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Thread: Garland Making

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    Garland Making

    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

  2. #2

    Re: Garland Making

    Namaste Eastern Mindji,

    Thanks for this detailed and very informative post. I'll probably get around to attempting to make garlands next year when a new large batch of flowers comes in.

    Jai Sri Krishna

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    Re: Garland Making

    Vannakkam Ramakrishna: I never actually expected a response to this one, so thanks, especially from a guy it means something. There is a social stigma in the west. Male florists, or any male interested in flowers is stereotyped as gay, or weak. Certainly not a man's man. Stupid, yes.

    I think the little girl in this picture has a l;ot of work to do to turn all those flowers into garlands. Nice demo of the preparations for diwali, though.

    http://lollitop.blogspot.com/2009/12/diwali-2009.html

    Aum Namasivaya

  4. #4

    Re: Garland Making

    Namaste Eastern Mindji,

    You're completely right about the social stigma with males and flowers in the west. I even got a couple of odd glances when I was picking flowers for puja!

    Jai Sri Krishna

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    Re: Garland Making

    Quote Originally Posted by Ramakrishna View Post
    Namaste Eastern Mindji,

    You're completely right about the social stigma with males and flowers in the west. I even got a couple of odd glances when I was picking flowers for puja!

    Jai Sri Krishna
    Vannakkam: And yet when you walk the garland alley of the famous temples in India, many of the shops are manned by men. Another of wonderful aspects of Hindu culture - men are softer in general. At least this has been my experience. In the west its getting harder and harder to find a kind gentle man. Just ask a young lady looking for one. (I have 3 daughters.)

    Aum Namasivaya

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    Re: Garland Making

    Namaste, Eastern Mind!

    I have recently taught myself a method of Indian flower tying and I love to do it whenever I can. It is a soothing exercise and I feel like I am really showing my devotion when I make a garland for the Devas.

    I can't think of any tricks, per se. I experimented for a while with different threads to find the right thickness. I settled on a very fine crocheting thread. Soft but strong. I'm surprised you reccommend hemp - it strikes me as very stiff and harsh. I will have to give it a try. I use carnations, or small daisy varieties. (It's what available in my area).

    I was once attending the local temple where one of the devotees (an older gentleman) always brings in flowers from presumably his wife, to have strung by another woman at the temple. Whoever is present who knows how to tie is asked and he usually finds someone kind enough to tie the flowers for him. They are usually jasmine and they smell exquisite!

    However, one day, the woman who was tying had the leave the temple early and there was no one around but me. She asked me to tie (not whether I could). Shy and new to the temple and eager to be of use, I agreed. But mentioned that the method she was using was not one I was familiar with. (I would have tied them "my way" but I didn't know if the style was important to the gentleman and he was nowhere around to ask). She handed me a needle and told me just to string them that way. So that's what I did.

    The garland came out perfectly fine, but you should have seen the look on the man's face when he returned to find a young stranger working on his garland! He was gracious about it of course and it felt nice to help. Perhaps one day I will feel comfortable enough to tie my garlands at the temple with the other women. for now, I tie them at home and bring them with me.

    That was a bit of a tangent. Forgive me!

    Peace!

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