Eastern Aesthetics

Architecture and design, like fashion, are substantially influenced by the world around them. With cross fertilisation of cultures, today's homes are more eclectic than ever. One aesthetic that has become popular is that of the Far East., particularly China and Japan. Steeped in tradition, symbolism and spirituality, Chinese and Japanese design elements offer an exoticism like no other. The minimialism refreshes and soothes the soul, and the warmth imbues the rooms with elegance. Whether its the colors, textures, forms or mystical qualities that stir our emotions, Eastern style resonates with most of us. Here are some ideas to help you bring a little bit of the Far East into your home and attain that same Zen like feeling...it could be as simple as a few stones placed next to a bowl of water, a Japanese scroll painting, a statue of Buddha serene and soothing, a row of potted orchids, a low mattress as a bed, a chest in a vibrant shade of red.......get inspired!

Where does the room end and the garden begin? The earthy hues and textures heighten the connection with the outdoors.

The focal point is a sofa in a bold red hue. Ceramic vases with calligraphy, Japanese lanterns and shoji screens are all ancient Asian design elements.

Here is a Zen like setting with a rug, a sculptural chair and some tulips. So simple, yet so beautiful!

A delicate orchid, a folding screen and a scroll painting all infuse the room with an Eastern tone.

Four chairs, four bowls and four spoons in perfect symmetry create a feeling of peace. White lilies echo the hue of the bowls against a red backdrop that is vivid, not jarring.

A yin and yang effect is achieved with the cool whites of the walls, windows and dishes counterbalancing the deep reddish hue of the tables and planter. Perfect harmony!

Minimalistic furnishings, juxtaposing light and dark elements are design strategies that create a dramatic effect.

This room may seem simple, but it is filled with details.....bamboo frame, wood and paper doors, an array of artwork all

combined with the focus of the room, the white futon, to ensure harmony.

Sliding glass doors bring the outside in and the inside out. A low table, a futon, a small chest....all the functional furnishings needed.

A peaceful, contemporary bedroom thansk to the balanced mixture of materials. The warm cabinets, the cool metallic walls, the sleek bed, the shoji screen.....

Minimal furniture, lamps with paper and plenty of wood combine to give and Asian overtone.

The earth toned tiles integrate the bath with the outdoors. Using the tiles on the tub and the floor creates an organic look, as though the tub were flowing into the floor like water.

Photos coutesy "Eastern Spirit" by Lisa Jill Schlang.

Kerala - God's own country!

Volumes have been written about the beauty of Kerala. Along with the rice fields, the beaches and the fishermen, picturesque surroundings, the food, the winding rivers and backwaters, the houseboats, the Kathakali dancers, Ayurvedic treatments.....Kerala boasts the highest literacy rate in the country and is one of the cleanest cities to live in. My great grandfather, Prof. R. Srinivasan, was a mathematician as well as musician and lived for many years in Trivandrum. In addition he was also a self taught photographer and developed his own photos in a make-shift dark room in the house. A few years ago my grandmother bequeathed to me all the gorgeous black and white photographs he had taken while in Trivandrum. You can see him in the photo below (the man on the right side in the back row), along with my great grandmother, seated in front of him, my grandparents and my mother as a baby on my great grandma's lap!

Here are a few shots he took, amost 60 plus years ago...he had such a great eye for subject and composition. I hope you enjoy them.

Summer coolers

There is nothing like summer coolers to quench your thirst and put out the heat. It may be 100 degrees and sweltering heat outside but summer brings along with it the fresh fruit juice stalls, the sugarcane juice vendors, the lassi wallahs, the spiced minty buttermilk vendors and the almond milk carts. From the tangy Rajasthani chaas, spiced buttemilk spiked with curry leaves and green chilis, to sweet sugarcane juice infused with ginger and lime to the almost dessert like almond milk laced with saffron.....a glass will cool you and refresh you in no time! To summer I say - bring it on!

Watermelon juice

1/4 watermelon, 10 mint leaves, 1 pinch pepper

Cut a thin slice of watermelon and keep aside. Scoop the rest of the watermelon flesh into a mixer and run it in the mixer along with mint leaves and pepper. Stain and allow to cool in the fridge. Remove the seeds from the watermelon kept aside and cut it into small pieces. Serve the chilled watermelon juice after adding the small pieces inside.

Sweet Lassi

1 green cardamom pod , 100 ml natural unsweetened yoghurt , 1½ tsp caster sugar , 1 tsp rose water , 200 ml cold water, 1 tsp crushed pistachios and rose petals, 4 mint leaves

Use the back of a spoon to gently crush a green cardamom pod, until it splits. Remove the seeds with your fingers, and put the seeds into a mixing bowl or jug, along with the yoghurt, sugar, rose water and water. Use a blender to blend the mixture into a smooth paste. Pour into glasses. Top with crushed pistachio and rose petals.Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Mango Lassi

1 cup plain yoghurt, ½ cup mango pulp or pieces of mango, 1 cup crushed ice, 3 tbsp sugar / use sugar substitute if desired

Blend all of the above ingredients. Add a little water if the consistency is too thick. Keep refrigerated. Serve chilled., Garnish with a sprig of mint or slice of mango 

Thandai/Almond drink

20 pieces almonds, soaked overnight 20 gm poppy seeds, soaked overnight , 1 cup milk , 5 pieces pistachios, chopped , 8 tbsp sugar , 2 pieces cardamom, a few strands of saffron

Peel almonds and crush them in blender till a fine paste is formed. Add 2 cups of water so that paste is not so thick and strain it through a fine cloth (mul-mul).Pour the strained water into blender jug. Add one cup of milk to the jug and few ice cubes. Crush poppy seeds to make a liquefied paste and strain through fine cloth. Pour that into jug too. While putting poppy seeds into blender make sure not to use the residue because they are not pure. Add sugar and cardamom. Mix them well. Add more water if desired. Garnish with pistachios and saffron. Serve chilled.

Aam Panah/Raw mango drink

6 medium sized Green Mango, 3 3/4th cup Water , 1 tsp dry-roasted and grounded Cumin Seed, 1/2 tsp Red chili Powder, 1 tsp Salt, 3 tblsp Sugar , 3 tblsp chopped Mint Leaves, 12 crushed Ice-cubes

Place the mangoes in pan, cover , with enough water and bring to boil. Simmer for 10 mins. Drain water, peel, stone and pulp the mango.Add water, salt, sugar, chili and cumin to pulp. Whisk. Stir in mint, whisk again. Pour into jug and serve chilled with ice cubes.

Classic Lemonade

6 lemons, 6 cups cold water, 1 cup sugar

Juice the lemons. In a large pitcher mix the juice, water and sugar. Serve over ice garnished with a lemon slice or two.

Chaas

4 glasses slightly sour buttermilk, 1 tbsp veg oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, a sprig coriander/cilantro leaves, 10-15 curry leaves, 2' piece ginger, 1/2 tsp asafoetida, 2 green chilis

Put the buttermilk, 1/2 the curry leaves, ginger, chilis and coriander and salt to taste in a food processor, blend well. In a small pan, heat the oil. When hot add mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.  Add to buttermilk and mix well. Serve.

Sugarcane juice
Go to the nearest sugaecane juice vendor. Make sure he adds ginger and a squeeze of lemon.

Tender coconut water

Again, go to nearest cart selling coconut water. After drinking the water have the soft sweet coconut meat inside!

Sensational Spaces I

A couple of months ago I reconnected with a friend of mine after almost 10 years. Param Bedi and I used to work together at Callison, an architectural company in downtown Seattle. Since then he has moved to Arlington, VA and I to Hyderabad, India. Param is a fantastic artist/photographer as well as an architect and I will be featuring his work soon in this blog.
In the meantime, I was fortunate enough to see pictures of his sister's home in Bangalore. Rajini Chaddha has had no formal training as a designer, but her sense of space, color and design permeates every room in the house. It is beautifully laid out, the colors harmoniously complement each other, the furniture and decor items are a bold and eclectic synthesis of the old and the new, the modern and the traditional, the East and the West. The light walls showcase the artwork perfectly, the rooms blend right into each other creating a Zen like energy. It takes a keen sense of space and design know-how to blend all these things together and obviously good design just flows through her veins!!! Take a look at this beautiful home, the first in my series of Sensational Spaces!

Thanks to Rajini for letting me share her beautiful home with others.