Category Archives: Seasons and Festivals

Trip to India and more inspiration

India, as always, is full of life and your experience it with bells and whistles on! A land of contrasts, we visited the Gangetic plains where the winter/spring was just beginning to give way to the fast approaching summer and the temperatures were touching 40 deg C. However as it was festival season, it was celebration time! The ability of people to enjoy life despite everything-weather, circumstance, ability, etc- never ceases to amaze us. It continues to inspire us to do as much as we can to help our artisans as we expand our ranges.  (We expand on that in our next blog) We love that intricate design and bright colour in every hue permeates every aspect of life here. India festival celebrations © Jasmine White London

We visited the holy town of Rishikesh in the Himalayan foothills which is spiritually tranquil and also full of visiting tourists. It has popular adventure camps and is also one of the well known destinations for Yoga in India. Being a Hatha Yoga student, this was of particular interest. The relative coolness of the weather in the Himalayas was a welcome break from the 40deg C heat earlier. Rishikesh being a spiritual destination, the prayers in the evenings on the Ghats of the river are a must see, and very inspiring.

Prayer offering to the river in Rishikesh © Jasmine White London
Prayer offering to the river in Rishikesh © Jasmine White London
Evening Prayers to river Ganges © Jasmine White London
Evening Prayers to river Ganges © Jasmine White London
 
The narrow Lakshman Jhoola bridge on Ganges © Jasmine White London
The narrow Lakshman Jhoola bridge on Ganges © Jasmine White London
                  The gratitude of people for all that the river gives is worth seeing. As we took a road trip we feasted our eyes on the various modes of transport which those of you who follow us will know is a big inspiration, especially for our design range ‘Indian Street/Horn Please’. (More on that in another blog). India festival celebrations © Jasmine White London All in all, a very inspiring trip during a very hot season to two very interesting destinations. Stream flowing in the Himalayas © Jasmine White London
View of Ghats at Rishikesh © Jasmine White London
View of Ghats at Rishikesh © Jasmine White London
 
Puja Lamp © Jasmine White London
Puja Lamp © Jasmine White London
Rapid rafting on the Ganges © Jasmine White London
Rapid rafting on the Ganges © Jasmine White London
Colourfully decorated Indian trucks ©Jasmine White London
Colourfully decorated Indian trucks ©Jasmine White London

Holi: Festival of Colours and Easter Celebrations

Its Holi, Festival of colours in India, so we thought we would blog a little about this. It is said that on Holi, people come together to celebrate by throwing colour, playing with family and friends, and of course spreading good cheer all around.
Holi celebrations
Holi celebrations
Holi-Colours
Holi-Colours
This year, Prince Harry celebrated it in Nepal too! Holi,  like many festivals around the world at this time of year, is a celebration of the onset of spring. This is where it runs parallels with Easter which also signifies the onset of Spring. Blossom on trees, hatching chicks and Easter bunnies all signify the abundance of life around us.
Easter eggs
Easter eggs
             
Jasmine White London hand painted easter egg decorations
Jasmine White London hand painted easter egg decorations
You can celebrate the arrival of Spring with our colourful collection of enamelware and matching textile designs, Bright Red Floral Splash and Duck Egg Iris.  #Happy Holi! #Happy Easter! #Happy Celebrations!
Bright Red Floral Splash Cushion
Bright Red Floral Splash Cushion
Duck Egg Iris Pom Pom Cushion
Duck Egg Iris Pom Pom Cushion