When trying to dream up ideas of how we could evoke the atmosphere of Christmas in the Rajasthan countryside, we found the perfect candidate in the Babul!  With its dark, vertically fissured bark, straight stiff branches, sharp pointed white paired spines, and feathery leaves, the Babul comes closest to the fir tree, and became our “Christmas Tree” this year.  Babul trees  can be seen on the edge of the Savista grounds, and in the countryside all around Savista, and it did not take us long to find one with branches that appealed to us. Our enthusiastic staff – for whom a Christmas tree was a novelty – quickly got down to work, and within hours we had a sturdy branch about 6 feet long set in a pot filled with earth,  with tinsel wrapped around it and little coloured lights twinkling all over.  By the time it was sundown on the day before Christmas eve, our brightly-lit “Christmas tree”, with Christmas carols playing in the background,  truly brought home the  spirit of the festival!

Known as Acacia Nilotica and also called Acacia Arabica (from the Greek Akis meaning sharp point), the Babul (its Hindi name) is a wild tree that is native to all of Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and the Indian sub-continent, including Burma. It grows easily and is propagated by birds that feed on its pods.  In India, it grows abundantly in arid and semi arid climates, where it is also often deliberately planted as a measure to prevent soil erosion. Perfectly suited to sandy or degraded soils because of its capacity to make the maximum use of whatever little water is available to it, and with its leaves capable of folding up against the bright summer sun, the Babul is a tree that is superbly adapted for survival.  When travelling through Rajasthan – or even just hiking cross-country around Savista – it can be seen everywhere, often taking on a dramatic appearance with its tall trunk, spiny branches growing outwards, and dense cloak of yellow sweet-scented flowers when in season (July and November, its flowers giving it the name “Scented Thorn”).

The Babul has multiple uses for animals and humans in the Rajasthan environment.

Due to its thorns, it is often planted as a boundary wall around farms.  The wood is durable and termite resistant, and farmers use it to fashion ploughs, cart-wheels and other heavy duty farm equipment.  The dark bark and pods have an astringent quality, making them ideal tanning and dyeing materials.  The leaves make for good fodder for camels, sheep and goats; they are also used to make a a poultice for ulcers.  The tender twigs are chewed by villagers as an excellent herbal toothbrush-cum-toothpaste-cum-mouthwash-cum-gum-strengthener (“Babool” toothpaste is a brand that figures prominently among the products made by a reputed Indian company manufacturing drugs and personal hygiene products based on Ayurvedic principles for modern markets).   The gum ( a dark resin) of the tree (giving it its other name Arabian Gum Tree) is an integral ingredient of medicines prepared by practitioners of indigenous Indian systems of medicine for a variety of uses, e.g., to cure wounds, and to treat diarrhea, dysentery, liver and spleen disorders, tuberculosis, typhoid, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.

Botanical details:

Family: Leguminosae

Sub-family: Mimoceae

TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Babul is a post from: The Savista Blog

Walking to Fatehpura, a village about 4 km from Savista, is like an idyll.  The first and lasting impression is of the great and unspoilt beauty of the landscape.  A fairly smooth kuccha (unpaved) walking path is in existence and makes our progress easy.  We hardly meet anyone as we walk along comfortably; the only visual evidence is of nature and industrious agriculture.   On either side of the path stretch well cultivated fields showing the early tender green presence of wheat, garden peas, mustard and barley growing on  soil that looks dark and richly moist despite the generally sandy nature of the terrain.  Interspersed among the fields and along the pathway  are trees – mostly thorny sturdy babool, a tree suited to semi-arid soil conditions –  which provide shelter to busy birds exploring what the fields have to offer.

Between stretches of fields we pass a couple of homesteads. It would feel strange, indeed, if  in India there were not even such a minimal encounter with human presence.  A few young women busy with weeding or looking after their buffaloes look up and smile at us briefly.  A few small children, chubby and relatively clean and well clothed, give a startled and curious stare. It is still 4 in the evening and any older children must be still at school.  The men are probably away at work.  There are no idlers to be seen;  so different from the more urbanized villages that abound in the area.  Occasional patches of marigold, clearly being cultivated for the market,  add a splash of brilliance to the deep browns, greens and yellows on the ground and pale blue in the sky.  Little vegetable gardens hug the homesteads, from across the thatch housing the buffaloes; we can see thin green fingers of garlic and spring onions, the little leaves of fenugreek, potatoes, aniseed, spinach and turnips.  All this is evidence that the families in these homesteads are eating reasonably well.  Cowdung cakes are stacked to dry against the walls of the buffalo shelters.  These are families self-sufficient in grain, vegetables, milk and fuel.  Their men and women work.  Their children go to school.

At Fatehpura itself, beautifully-tended fields covered with crops reach for  the horizon.  The village houses are ranged along the other side of the main pathway.  They have large compounds shielded by high walls of thorny twigs.  Another striking image – even more so than the unspoilt and uncrowded beauty of the landscape – is the spotlessness we have encountered all along our route, and that continues through Fatehpura village;  the blessed characteristic of sparse populations.  The  homesteads along the route do not seem to be generating visible litter.  The feeling of being in an idyllic bubble begins to give way, however, when we get to the end of the village and closer to the main road that runs past it.   Although the landscape is still relatively empty of people, barring an occasional shepherd and his wife in traditional dress leading a flock of goats and sheep, or farmers on motorcycles also in traditional attire, plastic bags and plastic tea glasses lie piled up by the roadside. Evidence of modernity and prosperity in village India. Traditional knowledge does not equip people with the means to dispose of synthetic wastes.  And nobody is giving them the new knowledge either.   Apart from this, the idyll is still  intact, but we are reminded of how tenuous this is.

The Countryside Around Savista is a post from: The Savista Blog

Here at Savista, hibiscus is used for landscaping and can be found lining our paths as well as the alfresco dining area. And to keep it continually pleasing to the eye,  this sun-loving plant needs to be pruned and  thus well taken care of, performing best in the hot months. In our garden you will find white, red and pink flowers,  which is really only a short list of the colors existing in nature; it is a most fascinating species, which has the ability to change color from white to red in the course of a single day.

One can find white, red, yellow, orange, purple and even pink hibiscus flowers with trumpet shaped flowers, single flowers or double flowers, all with at least 5 petals and maybe even heart shaped leaves. Of the hundreds of species of hibiscus, many will not take to Indian soil which is interesting because they are found throughout the country and are used for all types of beauty treatments, drinks and even ayurvedic medicine. Hibiscus is believed to cure coughs, stop hair from graying, and even stop hair from falling.  And despite this flowers inability to grow naturally, propagation is sustained primarily by cuttings.

In terms of usefulness,  the most obvious is landscaping for its aesthetic quality as well as its attractiveness to birds, bees and hummingbirds, making any garden instantly more beautiful. A second contribution of hibiscus is a unique flavor to tea, served either hot or cold depending on where you are in the world. In Jamaica, hibiscus tea is served with rum and with lime in Cambodia, turning it deep red.  As for edibility, dried hibiscus is considered to be a delicacy in Mexico; is made into jellies or preserves and another variety produces young fruit eaten as a vegetable, known as bhindi (Hindi), ladies fingers or okra. Many varieties of hibiscus are used as a natural diuretic, to treat venereal diseases, as a laxative, or as a source of Vitamin C. Studies have even shown that hibiscus can lower blood pressure.

The hibiscus also holds great cultural significance worldwide, particularly the red flower.  It is the national flower of South Korea and Malaysia.  Here in India, the red hibiscus is the flower of the mother goddess Kali. Kali is the goddess of change and time and images show the flower and goddess uniting. The same flowers are also used as an offering to Ganesha, remover of obstacles. And In the Philippines children make hibiscus flowers locally known as gumamela into bubbles by crushing the flowers and leaves and using a straw. Tahitian women wear the red hibiscus to show that they are single and looking to marry, fibers are made into grass skirts in Polynesia, and more ordinary uses include linoleum paints, lubricants, shampoo, conditioner and hair oil.

 References:

Bor, N.L. and Raizada, M.B. Some Beautiful Indian Climbers & Shrubs Oxford University Press, Oxford, England. Second reprint 1999 first edition 1994 Bombay Natural History Society 1982

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus

TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Hibiscus is a post from: The Savista Blog

Diwali lamps

Today is Diwali, Festival of Lights.  Diwali Mubarak!  Naya Saal Mubarak! Diwali and New Year greetings to all!

 Diwali – from the Sanskrit Deepavali –  means “rows of lamps”.   Uniquely marked by the lighting of myriad oil lamps (now combined with decorative electric lights) in homes and public spaces; flower decorations to homes and shops, streets and parks; firework displays and the  bursting of fire crackers; the making and sharing of infinite varieties of sweets; the buying and gifting of new clothes and precious jewellery; and, most important, the reunion of families and friends – Diwali is one of the most joyously celebrated festivals of India.  It is India’s equivalent of Christmas in the West.

 The significance of Diwali is manifold, and there are as many symbolisms as there are cultures inIndia.  The two most important stories may loosely be termed the north Indian and south Indian. 

 In northern India, Diwali is celebrated as the victorious return of Lord Rama to his rightful throne in Ayodhya after 14 years of unjust exile.  It symbolizes the triumph of the forces of light, i.e., truth and justice over the forces of darkness, i.e., deception and greed.  Diwali follows within a few weeks of Dussehra, the festival celebrated across north India as symbolic of the destruction of the demon king Ravana by Lord Rama as a prelude to his return to Ayodhya.

 In south India,  the story of Deepavali has a powerful king Mahabali at its centre.  Bali was a great and wise king, famed for his fabulous generosity; it was said that nobody who came to Bali with a request ever left empty-handed.  But Bali’s arrogance and complacency arising out of is own reputation proved to be his undoing.  So drunk was he on his own fame that God – Maha Vishnu – felt compelled to come down to earth to teach a lesson in equanimity and humility.  Taking the form of a poor midget Brahmin who approaches Bali with a timorous request for just three paces of land, God demonstrates to Bali the folly of arrogance which arises out of a false sense of self and ignorance of one’s place in the cosmic scheme of things.  In gratitude, Bali prays that his lesson be commemorated by the annual lighting of ‘rows of lamps of wisdom and awareness ’ to  dispel the darkness and futility of self-delusion that can entrap even the most accomplished of persons.      

 In Rajasthan, Diwali is the most important publicly celebrated festival for several additional reasons.  The day following Diwali marks the beginning of the traditional new year for the people of Rajasthan.  It is also the beginning of the new financial year for the trading and business communities that dominate the regional economy of Rajasthan.  Following a grand puja (dedication) to the Godess Lakshmi – the godess of wealth and prosperity – businesses and shops open their new account books.  Throughout the Diwali week shops and markets remain open,  entire market areas are festooned with colourful decorations, sweet shops spill out onto the road, and textile and jewellery shops lay out their choicest wares to tempt customers.  It coincides with the agricultural calendar -  the new harvest has just been taken in, and there is ready cash in people’s hands.

At Savista, every electric light on the property is on for this evening.  We have also lit oil lamps all around the pool, at the gates, all through the Eastern Court, and at various points across the grounds.  Against the dark of the moonless sky – Diwali is always on a no-moon night – the flickering lamps have imparted a magic to the property.   All of Savista’s staff received gifts of clothes, sweets and cash. Those of the staff who live at Savista are wearing their new clothes and preparing to set off fire works, and those who live in their own homes in the nearby villages – mostly women – are enjoying their holiday, wearing their new saris and sharing with their families the sweets that they carried home. Tomorrow their brothers will visit them and share in the feast that their sisters will have prepared for them, for Diwali is also an occasion for siblings to renew their relationship. 

Festivals of Rajasthan: Diwali is a post from: The Savista Blog

The neem tree is widespread across the plains of India.  It is particularly prolific in semi-desert regions such as Rajasthan, since it requires very little water and grows easily in dry, stony, sunny climates.  Its sturdy fruit is mainly propagated by birds who carry it around; when the birds drop the fruit, these effortlessly take root.  This is another reason why new neem trees can be seen sprouting right next to existing grown trees of various varieties.

The neem is particularly valued across India as a medicinal tree, and has an over 4000 year old presence in Ayurvedic medicine (one of the India’s indigenous systems of medicine).  In fact, one of the Sanskrit names for the neem tree is arishtha which means reliever of sickness.  It is even referred to as the “Gateway to Heaven”,  and planting a neem tree is seen as a sacred act.  Every part of the neem is used for its medicinal properties.  The bark acts as an analgesic, and when ingested in the form of a tea is known to bring down high fever in case of malaria and severe headaches caused by  fevers.  The pale cream-coloured flowers which bloom in the spring are dried in the shade and stored in airtight containers for long-term use.  When mixed with honey, yoghurt or butter, they are believed to cure intestinal worms.  The leaves have anti-bacterial and antiseptic properties.  They  keep away insects and mosquitoes, and purify and cool the breezes blowing through them, so  the tree is generally planted close to habitations.  A wet paste made by grinding the leaves is used by village folk as a poultice in case of major and minor cuts or  wounds.  In the case of skin infections, allergies or rashes, neem leaves are steeped in boiling water which is then added to the bath water.  Newborn babies are protected by laying them in a bed of tender neem leaves.  Neem sticks are used even today in villages as a combined toothbrush-toothpaste;  before the advent of factory manufactured oral hygiene products, neem sticks were universally used for brushing the teeth.

Savista has numerous shady neem trees all around the haveli, and new ones can be seen sprouting everywhere.  Like the villagers around us, we too use the leaves for a variety of purposes.  Neem leaves dried in the shade act as virtually indestructible substitutes for mothballs for the protection of woolens and silks, so we lay bunches of leaves in the cupboards where we store our winter gear.  We also add a few springs of neem leaves when we bag our freshly harvested grains to prevent insect infestation or mould.  We also follow the traditional practice of using the oil extracted from the neem fruit for soil pest control.  When the trees are heavy with fruit, we simply pound the collected fallen fruit (called nimoli locally) and mix it with the soil for use as a crop pesticide.  

Neem oil is also used as an ingredient in the manufacture of medicinal soaps. The bark has additional uses in the tanning and dyeing of leather, and the fibre is used to make ropes. The trunk is termite resistant and lends itself to furniture-making.

 Botanical info:  Class: Magnoliophypsida; Order: Sapendales; Genus: Azaderachta; Species: A. Indica; Names: Margosa, Nimba, Neem, Veppalai.

TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Neem is a post from: The Savista Blog

Rajasthan’s monsoon season this year was longer and more intense than usual.  Although, in normal years, the rainy season is one of the nicest times of year in Rajasthan – occasional cooling showers, cloudy skies, gorgeous weather – the heavier than usual rains and consequent heightened humidity this year made for a more-fecund-than-usual insect population.  And, particular to this post, brown-grasshoppers-with-green-stripes.   During a week and a half over July/August, insects swarmed around, led by these grasshoppers.  And at the end of this period, as suddenly as they arrived, they were gone.

I defer to our readers- past and potential guests alike: should we accept natural fluxes and expect our guests to do so also? Or make an exception and use chemical pest sprays?

Here are links that expose the harms of conventional chemical pest sprays:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002763.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_pesticides

Inform yourselves!  And share a guests perspective with the Team at Savista!

To spray or not to spray? is a post from: The Savista Blog

About a month ago we had two lovely visitors from the U.A.E. come to stay at Savista. And from our first meeting, they clearly expressed interest in textiles, even sharing with us pages torn from a magazine highlighting the beauty of authentic textiles of Jaipur. The couple was most interested in purchasing textiles, less interested in witnessing the process (entirely understandable on a short trip to Jaipur).  So we shared our knowledge of the best shops to go hunting for authentic Jaipur textiles, told them a little but about our relationship with the neighboring block printing town of Bagru, and sent them on their way.

The two came back exhausted loaded with shopping bags, and at some point during that day asked to hear a bit more about Bagru.  Our block printing workshops.  And our half day tours to the printing workshops.  Bagru, only 8 km from Savista, is home to artisans of the Chhipa community who are renowned for their style of hand block printed cottons.  They have kept this beautiful tradition – using mostly natural fabrics and vegetable based dyes – alive in Bagru for at least 350 years. The long life of this craft is attributable to its prime natural environment.

Considering that Jaipur is known for its history, architecture and, one must not forget the crafts using precious stones, gold and silver, leather, textiles, etc. we expect many of our guests to have made a note whether mental or in their travel books that these are the things to see or buy while in the Jaipur area. This very reasonable notion encouraged us to strengthen our relationship with our friends in Bagru, hoping to bring the interested parties directly to the source of block printed textiles.

The men and women of the Chhipa community produce beautiful meters of fabric day in and day out, without much of a notion of where their fabric will be going and what it will become. Their products are sold at a distance from the environment in which they are produced, and visitors who come to buy textiles in Jaipur do not get to see the hard work, time and care that goes into each meter of fabric.  So, the half day tours and the block printing workshops were created by Savista – working with a few select artisans of Bagru – to showcase this beautiful art form.

Now, our couple from the U.A.E opted for the half-day tour to Bagru. It was long enough to see each step of the process: from the carving of the block, to the dyeing of the fabric, the block printing, the drying,  and examples of the final product in various styles. Of course, no length of fabric can be chosen, a block carved, fabric dyed, printed, possibly dyed again, maybe even printed on once or twice more, dried and sold, within a half day time-frame. And because of the natural time constraints built into the process, our guests taking the tour to Bagru get to visit the Chhipa community, see the carving of the block in one shop, the dyeing in another home/workshop, etc. etc.

This tour opens up many types of opportunities: the opportunity to see a community beyond its bazaars, with a local at hand to answer questions. The chance to see workshops of many different shapes and sizes, as well as varying printing techniques such as Dabu:  printing with mud such that further layers can be printed atop and the mud can be washed away leaving negative space. And, finally, the opportunity to see the finished work of a master printer, and share a cup of chai with him.

I hope that you have enjoyed the photos of our Bagru trip and should you want to learn more about our half day trips to Bagru or blockprinting workshops, please visit: http://www.savista.com/block-printing.html or contact us at: info@savista.com

Tour of Bagru’s Block Printing Sector is a post from: The Savista Blog

Our most recent residents are the Blue Bearded Bee-Eater and the Black-Crowned Night Heron. It is possible that the Blue Bee-Eater may have got drawn to our luxuriant winged insect life that has undergone an additional growth spurt with the rains. The Black-Crowned Night Heron probably feels attracted to our ponds, which are currently alive with uncle and grandfather frogs and lots of jumpy babies.

The Blue Bearded Bee-Eater (30-34 cm) is much larger than his cousin the Green Bee-Eater (21 cm), who is one of Savista’s more ubiquitous residents. The Blue variety normally lives in the hill forests of the Central and Eastern Himalayas and the Western and Eastern Ghats of peninsular India, and in the forested parts of Madhya Pradesh; it is a rare pleasure to have it choose our lush-with-the-rains-tree-covered-estate, even if it is only for a seasonal visit. Greyish-green above and bluer on the forehead, blue along the centre of throat to breast and along the wings, and with a long tail that lacks long central pins (a characgteristic of the Green bee-Eater), the Blue Bee-Eater looks quite at home at Savista, perched high up in the garden and on the haveli’s terrace, making its harsh korr-korr croaking notes as it keeps a look-out for juicy insects.

We spotted the Black-Crowned Night Heron one late evening quite by chance. He was standing at the edge of what used to be our horses’ drinking water pond (that has now been taken over by water plants and frogs), motionless and totally absorbed by something in the water that he was looking at. It was his apparent unflappability which had us watching him closely until it became too dark for us to see clearly. This heron is small but heavy, its plumage mostly grey, black and white, with a black head, back and crest, a white forehead and very long white feathers. The species is nocturnal, shy and secretive, which is probably why we have never spotted it since. It roosts in trees during the day, and arrives at its feeding grounds by dusk – ponds and marshes containing fish, frogs and aquatic insects – where it continues to feed through the night until early morning. It is resident all over India.

BIRDWATCH: The Blue Bearded Bee-Eater & Black Crowned Night Heron is a post from: The Savista Blog

The rains have been particularly bountiful in Jaipur this monsoon season.  And Savista and its environs have benefited greatly from nature’s generosity.

On Tuesday September 6, the sixth day after Ganesh Chaturthi, we decided to go in search of a water body in which to immerse our Ganesha – the turmeric representation of the god of auspicious beginnings that had been sanctified in our puja just a few days earlier.

We did not have to go far.  Less than 20 km from Savista stretched the brimming reservoir of Hingonia.  There was water for as far as the eye could see.  We drove along a winding country road  that took us through green fields and little villages.  We passed by men in white tunics and dhotis, colourful turbans, gleaming earrings, and luxuriant moustaches who pointed to the road ahead, until we stopped in astonishment at the largest expanse of water any of us has ever seen near Savista.

And here is a beautiful classical south Indian rendering of the popular composition Vathapi Ganapthim Bhaje in the raga Hamsadhwani, on the guitar.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO8faakv_34

Water Bodies Around Savista is a post from: The Savista Blog

Ganesh Chaturthi – the festival in adoration of Ganesha – was celebrated all overIndiaon September 1.    The elephant-headed Ganesha is revered as the god of auspicious beginnings.  His representation –   an outsized elephant head that sits on a human body consisting of a huge round belly, four arms , and two legs – could mystify the average traveller unfamiliar with the nuances of Indian mythology.   

The fact is that every aspect of Ganesha’s  representation is replete with complex and profound symbolisms.  The multiple ‘gods’ in Indian mythology are essentially symbolisms, meant to empower people at all levels of intellectual development to deal with their relationships towards their material and spiritual worlds.  Underlying the whole is the dialectic that the very formlessness of god is best understood through awesome form. 

Ganesha’s form symbolizes the balance between the spiritual and material that all human beings need to strive for.  At its simplest.  The elephant symbolizes strength of mind, tenacity and singularity of purpose, and the wisdom to know what is the right action, all of it expressed through  effortlessness (the quality of the elephant, of simply uprooting and throwing  aside the obstacles in its path).  Equanimity, i.e., the ability (accompanied by wisdom) to digest both the good and bad in our material world (symbolized by the big stomach) is as important an attribute as effortlessness.  Of the two principal arms, one hand is held up in a gesture of protection (the confidence and security that right action brings).  The other hand gently points down to the earth   (the ultimate truth that everything  arises from the earth and eventually returns to it).  A third hand holds sweets  – laddoos – symbolising  the fruits of right action, while the fourth holds an axe – ankush -  with which to pierce through the veil of ignorance.   The vehicle on which Ganesha rides  is a tiny mouse.  The mouse represents desire.  Desire is a reality, but unless kept under control it could cause havoc. 

The symbolism of Ganesha essentially draws our attention to these qualities.  In the ultimate analysis, Ganesha is the wisdom that rests within us.  We need to go within and discover ourselves.     

At Savista, we celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with a simple puja (worship).  In the puja, Ganesha was sanctified as a simple rough little mound of turmeric powder pressed together by hand, symbolic of having been drawn from nature, and to be returned to nature (when immersed in a water body by the end of ten days,  as per the custom). Also in the puja were other representations from nature:   flowers, incense, flaming oil lamps and camphor, fruits, coconuts, betel leaves.  The puja was not so much a religious occasion as a reminder to all of us of the symbolisms of Ganesha.  The person leading the puja invoked Ganesha’s blessings for all those at Savista and their families, and for the success of Savista’s mission.

And here is Susheela Raman singing a south Indian classical kriti (composition) dedicated to Ganesha, set to a South Indian-Afro-Jazz beat. Enjoy the music!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WpFqyl_yKg“

Festivals of Rajasthan: Ganesh Chaturthi is a post from: The Savista Blog