I have never met more interesting people in such a short time than during my stay at a Haveli in Ahmedabad. A Haveli originally was a rich merchants house and you can see many of them in Guajarat and Rajastan. Unfortunately, many of them have lost during the last 100 years their extraordinary splendor,…
Category: arts
Colours in Ahmedabad – the kite festival
Incredible India, incredible colourful country! Who still has some doubts whether India is the most colourful country of the world, should come to Ahmedabad and see… It’s a day before the annual kite festival will take place. In the streets of the city there is a very specia atmosphere. I have come to Ahmedabad…
Visit to Phuket town and a printing machine for eternity
It’s a rainy day in Phuket and when we walk through the streets of the old town many taxi drivers offer a trip to somewhere. Well, in the low season it might not be easy to gain some money… We just have refused again when we stop in front of one of these old printing…
Go around the corner – discover life for pottery
It is a rather quiet area in one of the outer city parts of Coimbatore. The streets are small and the colourful, one and two room houses at the right and left reflect the lifestyle of its habitants. It is – compared with many other Indian streets in the surroundings – a very clean and…
Indian handicrafts in Chennai: stuff dreams are made from and a missed opportunity
When you stay in Chennai, you may hear of DakshinaChitra, an “open air” museum in Tamil Nadu dedicated to South Indian heritage and culture. It is located 25 kilometers to the south of Chennai. The museum was opened in 1996 and is being managed by the Madras Craft foundation. Without doubt – it is worth…
India and modern Arts – what comes to your mind?
Have you ever asked yourself who is a good modern Indian artist? I did and I had to admit that I did not know even one. I did not remember to have read about one nor seen any modern example. Well, I’m not an expert in arts, but I was really a little bit astonished…
7weeks in India- Mandawa: Hawelis, kites and clever sales
Before leaving for Mumbai I spend one day in Mandawa, a small town in Rajasthan, ca 260 km away from Delhi and completely different from the South of India. The landscape is rigid, a lot of dust and sand. People look different here, other plants, other customs. There are a lot of children playing with…
7weeks in India – 5 EUR/Dollar can mean that much. First funds arrived…
When I ask about their wishes, the ca. 50 tribal women from Tamil Nadu, India give me a quick response. “Due to the support of a local NGO, the KKF in India and the Karl Kübel foundation in Germany we could found our Self-help groups two years ago. Since then a lot of things have…
7weeks in India – Tribal culture and an unknown artist
At noon we arrive in a small tribal village in the mountain region, close to the border of Kerala. The view from this place down on the hills is beautiful. Less than 20 families live here, a hundred people. Under a tree, in the middle of the road (there is just this only one) they…
Social change? Culture is the key to people’s heart
It’s culture that often is underestimated when plans are made how to offer a better education, how to change economic crisis and critical social behavior. But culture is often the key to people’s heart. An example is the music school in India. Music lessons, normally not accessible to the average and poor population, are the…
Go India, go future! 