Narali – Coconut – Punam festival day

Narali – Coconut – Punam festival day

Koli – fisher folks – worship their boats on Coconut Day, which falls on 1st and 2nd of August this year. Koli send their boats to sea, and start fishing on this day.

During the monsoon, the Koli are busy mending their nets, making new ones,
Repair and paint their country crafts. They moor their boats on sandy shores, covered with leaves of coconut palms, and cultivate vegetables on monsoon rains.

 

They are one of the original residents of the islands of Mumbai.

The British, and the following governments, bulldozed the pristine creeks, hills and the sea, with increasing pressures of development economics.

These pressures pushed the Koli communities of Mumbai to the brink, to “THE LAND’S END”.

Whenever I recall this map, an emotional tsunami erupts, my blood boils. I'm still a Konkani village brat.

What extraordinary place this land must have been then, with creeks, hills, tropical greenery and the nesting villages with sweet water wells and lakes, before the Portuguese landed here!

They attacked Mahim Fort, won the battle, and their soldiers walks on the streets of Mahim village, killed innocent villagers just to intimidated them. On their heels came Missionaries to spread the Good News, Gospel of Love !!

All the splendor Mumbai's nature was later bulldozed by the British bunya, forever!

King is dead. Long live the king!

NOTE: While editing this post, I receive email from Nat Geo about World's Best Surf Towns with photos. A notable city is Venice with canals; it is said Venice is literally floating on sea water and is in danger of sinking. We may compare Mumbai before 1670 had it continued with same land mass for its organic growth with Venice.

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© Remigius de Souza. All rights reserved.

Fibrous Life of Vegetables

Fibrous Life of Vegetables

Cotton, coir, jute, sisal etc. plant fibres is well-known. They are useful in daily life in many ways, particularly for villagers.

In the picture above, one is a ripe gourd and other shows inner fibres after removal of its skin. The soft green skin is now dried and turns hard and brown. The water, salts and minerals have gone.
The other shows thick vertical fibres that start from the stem. They are attached to the skin, carnal and stem to hold them together.

They are proportionate to the size and weight of a fruit, or rather every fruit on the creeper.
Therefore pumpkin, for example, being too heavy for its creeper is left on ground, and the creeper can't be raised on pergola – Mandapa. Interestingly pumpkin flowers are very small.

In this whole schema, from root to fruits, there is no part without use or wasted, or unnecessary.

I quote here a comment on Design by Nature by Martin Jones, which is as good as definition:

QUOTE

 “In whole organism, randomness structure is uncommon. Everything seems finely tuned by the brutal rigours of natural selection. There are no spare limbs to be found and hardly any dispensable organs. This forced economy of whole organism design has always limited the use of bodily form as an evolutionary timepiece” (Martin Jones, ‘MOLECULE HUNT: How Archaeologists are Bringing the Past Back to Life’, Penguin, 2002, p. 48)”.

This definition could be beneficial guide to many a designs we make, from foods, house, clothing, food, or even a talk, poem, painting, movie... to industrial products, just anything.

As a human being I can strive for excellence, not for perfection.

However, modern civilised society believes progress is their ability to increase wealth, no matter the waste also increases proportionately.
Then let it be their lifestyle or home and habitat or leisure, no matter they need crutches of external aids to satiate their wants.

Note: The fibres in the photo is used during bath for rubbing the body. All plants have fibres. Vegetarian foods being fibrous are good for health. Wood fibres, now, are used in making yarns for clothes, besides papers etc.  


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© Remigius de Souza. All rights reserved.

Buffaloes on charge in a garden

Dhoom 1, 2, 3.. N

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Buffaloes on Charge in Garden by Remigius de Souza

A painting, by being scanned and reproduced, is a photograph. Call it Art, Painting or Graphic, if you chose!

Apparition: At our studio in Sayajirao Garden (popularly known as Kamathi Baug), during a lunch break I saw buffaloes charging at me. Perhaps I dosed off!
Years later I notice the bikers going rash on crowded streets of Mumbai, like buffalo-the-aid of Yama - the Death. Apparition came true in Mumbai!

There are reports that some young bikers are chain-snatchers. Perhaps the popular Bollywood movie DHOOM proved to be their Guru and inspiration!
It adds to Mumbai's glamour, greed and crime world. Ha! Ha! Ha!
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© Remigius de Souza. All rights reserved.

The Children at Play, River Narmada, Bharuch

The Children at Play, River Narmada, Bharuch

Water Play at Narmada River, Bharuch By Remi de Souza

There are many dimensions to this event: Discovery (without Copy Right), leisure and learning by sharing, sense of community, free entertainment that helps health of body and sanity of mind.

Besides they are swimmers. They would learn rowing, and fishing in course of time, i.e. higher education without fees, without grading, without failures... everyone is accepted.

They are familiar with the environment around: high tide and low tide, with that the change in water taste, the wild life, and also the presence of crocodiles in some parts of the river.

There is unconditional belief and trust that river is mother. Even any event of mishap or demise is taken as part of life.

And there are many more dimensions... which depends upon everyone's level of perception. MORE>>

"Art is for Life", not "Art for Art's Sake"!

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© Remigius de Souza. All rights reserved.