Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Colours of Deepavali

The peacock loves to show off!

Ready to do the peacock dance - handsome , stately and majestic



Deepavali is just 2 days away. I'm squeezing a little time to blog . It's a busy time as I'm preparing a big lunch gathering in the house for friends to celebrate the spirit and colours of this festive occasion. To all my Hindu blogger friends, I hope you have a joyous celebration. May the lights of Deepavali shine on you and your loved ones. Happy Deepavali!

By chance I caught more colours of Deepavali at the BSC when I was out shopping. Just by The British India retail lot, 3 kolams were beautifully decorated for the public to enjoy. The peacocks on the kolams flaunted their tails just as they would in real to show off the its beauty. Passers -by stopped to admire the painstaking work. Like the previous years, I wanted a kolam for myself too. With much haste, I bought all the colours of the kolam powder, dyed the broken rice and dried them in the odd spells of of the late mornings and afternoons. My kolam is almost ready and just as colourful!

Further down ahead, a small troupe of dancers from a dance school in Selayang were getting ready to perform. The teacher, Vickneswari was seen putting the final touches to her students' makeup.


Beautifully adorned


Soon the music started and the peacock dance got underway. The rhythmic movements of the dancer and the full spread of the colourful feathers on its tail got our attention. Indeed the peacock, which is the national bird and pride of India is embodied in the god of thunder, rains and war,Indra.

A young boy and girl performed the dance of Krishna . I could see the teacher watching with her keen eyes and appreciation as the young dancers enacted the dance of the gopis (cowherd girls) and Krishna with grace and poise.

Young dancers ages 9 - 12 , ready to dance their hearts out in Dance of Krishna.


Teacher looking on and happy

Next to come on was the bamboo folk dance followed by a dance from Devdas, a Hindi movie. That was whispered to me by the teacher as the dance was in progress. When everything was over, so was the strong, melodic sounds of the globular brass bells on the ankles of the dancers.

The short performance was a colourful introduction to a festive Deepavali ahead. The mood has been set. I'm almost ready to celebrate too!





A lovely backdrop with chiffony drapes, garlands for such an alluring effect.

Dancers in harmony

Love the mix of the resplendent colours

Eye-catching peacock kolam

Symmetry in rainbow colours and more!


18 comments:

  1. Can we have a picture of YOUR kolam please, Keats? I was planning to make a kolam for Deepavali too, but now I have Bravo and am boarding some of my friends' pets for Deepavali and have a million projects to do, so I haven't the time or driveway space to make a kolam this year. I love your photos of the festivities, they get me all excited about Deepavali.
    I would have thought that the Krishna dance would be performed on Gotulakshtami / Janmashtami, not on Deepavali day. But then again, not even my Indian and Hindu friends are as much a purist as I am when it comes to these things!

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  2. Hi Keats! Happy Deepavali!!

    After four posts, Blogtrotter Two is leaving Algiers 2009... Enjoy and have a great week ahead!

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  3. These pictures are fantastic. This post brings back memories of growing up in South America. (50% of the population in Guyana are Indians). Every year we had Deepavali plays at school. We knew the story inside out. We aren't Hindus, but we used to go out at night to see the beautiful lights.

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  4. That guy wears his make-up thicker than me.

    Beautiful colors!

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  5. Very nice artwork of the peacock. Very colourful and beautiful.

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  6. Beautiful....I love those colorful dancers, their hands, kolams which are really pieces of art...
    I could never do kolams, I don't have patient for that kind of work. :)
    Happy Deepavali!

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  7. Beautiful pics,Keats. I didnt know they celebrated Diwali there.They look better than many Kolams I have seen here.

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  8. Happy Deepavali..let there be lights..Namaste.

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  9. Nice pictures. Happy Deepavali to all....

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  10. Beautiful! Thanks for the glimpse of Hindu culture. Happy Festival to all!

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  11. Keats, Wishing you a Happy Deepavali !

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  12. I always had great respect for Indian dances, so colorful and so full of life.

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  13. Hey Sunshine, thanks for all your visits to my blog "The Walk of Life" and just a word of thanks and appreciation. I no longer blog and in fact had removed my blog. Cheers and do keep up the good work here!

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  14. The colours in the costumes are truly amazing! What an incredible festival this must be.;)
    xoxo

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  15. Wow..they are truly vibrant colors, and beautiful costumes. Have a wonderful celebration!

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  16. wowww what a colourful post adding glitter to the colourful fest spirit...hey thanks ya keats..for sharing..enjoyed this...and take care dear friend..wishes always

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  17. I always get amazed by the beautiful colors of your Deepavali posts. Very lovely!

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  18. The peacock kolam is beautiful. And the colours are so vibrant.

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Great to have you popping in!