Eastern Mind
12 September 2010, 06:52 AM
Vannakkam:
This is an extension from Yajvan's thread on giving, where garlands are mentioned as a type of giving. There is something quite marvelous about a garland that you make being seen on a deity at a temple or hanging on your home altar picture or murthi.
I googled "Indian garland making", and there are instructional videos especially needed for making them the non-needle tieing way that is common in India. The needle way is the simplest, but the tieing way seems more esoteric. At temple garland shops at least in South India, a type of grass is used instead of string even. So it is an art form in and of itself.
Here in the cold cold northland we can make garlands from garden grown flowers only for about 2 months, if we're lucky. My personal favorite is the marigold flower as it lasts a long time and the size of the flowers makes it quick to make one. Here we can make them out of hollyhocks, single or double, double petunia, nasturtium, sweet pea, etc. Many of the less dense flower varieties will only last for one puja, which is fine. Some types just work better than others, and you can combine flower varieties.
In the wintertime here the most common flower variety is carnation, although chrysanthemum can also be used. On special occasions, the temple here orders them from a florist called Fancy Florist in Toronto http://www.fancyflorist.com/ I personally think hand made ones are better, as it seems the devotion is 'on' the garland.
I've experimented a bit over the years so here are a couple of hints I figured out. Personally I only use the needle type. I can do the other type but my large hands and lack of practise make it hard.
For larger flower varieties a larger needle is needed. For heavier flowers you need stronger string as well. There are a couple of ways you can make larger needles. One is to take a paper clip, and bend it really tight on the end to form the eye. You can sharpen the other end with a file. For an even larger one, cut a 6 inch piece of wire off an old coat hanger, flatten one end with a hammer, and drill a hole in the flat part for the eye. I have a grinder in my garage so it was easy to sharpen the end as well, but a metal file would also do the trick. For people like me with large hands, this makes it a lot easier.
For thread, the strongest type is hemp thread. (any good arts and crafts store) It is still relatively small but is easily strong enough to hold 100 large marigolds in a garland. Embroidery thread also works well, but regular sewing thread isn't so good as it can break. (Some people like me have to be very careful with marigolds as they are loaded with latex. I wear gloves.)
To make a balanced (same on both sides) garland with a hanging bit on the bottom, I always lay the flowers out first so there is a plan. There are two basic ways with the needle. One is to go directly through the middle of the flower, and the other is to go through the stems, but keep rotating the flowers in a triangular 3 way fashion as it gets longer. This will make a beautiful garland with the flowers all pointing outward.
I would encourage anyone to try it as it is a form of bhakti that pleasing and calming (meditative) for one's nature. If anyone else here makes garlands, I'd love to hear your tricks.
Aum Namasivaya
This is an extension from Yajvan's thread on giving, where garlands are mentioned as a type of giving. There is something quite marvelous about a garland that you make being seen on a deity at a temple or hanging on your home altar picture or murthi.
I googled "Indian garland making", and there are instructional videos especially needed for making them the non-needle tieing way that is common in India. The needle way is the simplest, but the tieing way seems more esoteric. At temple garland shops at least in South India, a type of grass is used instead of string even. So it is an art form in and of itself.
Here in the cold cold northland we can make garlands from garden grown flowers only for about 2 months, if we're lucky. My personal favorite is the marigold flower as it lasts a long time and the size of the flowers makes it quick to make one. Here we can make them out of hollyhocks, single or double, double petunia, nasturtium, sweet pea, etc. Many of the less dense flower varieties will only last for one puja, which is fine. Some types just work better than others, and you can combine flower varieties.
In the wintertime here the most common flower variety is carnation, although chrysanthemum can also be used. On special occasions, the temple here orders them from a florist called Fancy Florist in Toronto http://www.fancyflorist.com/ I personally think hand made ones are better, as it seems the devotion is 'on' the garland.
I've experimented a bit over the years so here are a couple of hints I figured out. Personally I only use the needle type. I can do the other type but my large hands and lack of practise make it hard.
For larger flower varieties a larger needle is needed. For heavier flowers you need stronger string as well. There are a couple of ways you can make larger needles. One is to take a paper clip, and bend it really tight on the end to form the eye. You can sharpen the other end with a file. For an even larger one, cut a 6 inch piece of wire off an old coat hanger, flatten one end with a hammer, and drill a hole in the flat part for the eye. I have a grinder in my garage so it was easy to sharpen the end as well, but a metal file would also do the trick. For people like me with large hands, this makes it a lot easier.
For thread, the strongest type is hemp thread. (any good arts and crafts store) It is still relatively small but is easily strong enough to hold 100 large marigolds in a garland. Embroidery thread also works well, but regular sewing thread isn't so good as it can break. (Some people like me have to be very careful with marigolds as they are loaded with latex. I wear gloves.)
To make a balanced (same on both sides) garland with a hanging bit on the bottom, I always lay the flowers out first so there is a plan. There are two basic ways with the needle. One is to go directly through the middle of the flower, and the other is to go through the stems, but keep rotating the flowers in a triangular 3 way fashion as it gets longer. This will make a beautiful garland with the flowers all pointing outward.
I would encourage anyone to try it as it is a form of bhakti that pleasing and calming (meditative) for one's nature. If anyone else here makes garlands, I'd love to hear your tricks.
Aum Namasivaya