Kochi Biennale

This blog has been inactive for a while and I have constantly been thinking about things that I want to post about, some about craft, some not. I thought about starting another personal blog but then realized that The Secret Garden is a part of me and I should write about all the things that I want to on this blog instead of wasting more cyberspace.
The last couple of months have been a filled with weddings, large events and meeting too many people. I wanted some time for myself, to just be. The Kochi Biennale was on and I have been wanting to go, a quick plan was made. Accompanying me were my mother, aunt and friend, Namratha.
I didn't do much research like I usually do about places to eat, things to see and what to do. I thought I would figure it out as we go. We landed in Kochi late afternoon due to a delayed flight. The airport to Fort Kochi is a long drive, around one and half hours. We were starving as we arrived at the hotel. The hotel, I do have to talk about. On my last trip to Kochi I had a meal at Malabar house and I knew the next time I was coming I definitely had to stay here. Its a small boutique hotel with 18 rooms. It has a really nice aesthetic with beautifully decorated rooms. They make some of their own furnishings, some of the cushion covers were fabulous. It was also conveniently located near all the biennale events

We walked around after checking in to find some authentic Kerala food. Unfortunately we were too late and all the restaurants were shut. So we grabbed a quick bite at the hotel and set off for AspenWall House which had most of the exhibits. On the way we spotted a tiny store front advertising guided bicycle rides around Fort Kochi, which Namratha and I signed up for the next morning. There was a talk at five that I was interested in so we thought we will check some of the art out before we went for the talk. The first piece as we entered was something I really enjoyed. It was by Charles and Ray Eames. It was a video that started out in a park in Chicago zooming out every 2secs to the power of ten, taking you way out into space and then zooming in so that it took you to molecular level. Was quite an interesting video. We saw a couple of more exhibits and then headed to the talk which was about connecting art, culture and food. Usually anything to do with food interest me, but as I sat through fifteen minutes I knew the talk was not for me, but what caught my eye was the beautiful auditorium it was housed in. I think it was built specifically for the biennale, a shell shaped structure. Unfortunately my camera battery hadn't charged and I don't have many pictures from day 1. Also the Aspenwall House itself was so beautiful, an old traders house which lies abandoned most of the time. The sprawling open gardens had simple bamboo benches to take in the surroundings. They also had some yummy local neera that we sipped on while taking in the art and the general beauty of the sea and fort kochi.

Some of the other pieces I liked was a video on building a real time digital clock. There were a bunch of wood workers changing planks of wood as the time went by. When I read the description I didn't think it would interest me but as I watched the video you start rooting for the men and hoping that they change the numbers as quickly as the minute was changing. Another interesting one was they had a video camera at the front of the train and one at the end, the video is played simultaneously to us. So in a sense you are seeing the future and it takes you a while for that sensation to take over you. The galleries shut by 6.30pm and we headed back to the hotel to relax. The hotel guided us to Oceanos restaurant for some Kerala seafood. We had to wait a good half an hour before we could get a table. Hungry people always order too much food. We ordered some fried prawns which weren't great, some pepper squid which was good. We then had assorted fish and prawn curries Kerala style. Nothing excellent but everything was okay. The food was kind of westernized Kerala which we soon realized happened with all the restaurants in Fort Kochi area. After all that binging it was time for a good night of sleep for the next day which was sure to busy.

The year that was...

Two weeks ago I was in Chennai and had the pleasure of meeting Visalakshi Ramaswamy. She is the founder of the M.Rm.Rm foundation that makes these wonderful baskets that are sold at The Secret Garden. She has always been an inspiration for me...someone who took a traditional craft and gave it the necessary design and color intervention to create products that are truly unique. It always makes me happy when I travel around and I see a product from the foundation. I am grateful that being a part of The Secret Garden allows me to meet these wonderful people who are doing so much for Indian craft.


     2012 will always be a very important year for me...my life took a lot of changes, there were good things, bad things, lots of mundane things...one of the best things that happened to me this year was The Secret Garden. The idea was in my head for so long, but its time came only this year...and it has been such a great source of joy for me...looking for products, meeting craftsmen, traveling to various exhibitions...all the good parts, then there have been the boring accounts, administrative tasks, and little things I cant even remember...there haven't been too many but there have definitely been the hard parts of making wrong decisions, taking on products I couldn't sell, relationships which just did not work...through all of this there has been so many memories made, so many things learnt and so much more to look forward to...

And so on...

Its been exactly two months since The Secret Garden opened up...there have been so many things that we have learnt and so many things we unlearnt. There are so many ideas in your head that when in your head seem clear but when they translate into reality they turn out differently...products you thought everybody would love are different from the products everybody actually loved...so the project has been surprising us everyday...its been amazing the love that we have gotten from the people who visited us...one of my favorite comments were from this elderly gentleman who told me that he would have loved to own a store like this...it makes us happy when people ask us about the origins of the products they are buying...it feels nice to share the stories of people who worked hard to bring us these products...we are so happy to be on this journey to continuously look for interesting products, work with interesting crafts and believe in the stories of the craftsmen....

This is a small Secret Garden stall at an Organic Bazaar in Hyderabad. The idea of The Secret Garden is not to be restricted by the store premises, be at bazaars, provide gifting solutions, consult for crafts. We like the idea of evolving, constantly changing and not defining boundaries...

Akshara

Finally the store is set up and I have someone helping me out at the store itself...which for me means freedom to travel, to find more products, to meet new people, interact with craftsmen and document the crafts! So looking forward to lots of that...
   I began my list of journeys with a visit to Delhi. The Dastakari Haat Samiti organized an exibhition called Akshara. In an attempt to bring crafts together with education. There were over a 100 products which used an Indian craft in tandem with an indian language...the effect was fantastic! There was so many interesting products...I was bowled over by a kalamkari wall hanging which used old telugu sayings to form a tree of life...I wish I had taken pictures to show what I mean but unfortunately I was too mesmerized by the whole thing to take any pictures...there were beautiful handwoven Jamdhani sarees with poetry, kabir dohas...there were some fantastic lamps made with carved alphabets, kashmiri trays and what not! Hopefully will get some of the products for The Secret Garden store. This is a traveling show, keep an eye out for it and definitely see it!

Settling in...

The mad rush of putting things together has finally slowed down...the day before the store opened was probably the busiest day of my life...interiors work was still happening, we had products that still needed to be tagged...and after that was done the important but fun task of display! Making the display a lot easier was my friend Namratha who gave me beautiful interiors that didnt need us to break our heads about on how to display...but still I have to thank my friends, cousins, my siblings and most importantly my mother who stayed with me through the whole day and half the night to make sure everything looked beautiful and ready for the opening...Another person who I just couldn't do it without would be my sister, who helped me make the invites, photographed patiently as I kept moving things around...I felt really lucky to have this wonderful people around me...it was celebration for all of us...It's just begun...so many more things to do now...bring beautiful crafts and along with them stories...I am eagerly looking forward to traveling and meeting the artisans of India!

It's here, It's here!

It's been an insane couple of days and I can't begin to imagine how stressful the rest of the day is going to be...but it's happening, some things are falling into place, some things are taking longer than expected...we are going to open in a small way tomorrow and I am really looking forward to having everyone see what I thought needs to be seen! So many years of thinking about what I wanted to do..and the store is small but powerful manifestation of the things that I want to do...So come be a part of the beginning...

Countdown...

There is exactly a week left for me to open the store...the number of things running through my mind is insane...trying to decide things from what ribbons to use on the tags and what hangers the clothes should be hung from...its the little things that take forever, the color on the walls was easy but the color of the ribbon is taking a lot longer! My father laughs at me and calls me accountant, secretary, designer, sales, marketing, office boy and whatever maybe the need of the hour! It's been such a journey and there is so little time left and I think I am glad that there is very little time left...second guessing myself is a bad habit I possess. Some preview photographs at the work that is going on, the color schemes and odd construction!