Mantra By Shalini James!

Being an ardent  lover of Indian textiles,just couldn't hold back my self from sharing the Indian By choice by "Mantra Design Studio"

Mantra Design studio is a venture by Shalini James.Indian textiles and textile crafts are used optimally to create a chic look.Mantra is distinguised by its sense of design and Indian rustic colours.

I would always go with what their Mantra is :)-Yes it is  a lovely potpourri of beautiful Indian textiles in silhouettes that are sometimes traditional, sometimes contemporary and mostly, a unique mix of both!They have long jackets, angrakhas, embroidery, hints of Zari, textures, Kalamkaris, Mashru, a touch of velvet, stoles with frayed edges, printed pants, anarkalis, layering, palazzos, soft printed muls and so on .. a collage of fabrics is what it is! However, still, very Indian by choice!

They were in news recently coz they designed the sarees for the school of dance" Mamangam "By the film person Rima Kallingal.

  

Mamangam ,the dance school at Kochi and the person behind it..the stunning "Rima Kallingal"

more mantra for handloom sarees

stunning collage by Mantra for the look book

this work is yet to reach the online stores:)-

Shop for Mantra here

All Images form Pinterest and Courtesy @ Mantra..
All images conceptualised shot @ Mantra.
Ask their permission before you use it anywhere else!

Our India

"I do not want 
my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed.i want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible.But i refuse to be blown off my feet by any"

Mahatma Gandhi

This quote  really meant what  i desired to.My desire to travel and the desire to incorporate the beauty of India is undying .The experience of a lifetime as long as I live in India.Let me open the doors this year to to the rich cultural,historical and architectural heritage of Our India.I hereby encourage each and every artist and artisan,their creativity and skill.Let me tell you the stories of Temples,cities,villages, mountains,palm fringed beaches,house boats to the deserts of India..

I wish you all a Bright and Prosperous New Year!

All Images Credit :vintage india tumblr...
see more images go here..http://vintageindia.tumblr.com/

Prabuddha Dasgupta an Inspiration!

Prabhuddha Dasgupta and his images still keep flashing in mind and I still think about him. He shouldnt have gone so soon, it wasn't the time for him, But then Why...Life has its own ways ..

Years back, in Vogue..the images that caught everybodys attention..that was the first time, even I knew about him.

Although he preffered the monochrome images, the colours that came across in  his images were extraordinary. They reflected  the rich colours of India and always left me trying to learn a lot from his images. Seasons and its colours were best shown by him. There was always a sense of connection which we could establish in his images and he had the power of bringing extraordinary beauty in the ordinary. Intensity in all forms could be found in all his images ,it seems the images speak a thousand words.

As TOI reports "An intense man with so many Auras, India's Avedon Prabhuddha Dasgupta wanted to give us images that burnt in our memory long after they were seen no more''.

Lakshmi Menon as "Frida Kahlo"

the ordinary into an extraordinary.

the colours richly captured

loved all the blues

mellow yellows..,bright yellows

colour combinations..yellows and browns

1 to 9 Images Courtesy:from here

9-14 images courtesy:Vogue 2009,2010

for more images,look here and here

All Images courtesy: Prabuddha Dasgupta

If any problem in displaying these images,do drop a mail.