANJAVUR PAINTING. The traditional thanjavur artists have a flair for ornamenting the figures with jewellery and ornate dresses. Thanjavur paintings are notable for their adornment in the form of glass pieces embedded in parts of them.