Chat with Paper Bead Jewelry Making Artist

Here is an interview of an Aashir’s Jewellery Page (https://www.facebook.com/AashirsJewellery) fan Ms Piyali Sen Ganguly. Her love for jewelry drove her into a very unique creative hobby - creating beautiful African style jewelry which uses beads made from paper. Piyali currently  lives in Australia. She shares a little about how she got into this fascinating hobby which has now turned into her profession.

Tell me about yourself and how did you get interested in jewelry making?

I am an engineer by profession, but have always been an admirer of crafts. I have taken interest in different crafting projects like making soft toys, paper collage, painting, sewing, crochet etc. Like other women, jewelry always has been my passion. When I came to know about paper beads and recycle jewelry I really got interested and started playing with beads!

What are these recyclable paper beads?

I came to know about them while staying in Melbourne. They are mainly African style beads. In Africa poor women used to make their jewelry from paper.  The process of making the beads is very time consuming though, you need to cut each paper in thin template and then have to make each bead separately. Then they need to be coated with three layers of water resistant polish. So that they can withstand light shower or rain.I really enjoyed making beads of different color and shape!

What prompted you to make such jewelry?

I truly love costume jewelry! Making jewelry for myself gave me the freedom to design anything I really ever wanted!!Learning to make beads is not all, turning them into a beautiful piece of jewelry is really challenging! I went through a workshop with an African lady who introduced me to the world of African style jewelry. I added up our Indian flavor to that and I really liked the outcome and started created different jewelries everyday! There is another reason why I started making them. Once I came to know about paper beads , I decided to buy one for myself  But I found that they are not available at any shop , only I could buy them online ,but they were very very expensive!! Then I decided to learn to make them.I am keeping my jewelry price very very low compared to online shops to make them affordable to every craft lover. 

Do you have a website or Facebook page where you sell your handmade jewelry?

My website is on the way , but anyone can buy my jewelries contacting me from my Facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/PaperBeadedJewelry I got good response from people from India and USA, who are interested in my creations.I am talking to some courier companies to keep the shipping charge low for my customers who are outside Australia.But till then , if someone is buying in bulk , I am ready to bear the major part of postage.

Organizing Earrings: Sorting and Storing

I always struggled to keep my earrings in order and place. Until my MIL suggested a better way to organize my earrings. By the way this whole craze of junk jewelry is instilled in me by her and I can't thank her enough for it. Once long time back she gave me an dry fruit container and asked me to sort and keep my earrings in them.

Ever since then I have realized how easy it gets. I am sharing some pics of one of my dry fruit box earring box.

I have sorted them here as Oxidized, Ethnic, Chunky, Beaded and Ear Tops. You can choose your own category .This is of course for smaller earrings ...there is a better way for really long danglers that I learnt from one of my friend....I shall share that with you soon....till then hope people find this a easy way to get their earrings sorted.

Now I run an Junk Jewelry business quitting my regular job and I enjoy because I love junk jewelry.

https://www.facebook.com/AashirsJewellery

More tips on Jewelry coming in my successive blogs

Inappropriate Scene in “Ferrari Ki Sawari”

This Saturday I went to watch the movie “Ferrari Ki Sawari” with my family. The film specially released just before Father’s Day is meant for family viewing and received a “U” (Universal) certificate. The hall was packed with a lot of children of various age groups. The film is nice I must say, but with a lot of exaggerated melodrama. But one particular part of the film I feel was not appropriate for child viewership.

In one of the scenes of the movie there is a boy who stands up on the parapet of a terrace and threatens his father of dire consequences if he is not let to go to his wedding riding a Ferrari. The entire scene is shot with a touch a humor. But there is repeated usage of the word “suicide”. As you know that a child will have no clue of what suicide is, but repeated usage of this word will arose their curiosity. By watching such a scene some children might feel that standing on the parapet of the terrace is fun. Second they might also learn that when you want something which your father doesn’t oblige to then a good option might be to stand on the edge of the wall and say I will jump if you don’t give the thing I want.

After watching the movie "3 Idiots" many children have asked their parents “Why did that uncle who sang give me some sunshine tie a rope round his neck?” or “Why did Raju jump from the principals room?” but the movie had a U/A certification. So it was the discretion of the parents whether to take their children below 12 years or not.

Children as innocent and they hardly understand the consequences of their actions. They just like to ape and hence when the filmmakers make a movie they should keep in mind the possible impacts of words or scenes on young minds. I wish the censor board uses better judgement and gives an appropriate certificate  or aptly edits scence of movies that are meant for children.

Why I need to celebrate Father's Day

Many people argue that specific days as a "Fathers Day","Mothers Day"  or "Valentines Day" needn't be celebrated in India. Its a culture of the west so why should we as Indians ape it? As Indians we share deep connect and bonds with our family so the question is does such celebrations make sense for us? On similar analogy we as Indians are extremely religious and spiritual too, so in that case why do we celebrate specific days as festivals?

Well my love, honour, respect for relationships surely persistently lingers in my heart and will always remain within. But sometimes due to various circumstances like the day to day mad rush or distance even if I wish to I cannot express feelings expicilty to ones I love. Celebrating relationships on  a special day for me is cherishing a day to make the person I love feel special and say things I always want to tell or do things that I always wish to do.

Tomorrow is Father's Day (the 3rd Sunday of June) so I will go ahead and revere my relationship and express my love to my Father. My Baba (father) has played a pivotal role to make me what I am today. He showered me with his unconditional love, supported me , guided and disciplined me, protected me and still does so  much that I have no words to express. I can only deeply love him and respect him more and more for all my life. I have written a special wish for my Father:

You cradled me in your arms while I cried when I was baby,

Tolerated all my tantrums although they drove you crazy!

Held my hand and helped me to take my first steps,

Guided me through out when ever I needed your help.

From you I learnt most important in life is to love from within,

You made us believe that truth is the only way you can win.

You ingrained values in me when my mind was malleable,

You do so many things for me till now which are invaluable.

I consider my Baba as one of my most important treasures,

My love for him I can never ever measure!

Happy Father’s Day! Loads and loads of love and respect :)

How To Make Guests Feel @ Home

Recently a very good friend of mine suggested that I put up a post on how to entertain guests! In a land where we say "Athiti Devo Bhava" meaning "Guest is God" it is very important to take good care of guests and be hospitable, small things can go a long way in making guests feel at home.  When we have guests who stay over here are some of my suggestions to make them feel at home

• First allocate a clean room with a comfortable sleeping bed. Please ensure that the bed sheets are all fresh and there are enough pillows.  (If there is a child ensure there is a one for the child too)
• Depending on the time of the year please keep comfortable quilts or blankets for all of the guests.
• If you have a cupboard space for the guests, its good. Else atleast empty one of the shelves and atleast one drawer and let the guest use them. Ensure that the cupboard has hangers to let guests hang out their clothes.
• Keep some basic toiletries (toothpaste, body wash, face wash, talc, lotion and shampoo) in the rest room that the guest uses. Also keep some clean towels (both bath and face ones) in the shelf. Let them know once they arrive that the toileteries in the wash room are for them and they can use whatever they want from their shelf. (Once a guest on mine didnot use them thinking it belonged to us.
• Always keep a few extra bathroom slippers handy so that the guests can use it. I usually keep one gents and one ladies extra at my place always.
• Keep a bed side table with a reading lamp. Also keep some magazines for them to read.
• If possible provide a television connection in the guest room, as many guests might want to watch their own set of television programs.
• Ensure that you have a mosquito repellant in case there are a chances of mosquitoes hovering around in the night.
• Keep a bottle of water by their bed side.
• Keep a small table for the guests to keep their bags or suitcases.
• In case you have to leave them alone and go out for some work, please show them your pantry where there is a stock of some snacks. Also show them the things that they might need to make a quick cup of tea or coffee.
• Try to cook atleast one meal after knowing the preferences of the guest. Also find out if they have any allergies or aversions to any sort of food.

 I hope I have been able to articulate whatever came to my mind. In case you have any other tips please do share.

Recent Dress Codes Rules in Bangalore - For Students and Parents

Yesterday I read in a paper that certain colleges have banned female students from wearing leggings with kurta. The concept of this imposition is that leggings are tight and hence wearing tight clothes amounts to indecent exposure.

So this age long debate of appropriate dress code continues and I don't want to get into too much details. But what is appropriate and what is offensive? It is really ridiculous to just define a code.   I don't understand the trend, of illogically deciding upon a rule without even putting an iota of brain in it. How on earth are leggings bad or provocative? Most of the dress code restrictions only apply to women. Recently some workplaces too banned women from wearing sleeveless clothes. Agreed that there is a line between expecting women to wear clothes that exhibit self-respect and requiring them to cover their bodies, but why for God's Sake have irrational rules?

Now the latest dress code rule that I heard today is of a school imposing dress code on parents who go to drop their children. A school on Hesserghata road Bangalore has asked its parents to come suitably dressed and ofcourse for a change this time the rules are directed towards the fathers  also who come in shorts exposing hairy legs. The school feels that the school premises are not beaches so no shorts absolutely! Also they expect that parents shouldn't roll out of bed and arrive there in night dresses.

Well I can agree on the dress code rule for the parents...but still fail to understand the leggings one for the students.

Almighty Almonds – Why, How and When to have them.

Almonds are subtly flavored and supremely healthy nuts. Often referred to as “Badam” in India they are technically the seeds of the fruits of the almond tree. Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other nutrients like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and vitamin E, omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids and compounds called phytochemicals. It has a long shelf life and hence can be stored for long periods easily.It’s a power house of nutrients and hence the inclusion of them in our daily lives can be extremely beneficial.

Reasons on why you should have them daily are:

• It helps in cancer prevention as it has valuable antioxidants with so many cancer-fighting qualities.
• It protects against cardiovascular diseases and reduces cardiac arrest risk.
• The calcium and magnesium in them makes the bones strong and protects them.
• They aid in diabetes control by controlling blood sugar levels.
• It helps in lowering the cholesterol.
• It helps in weight loss.
• It gives you 35 percent of your daily allowance of vitamin E.
• It’s a great source of folic acid especially helpful during pregnancy and reduces risk of cervical cancer.
• Phosphorus content in it helps make bones and teeth strong.
• Calcium found in almonds may lower risks of colon and rectal cancers.
• Fibers in this nut may also help protect against colon cancer. The folic acid in almonds may help reduce the risk of cervical cancers.

How to eat them the right way?

Eating almonds the right way is very essential for absorbing its nutrients else the wrong way could actually harm your digestion. Almonds are usually difficult for most people to digest because their brown coating inhibits secretion of digestive enzymes in the stomach. Soaking them removes this inhibitor so that the enzymes secreted during digestion can do their job. Soak them in a glass or steel container filled with drinking overnight for 12 hours. The brown skin of the almond will then peel off easily and you can consume the required and refrigerate the rest.

What is the best time of the day to have them?

Its best to have them along with breakfast or earlier in the day as you will have enough time to burn off the calories.

How many almonds can you have daily?

Around 10-15 almonds a day can be safely consumed or approximately a handful of them.

Consuming almonds how many times a week is good enough?

Around five times a week should be sufficient.

What is the cost of almond in India? Where can I get them?

100gms of almonds in India cost around Rs 120. At any super market almond packets are easily available. It would be a healthier choice to go in for organic almonds.