harmonic concordance saying

We are All on the Mission to Light.

Love is the engine,

Peace is the guide, and

Joy is our song.

My Three Toolbars

I'm pretty proud of the three toolbars I've been developing. They still need tweaking, natch. In fact, I wonder if I'll EVER get done tweaking and be happy with the way they work. Oh well, the good news is they are pretty handy as they are now, so feel safe about "tooling around" with them, and...

Download Away!

Did you try my "rest N relax" toolbar?

What about my "Music Soother" toolbar?

And my "Browse-Find-Share" toolbar?

Persia~ ConstantGarden

>>"click the pic" for slideshow



Credit: Farhod Peiravi

Donkey Racing - video clip

Hey, Farhad, wherever you are, your Donkey Race clip RULES, man!!!



DESCRIPTION: Hilarious footage of, yeah you heard right, of a Donkey Race - the idea of sport to a Persian's taste. Well, maybe only if nobody owns a soccer ball in the village. Who needs a trophy, ribbons or a garland of flowers for the winning, un, donkey, when being part of the event is intrinsically gratifying! Still, having a race course complete with stands replete with roof for fans to enjoy the event in comfort tells me donkey's are more then home-boys, they're groomed as serious competitors.

Filmmaker: Farhod Peiravi

The Ashkenaz Festival - Toronto, Canada

Join us from August 29 to september 4, 2006 for another faulous Ashkenaz Festival at the Miles Nadal JCC and Harbourfront Centre in Toronto!

ARTISTS :: Klezmer En Buenos Aires
Les Yeux Noirs
COUNTRY :: Argentina / France
WEB :: www.lesyeuxnoirs.net

Welcome

The Ashkenaz Foundation is proud to present the sixth biannual festival of new Yiddish culture. The Ashkenaz Foundation is a community non-profit organization dedicated to fostering an increased awareness of Yiddish culture through the arts.

Festival 2006

A bountiful outpouring of music, theatre, art, dance, literature, cabaret and film will take place from August 29 through September 4 at the Harbourfront Centre, with special events at Earl Bales Park and the Miles Nadal jcc.

Colourful events like the pageant and parade created by the award-winning Shadowland Theatre, Kabbalah yoga and dramatic Havdallah rituals evoke the special nature of the festival, which melds the traditional spirit of Eastern Europe with the new, radical art being created in a contemporary resurgence of Jewish culture.

Most events are free. Click here to see the entire schedule.

Some special events will require a ticket, including Retro Ashkenaz, with festival favorites Klezmer en Buenos Aires and Les Yeux Noirs, on Thursday, August 31. Click here for information on all the ticketed events.

If you’re visiting Harbourfront Centre this summer, make sure to visit our Gallery shows at the York Quay Centre: Home/Representation and Alchemy and the Jewish Diaspora: The Power of Place to Transform

Volunteer!

To volunteer to help us stage the festival, please click here.

NTRY :: Argentina / France

Ashkenaz Festival of New Yiddish Culture Toronto Canada August 31 to September 4-6

Our Mission:
ASHKENAZ is the largest festival of Yiddish culture in the world.

Rafael Goldwaser

Ashkenaz is committed to bringing the wealth of Yiddish culture to Jews and the world of today. Bridging differences within the Jewish community and the community at large, Ashkenaz draws on the wisdom of the past, and the creativity of the present, in order to create and express a living and breathing Yiddish culture. We bring this culture to the people through a festival and other events and offer them the opportunity to learn, grow, and experience the ancestral ties to Eastern Europe and the present ties to contemporary Yiddish artistry and innovation.

ASHKENAZ is a totally unique look at Yiddish culture that presents not only music but also a wide range of artistic disciplines, including theatre, dance, visual arts, crafts, literature, poetry, storytelling and comedy. The work is of an international caliber, much of it pushing the boundaries of what people generally think of as traditionally-based culture.

A wide array of talented artists from around the world has been chosen for this year's festival. We are proud to bring these artists to Toronto for an amazing display of Yiddish art and culture. Please check the website for constant updates and profiles of artists
Festivities begin August 31, culminating in a bustling weekend of music, dance, theatre, film, visual arts, literature, lectures and storytelling at Harbourfront Centre, from sundown Saturday September 4 through Monday September 6, 2004. Many events are free

The Program:

The Klezmatics bring their soul-stirring Jewish roots music to Toronto for the first time in over five years. These renowned performers present a free stunning open-air concert at Harbourfront Centre’s CIBC Stage on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 9:30 p.m.. The Klezmatics’ rousing performance is part of Ashkenaz’ spectacular post Shabbes (Sabbath) evening, which starts with an uplifting, artistic and musical Havdallah ceremony at the Toronto Star Stage.

Klezmer en Buenos Aires helps kick off the Ashkenaz Festival week, with the extraordinary clarinet and accordion talents of César Lerner and Marcelo Moguilevsky, Thursday, September 2 at 8 p.m. at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, 750 Spadina Ave,Toronto. The group returns with special musical guests on Sunday, September 5 at 7 p.m. at Harbourfront Centre’s Brigantine Room. Tickets for each concert are $36.


Prolific, multi-talented, Montreal-born pianist Marilyn Lerner presents the world premiere of her original score to the silent Yiddish film East and West, which stars Molly Picon (Fiddler on the Roof) in her first film, on Wednesday, September 1 at 8 p.m. at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre and Sunday September 5 at 2 p.m. at Harboufront Center’s Studio Theatre. On Monday, September 6 at 5 p.m., Klezmer en Buenos Aires presents their musical version of the comedy classic film. Tickets are $18 for each performance.

Several important Toronto premieres, including many free performances light up Labour Day weekend, September 4-6 at Harbourfront Centre.

The Yiddish Radio Hour resurrects the classics of Yiddish radio from the 1930s to ‘50s. With a new radio program and theatre performance, Ashkenaz celebrates the forgotten geniuses and important recordings of this often overlooked chapter of the Canadian experience. The Yiddish Radio Hour can be seen and heard at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday September 5 and at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, September 6. Tickets are $15.

Yossi Vassa, “the Eddie Murphy of Israel,” opens a window on the experiences of immigrants to Israel with his moving and often hilarious personal account of his 700-kilometer journey on foot from Ethiopia to the Holy Land, It Sounds Better in Amharic, 8:00 p.m., Saturday September 4, and Sunday, September 5, at Harbourfront Centre’s Studio Theatre. Tickets are $15.

From Holland, Festival Mundial favourites Ot Azoj break onto the North American stage with their artful blend of old-time Klezmer, contemporary Eastern European folk music and the Klezmer revival sound for a heartwarming experience that is at once energetic, melancholic and joyous. Concert takes place at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, September 4 on the CIBC Stage at Harbourfront Centre.

From the vanguard of klezmer to their Canadian premiere at Ashkenaz, Berlin duo Khupe’s (Christian Dawid and Sanne Möricke) intense musical dialogue defies paradoxes with improvisation and innovation that remains true to Klezmer’s roots. Concert takes place at 9:30 p.m., Sunday, September 5, and 2:15 p.m., Monday, September 6 at on the CIBC Stage at Harbourfront Centre.

French-Canadian 8-member band Manouche pushes the envelope with sexy, energetic, contemporary renditions of old Yiddish standards at 5:30 p.m., Sunday, September 5, at Harbourfront Centre’s Toronto Star Stage. They are part of a contingent of Quebec performers at the festival, which also includes the harmonica styling of Shtreiml and the unique cabaret performer Jeszce Raz. Concluding a quintet of French oriented musicians at Ashkenaz are the brilliant players in France’s premiere klezmer group Les Yeux Noirs.

Buenos Aries

Ashkenaz: A Festival of New Yiddish Culture will feature a jam-packed weekend of film, theatre, literature, lectures and storytelling as well as music. Film buffs will be entertained by the Toronto premiere of Yiddishist and documentarian Yale Strom’s latest feature Klezmer on Fish Street. 1935’s French-Czech cult film, The Golem, the hilarious Catskill Honeymoon, and the Edgar Ulmer and Moishe Oysher melodrama The Singing Blacksmith (Yankel Dem Schmidt) anchor the film program with classics. Rafael Goldwaser presents his one man theatrical show, S’brent, It Burns while David Buchbinder’s Feast of the East dance party gets Harbourfront Centre’s Brigantine Room hopping. Kids and Yiddish returns with Farmisht and Far-fetched!, a spectacular multi-media initiation into a world of Yiddish language and culture. And not to be missed, the Ashkenaz Festival Parade will transport families around a Harbourfront Centre magically transformed by hundreds of artists and musicians.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Judy Wolfe, President
Heather Hoffman, Immediate Past President
Ellen Wexler, Secretary/Treasurer
Barbara Bank
Howard Bergman
David Ehrlich
Steve Glassman
Dorothy Ross
Rosalie Sharp
Herb Singer
Paul Stern
David Wintre, Fundraising Chair
Eda Zimler-Schiff
Libby Znaimer

ARTISTIC PRODUCER
Marc Glassman producer@ashkenazfestival.com

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Mitch Smolkin mitch@ashkenazfestival.com

CONSULTANT
Gordon Wolfe gordon.wolfe@sympatico.ca

ADMINISTRATOR
Shira Leuchter shira@ashkenazfestival.com

Contact :

Office
455 Spadina Avenue
Suite 303
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5S 2G5
Tel: 416-979-9901
Fax: 416-979-4059
ashkenaz@ashkenazfestival.com

www.ashkenazfestival.com

Festival Location
Harbourfront Centre
235 Queens Quay West
Toronto, Ontario
Tel: 416-973-4000
www.harbourfrontcentre.com

Related Links:

• Read more on Yiddish Theatre
• Read on other Jewish Theatre Festivals
• Read on Krakow Jewish Culture Festival
• The City of Toronto
• Revival of a language; Toronto's annual Ashkenaz Festival kicks off

Ashkenaz celebrates resurgence of Jewish culture

By CAROLYN BLACKMAN
Staff Reporter

TORONTO - Ashkenaz, the biennial festival of new Yiddish culture, set to take place Aug. 29 through Sept. 4 at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, is incredibly contemporary, yet grounded in the past, says its producer and artistic director.
“The music, theatre, art, dance, literature, cabaret and film being offered, melds the traditional spirit of eastern Europe with the new, radical art being created in a contemporary resurgence of Jewish culture. It’s connected, but it features a break from tradition,” says Mitchell Smolkin, 28.
An actor, singer, and “Yiddishist” who is producing his third Ashkenaz, Smolkin says he first got involved with the festival because of his grandmother, a native of Poland.
“She is elderly now, and it is very hard to reconcile that for all intents and purposes, we are about to lose her culture.
“Ashkenaz is an opportunity to show ourselves on the rich, cultural landscape of Toronto, and [give] Yiddish a home. ”
Smolkin, who studied Yiddish at the University of Vilnius in Lithuania, and met his wife while studying the language at Columbia University, says he buried a program of a past Ashkenaz festival at his grandfather’s grave because, “I knew he would have loved to see it. He would have enjoyed the intensity, the sadness and the levity.”
Yiddishists are part of a very intense subculture, says Smolkin. “They connect around the idea that although it is not a living language, we have to make sure we do everything we can to make sure we preserve it. There are thousands of artists around the world devoted to [promoting] Yiddish.”
Ashkenaz events – a few take place at Earl Bales Park and Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre – are mostly free, although some special events require a ticket.
Musical programs include East Travels West: All Stars of the Former Soviet Union; Retro Ashkenaz: Klezmer en Buenos Aires; Yiddish Barbershop and Beyond the Pale; the Klezmer Cuban Connection; Chicago Klezmer Ensemble; and the Chassidic Jazz Project.
The two cabarets are Cabaret Russe hosted by Michael Alpert, and Cabaret, hosted by David Gale.
Among the films are A Geshseft (The Deal), made in New York 50 years ago; Ashke-Animation; and Yiddish Theatre: A Love Story.
Live theatre includes Echoes and Shavings of Yiddishland, and the Wandering Jew with Boris Sichon.
There are also a number of readings, workshops, panels, lectures and talks on such topics as Yiddish dance, Kabbalistic yoga, Soviet Yiddish poets, and music of the Jewish wedding celebration.

Performer sees herself as an ambassador for Jewish culture

By JESSICA FREIMAN
CJN Intern

TORONTO - Performer, vocal soloist, dancer, lyricist, composer, cantorial singer – Aviva Chernick does it all, and often with a Jewish twist.
Chernick, 35, thinks the most important aspect of her work is the responsibility that comes along with being an artist.
“As artist, we have a great responsibility to speak our own truths so others can see themselves expressed in our art,” she said.
She grapples with the question of “what’s my responsibility” even today. “There’s a dichotomy: I’m an artist, a Jewish woman. How do I balance Jewish life and my desire to remain active and accessible to mainstream culture?
“We all are ambassadors for our own culture,” she continued. “I want to show others what’s so beautiful about what we do [as Jews].”
Born in London, Ont., Chernick, who is now based in Toronto, grew up in a traditional Conservative Jewish home, participated in USY and attended Camp Ramah. At 18, she decided she wanted to study theatre and went to York University, which was the only place offering an undergraduate program in directing at the time.
“I studied playwriting and design, and I did a lot of acting,” said Chernick, 35, describing her four years at York as “good, great, crazy.”
As an undergraduate, Chernick also participated in Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation project, interviewing Canadian Holocaust survivors about their lives, something she describes as a “massive experience.”
The Holocaust quickly became the focus of Chernick’s theatre projects at university, and she staged an adaptation of Euripides’ The Trojan Women that was set in the Warsaw ghetto.
Chernick said that as a Jew growing up in a traditional, warm Jewish home that was very pro-Israel and placed an emphasis on Jewish scholarship, she always felt a tension with the outside world.
“I have to be very truthful with my relationship to Judaism. Real Jewish practice is about grappling,” she said.
“What Judaism needs from me is the willingness to engage in a process which is not black and white, to work with tradition and halachah and my own desires and dreams.”
Incorporating those desires with tradition has resulted in many fruitful creative endeavours for Chernick, one of them being Shabbat Fusion, a service held at Holy Blossom Temple on the last Friday of every month. Shabbat Fusion, which starts up again in October, combines dance and music from around the Jewish world with a traditional Kabbalat Shabbat service.
Chernick is currently training as a cantorial soloist with Cantor Benjamin Maissner at Holy Blossom, where she will be leading auxiliary services on Yom Kippur, but she also makes time for solo gigs and to perform as part of a larger band.
Audiences will be able to check out that band, Shakshuka, for free at Ashkenaz 2006: A Festival of New Jewish Culture on Sunday, Sept. 3. The group plays traditional Jewish tunes taken from eclectic sources and gives them a contemporary sound. Chernick sings in Hebrew and Ladino while the band plays arrangements that incorporate jazz, rock and Latin influences, yet are respectful of the original traditions. For instance, one song has a Latin groove, but its lyrics contain the first line of the Song of Songs.
Another new project that allows Chernick to integrate performance and service is the Huppah Project, in which she sings the traditional wedding repertoire set to original, contemporary musical arrangements after the bedecken. Then, she and her bandmates perform a wedding ceremony under a chupah to their own acoustic world music arrangements.
“We want a textured, rich atmosphere woven together by the music that is not invasive,” Chernick said.
Chernick, who took part in her first wedding ceremony last week, is always searching for something that allows her to serve the Jewish community.
“I want to be of service and be satisfied and be giving,” she said.
Chernick will be performing with Shakshuka Sept. 3 at 4:30 p.m. on the Toronto Star Stage at Harbourfront Centre, and with the Huppah Project later the same day at 8:30 p.m. at Harbourfront Centre’s Marilyn Brewer Community Space. Both performances are free. For more information about Chernick, Shakshuka or the Huppah Project, www.avivachernick.com.

Laughter through tears

Les Yeux Noir

Traditional Klezmer music of Eastern European Jewry is thriving despite its suppression by Nazi and Soviet regimes

Aug. 26, 2006. 01:00 AM
RICK WHELAN
SPECIAL TO THE STAR

When the cultural traditions of a threatened people are represented in a single art form, this art form provides a durable vessel for the hopes and dreams of this struggling culture, no matter how fierce the forces trying to destroy it.

Once comprising the very heart of traditional Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish life, klezmer music was a much- silenced art form during the latter part of the 20th century, since, under the Nazis and later the Communists, it was strictly forbidden to participate in any Jewish cultural activities whatsoever.

But just like those old Russian women who kept faith with the ancient traditions of the Orthodox Church during Soviet atheism, a group of stubborn old klezmorim (klezmer musicians) risked life and limb to keep the spirit of klezmer music alive and well during the dark Nazi and Soviet eras.

They secretly nurtured their "roots" music by playing it in the privacy of their own homes or at small village celebrations.

Klezmer music has always been an extremely vital part of Jewish culture. The name "klezmer" comes from the Yiddish word kley, meaning vessel or instrument, and zemer, meaning song. The tradition traces its origins to the shtetls of eastern Europe in the 16th century.

The klezmer musicians were travelling troubadours often more fond of wine, women and song than the strict observance of religious traditions. They often found themselves at the centre of joyous occasions and holidays prior to World War II.

During the war, the music was carried into the ghettos or worse, was lost in the horror of the concentration camps.

But this besieged music was too vibrant to die. And its happy resurgence today is due in no small part to those persevering klezmorim who kept the spark alive during Europe's dark years.

From Tuesday through Sept. 4, Toronto will once again play host to the wildly popular Ashkenaz — A Festival of Yiddish Culture, a bountiful outpouring of music, theatre, art, dance, literature, cabaret and film.

And klezmer music will be an integral part of the festival. On Tuesday at Earl Bales Park in North York, fans will be treated to a free concert as musicians from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Estonia collaborate for "East Travels West: All-Stars of the Former Soviet Union." It is a gathering which some aficionados are dubbing a true summit of klezmer.

The Kharkov Klezmer Band, from Kharkov, Ukraine, will be one of the featured bands at this summit. The band is composed of a group of conservatory- trained musicians. Led by violinist Stanislav Rayko, Kharkov has performed across Europe, bringing Eastern Jewish music back to the consciousness of those who had long been forced to do without it.

Rayko, who was born in Kharkov but now lives in Germany, is recognized internationally as a leading performer and educator in the revival of Jewish music. Prior to his Toronto appearance, he appeared in Montreal at KlezKanada, a Quebec-based Yiddish cultural festival.

"Both my parents are pianists," Rayko says in a telephone interview from Montreal. "I wanted to play an instrument but the piano was out because my parents were practising all the time. So when I was 5, I started to play the violin."

Rayko attended music college and then graduated from the Music Institute of Arts in Kharkov.

"I was always interested in playing more than just the classical repertoire," he says, "but when I joined a folk group, my teacher became very frustrated, telling me, `This music isn't serious.' So I quit."

But his interest persisted. While in college, Rayko took part in a Ukrainian folk ensemble.

"That was an amazing project because we played original ancient Ukrainian music that our leader discovered in his travels. There are a couple of pieces from that period that I still have in my repertoire today."

Rayko played his first klezmer concert in 1991 in what he believes was the first post-Soviet-era concert of Jewish music in Kharkov.

"I started to play with a klezmer group led by Ada Krichevskaya. We were really just amateurs then and we played mostly popular Yiddish songs like `Bay mir bistu shejn' and `Bublichki.'"

Rayko remembers seeing a music video of an American klezmer band. Itzhak Perelman appeared on the video.

"That was when I discovered I wanted to play klezmer more than anything else," Rayko says.

Asked to define klezmer, the violinist simply says, "It's Jewish music! It's the music to listen to when you cry, when you have fun ... when you drink vodka and when you dance!"

He confesses he has never heard the term "Jewish jazz" but he thinks some people perhaps call it that because improvisation plays a big role in klezmer.

"I think probably `Jewish jazz' pertains mostly to American klezmer music. Many jazz musicians in the 1920s and '30s were Jews who grew up listening to klezmer from childhood. I think klezmer had a great influence on the way they played jazz."

Although traditional klezmer tunes are deeply rooted in Jewish prayer chants, Rayko emphasizes that the music is now almost totally secular.

For many klezmer fans, the music is based on a concept best described as "laughter through tears." At weddings, for instance, the music captures the bittersweet moment ... the joy of starting a new family but also the sadness of the young ones leaving the childhood home.

Rayko feels that klezmer music is particularly appropriate today for Jews as they look back on a history of heartache and extreme peril.

"For the past 2,000 years, the Jews have lost much and have had many of their temples destroyed. We must not forget this. For example, during a Jewish wedding a glass is broken. This signifies the reality that things are here one moment and smashed the next. Life has always been tough for Jews ... especially in Eastern Europe, where klezmer originated."

Rayko also underscores the importance of those heroic klezmorim who preserved Jewish music when it was risky to do so.

"For Jews who lived in the former Soviet Union, because they were denied this music for so many years, now it seems almost exotic to them. We had two generations who never heard klezmer at all. But now we have people attending klezmer concerts ... klezmer fans are growing in Moscow and Petersburg. They now hear the music in nightclubs and music festivals. And it's like fresh air!"

For a full schedule of events see http://www.ashkenazfestival.com

Rick Whelan is a freelance writer who lives in Stratford, Ont.

Ashkenaz Festival ::Sponsors

ScreenCapture_AshkenazFestival_TorontoCanada-27aug2006-1-22am

Sponsors

Platinum

• Harbourfront Centre
• UJA Federation

Gold

• Canadian Heritage
• The Ontario Trillium Foundation

Silver

• Ontario Arts Council
• Toronto Arts Council

Bronze

• Annex Quest House
• Toronto Jewish Film Festival
• Wittington Properties Limited
• Yamaha Canada Music Ltd.

my Dad's photo when he was part of a photo club, from his album of award-winners - I overworked the filter fx, 1996

a CorelPhotoPainting from the sugar tin - experimenting with our New Scanner, 1997

South Asian Festival, July 2005 - TheStar.com

TheStar.com - A bridge built with music
With a little moxie and lots of masti, M! M! M! blends the traditional arts with the contemporary Two Down Easters perform at Harbourfront fest with their eyes on Delhi, writes Prithi Yelaja

The organizers:
Abhishek Mathur, left, and Jyoti Rana are co-founders of the annual Masala! Mehndi! Masti! festival, a Harbourfront feast of South Asian culture with a youthful bent. It starts Wednesday.

PRITHI YELAJA
STAFF REPORTER
Pursuing their musical dreams may have taken these two kids from Truro and St. John's a long way from home. But not to New York, New York.
In the highly competitive world of Indian classical music, New Delhi is where it's at.
'If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere,' says Vineet Vyas, 30.
And Toronto's Masala! Mehndi! Masti! festival, where he and his dancer wife, Bageshree Vaze, will perform next week, is one of the stepping stones to India's capital.
As Vaze's feet tap in perfect rhythm to the beat of Vyas' tabla, it's clear this is a couple in perfect sync.
'There's an unspoken understanding between a tabla player and a dancer,' says Vaze, whose ankles are adorned with ghungroos --100 brass bells that jingle melodically with every movement.
But the symbiotic performance is completely 'upaj,' or improvised.
In Kathak, a north Indian style of classical dance, the dancer recites what she's going to perform for the benefit of both the tabla player and the audience, just at the start of each number.
'Rehearsal is not a feature of this tradition,' says Vaze, 26.
Vyas and Vaze, who both grew up on the East Coast -- she in Newfoundland, he in Nova Scotia
-- have steady gigs, together and separately, across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, and now live half the year in India, where they are quickly making a name for themselves."

TheStar.com - Designer adjusts to Toronto style
Teams Indian fabric and embroidery with Western styles
Each hand-made outfit takes about 30 hours to complete
July 28, 2005

PRITHI YELAJA
STAFF REPORTER
She used to live in a Maharajah's palace in Mumbai, but fashion designer Sushma Kilachand now calls a modest house off the Danforth — which doubles as her studio — home.
What compelled her to give up her pampered existence and move half way around the world to start a new life?
Love.
But first, the clothes.
Walking in from the steamy haze of Toronto's heat wave, her home, decorated with family heirlooms shipped from India, is an oasis of cool elegance.
"I love this weather. It reminds me of India," says Kilachand.

Upstairs in her small studio, Kilachand designs her collection, called Sushk, by teaming Indian embroidery and fabrics — silk, chiffon, linen and georgette in bright shades of pink, orange, purple and turquoise — with Western styling to produce a versatile line of tunics, ponchos and Indian suits that she describes as Indo-Western.
"Colour symbolizes what India is all about. You can wear these tops with jeans to a brunch or to afternoon tea or with pearls and heels for an evening out. They look so hot!" says Kilachand, 29, whose designs are featured in next month's Flare.
"Most of my ideas come from watching what women are wearing in the clubs and bars and on streets of Mumbai. These are middle-class women who can't drop thousands of rupees on clothes, but they want to be trendy on a budget."

Mumbai —with its hip club scene, restaurants, shops and fashion houses including Versace and Armani — is the Paris of the East, says Kilachand, who is dressed casually in capris and a white T-shirt.
Since leaving Mumbai two years ago, she's kept in touch with what's happening on the fashion scene through her production team.
Kilachand sketches her designs, scans them into the computer and emails them to the 12-member team, who stitch and embroider each piece by hand. Each outfit is unique.
Because of the superior fabric and painstaking handwork involved — each outfit takes approximately 30 hours to complete — the price and quality is higher than similar mass-produced garments sold at chain stores. Tunics range from $100 to $130; ponchos from $130 to $160 and churidars, salwar kameez and kurtas with trousers from $150 to $220.
The Shopping Channel approached Kilachand to sell her line on-air, but she declined because the quantities they required would have forced her to switch to mass production. For now, she is content selling to customers through word-of-mouth referrals out of her home showroom, which helps her keep overhead costs down.
She counts some high-powered women among her regular customers, including Dr. Tanya Chawla, a radiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital, who likes the simple, elegant lines of Kilachand's designs.
They are a refreshing take on traditional South Asian styling, which Chawla finds "too garish, too gaudy and makes you look like a Christmas tree."
"Sushma's designs cross over well. You can wear them pretty well for any occasion, from formal to casual," says Chawla, 35.
Kilachand's outfits are one of a kind yet reasonably priced, and that appeals to Carole Adriaans, an events producer.
"I go to a lot of functions. I know if I buy something from her, I won't see it on anyone else. I've spent big money at Holt's only to see someone else wearing the same thing," says Adriaans, 53.
Kilachand's other specialty is giving a new, modern feel to vintage silk saris, which she does by removing the border and pallu embroidered in real gold thread, (the pallu is the piece that hangs over the shoulder) and fashioning these onto lighter, airy materials such as chiffon and georgette.
"By switching it to a more wearable, softer fabric, it breathes new life into saris that are family heirlooms, but are too heavy to wear."
She charges $250 to $300 for restyling, including the price of the new fabric.

For her wedding two years ago, Kilachand designed all 10 of her outfits — she wore a different one for each event in the week-long round of parties leading up to the wedding ceremony — as well as the outfits of all 20 people in her wedding party.
The wedding and reception, with 800 guests, took place in her childhood home — a sprawling 55-room, 100-year-old palace that once belonged to Bhupinder Singh — Maharajah of Patiala. As the ruler of the largest Sikh state during the British colonial era, he was famous for having a gargantuan appetite for women, food, jewellery and sport. In fact, he is considered the father of cricket in India.
The palace has been designated a heritage property by the Indian government.
As the only daughter of a wealthy business family that owned sugar cane factories and alcohol distilleries, Kilachand had a fairy-tale upbringing.
"I was surrounded by beauty , so it was hard not to be inspired," says Kilachand, who began designing her own clothes at 14. After high school in 1998, she studied at the Institute of Fashion Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.

She landed a dream job as an assistant buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue in Boston after graduation, but gave it up six months later because she was homesick. She returned to India and worked with designer Krishna Mehta for two years before launching her own line in 2001.
When Ashish Rajendra, a 29-year-old project manager from Toronto, came to visit India in 2003, Kilachand was already engaged to marry a wealthy industrialist — a love match, but also an alliance that furthered the interests of two business families.
Kilachand met Rajendra through her cousin. After three meetings, including a marathon six-hour dinner, they were smitten with each other. "We just clicked. We knew we were destined to be together," says Kilachand.
She broke off her engagement.
Her mom initially "freaked out" at the news, but in the end was completely supportive. Kilachand married Rajendra three weeks later.
Life in Toronto has been a bit of an adjustment, to say the least, for someone who was used to living like a princess with 20 live-in servants.
When she first arrived in Toronto in 2003, Kilachand asked her new husband who would be doing the cooking for them.
"He said, `You.' I was shocked because I hadn't entered the kitchen back home in 16 years. I had never even made a cup of chai."
Though the couple eats out frequently, Kilachand has now mastered cooking. And surrounded by Mughal miniatures and Burmese teak furniture, antiques from her childhood, she feels thoroughly at home.
"It's stuff that's priceless. Bringing a piece of my life in Mumbai here has made the transition a lot easier."

me and my sister, 1959

Mamma and Pappa, crayon drawing, 1959

DailyOM - Take a Brief Respite

ChristmasCard, 1999 - CorelDraw cliparts

The Importance of Napping - Brief Respite
April 17, 2006
In the modern world, we're often compelled to be as productive as possible during as many hours of the day as we can be. While this can lead to great feats of accomplishment, we may become exhausted and find ourselves craving rest and rejuvenation. We may feel like taking a nap but feel guilty about indulging in even ten minutes of rest. This need for personal downtime, which many people experience in the early afternoon, isn't a sign of laziness nor is it necessarily related to how much sleep you had the night before. There was even a time when taking a nap was considered a natural part of everyone's day.

Napping is a pleasurable yet brief period of sleep when our minds and bodies can take a break. Though judged by many to be a pastime for children or the elderly, napping can benefit people of all ages. The desire to nap is a trait shared by many mammals, and napping is still an important part of the day in some countries. Snoozing for a half-hour can be an enjoyable way to promote physical well-being, and naps have been known to improve your mood and memory. A 20-minute nap can sharpen your senses and revitalize you, while a ten minute nap can leave you feeling more cheerful. Falling into a light sleep during the daytime can feel meditative. The thoughts you have as you are taking a nap and the dreams you experience may offer you insights about your life that you may not have at night when you are in a deep sleep.

In order to fully enjoy the benefits of napping, you may need to give yourself permission to nap. Feeling guilty about snoozing or worrying about your to-do list won't do you much good when you are trying to take a nap because your thoughts or feelings will keep you awake. Try to nap at the same time each day, and use an alarm clock to ensure that you don't sleep for too long. If you go to an office, try crawl under your desk for a nap. Learning to nap and enjoy its restorative benefits can help you wake up restored, rejuvenated, and ready for the rest of your day.

Hugs - The Energy Of An Embrace
April 26, 2006
The need to touch and be touched is established early in our lives, as we develop and grow in the omnipresent embrace of our mother's womb. Once we are born, separated from that sanctuary of connectivity, we begin to crave the physical embrace of our parents. As we age, we become more independent. Yet during times of triumph or trouble and during those moments when we are in need of reassurance, we can't help but long for a hug.

Because a hug requires two active participants, each individual taking part in the embrace experiences the pleasure of being embraced and the joy that comes from hugging someone. As both individuals wrap their arms around one another, their energy blends together, and they experience a tangible feeling of togetherness that lingers long after physical contact has been broken. A heart hug is when you put your left arm over someone's shoulder and your right arm around their waist. As they do the same to you, your hearts become aligned with one another other and loving, comforting energy flows between the two of you to flood your souls with feelings of love, caring, and compassion.

A hug is a pleasurable way to share your feelings with someone who is important to you. Depending on your relationship with the other person and the kind of message you wish to send to them, a hug can communicate love, friendship, romance, congratulations, support, greeting, and any other sentiment you wish to convey. A hug communicates to others that you are there for them in a positive way. In an instant, a hug can reestablish a bond between long lost friends and comfort those in pain. The next time you hug someone, focus all of your energy into the embrace. You will create a profound connection that infuses your feelings and sentiments into a single beautiful gesture.

Finding The Gift – Bad Days
April 24, 2006
We all have days from time to time when it feels like the world is against us or that the chaos we are experiencing will never end. One negative circumstance seems to lead to another. You may wonder, on a bad day, whether anything in your life will ever go right again. But a bad day, like any other day, can be a gift. Having a bad day can show you that it is time to slow down, change course, or lighten up. A bad day can help you glean wisdom you might otherwise have overlooked or discounted. Bad days can certainly cause you to experience uncomfortable feelings you would prefer to avoid, yet a bad day may also give you a potent means to learn about yourself. You may consider a bad day to be one where you've missing an important meeting because your car stalled, the dryer broke, and you received a piece of very bad news earlier in the morning.

Multiple misfortunes that take place one after the other can leave us feeling vulnerable and intensely cognizant of our fragility. But bad days can only have a long-term negative effect on us if we let them. It is better to ask yourself what you can learn from these kinds of days. The state of your bad day may be an indicator that you need to stay in and hibernate or let go of your growing negativity. Bad days contribute to the people we become. Though we may feel discouraged and distressed on our bad days, a bad day can teach us patience and perseverance.

It is important to remember that your attitude drives your destiny and that one negative experience does not have to be the beginning of an ongoing stroke of bad luck. A bad day is memorable because it is one day among many good days - otherwise, we wouldn't even bother to acknowledge it as a bad day. Know too, that everybody has bad days, you are not alone, the world is not against you. Tomorrow is guaranteed to be a brighter day.


Feeding Your Spirit - "Taking Time For Yourself"
April 20, 2006
Modern life compels us to rush. Because we feel pressured to make the most of our time each day, the activities that sustain us, rejuvenate us, and help us evolve are often the first to be sacrificed when we are in a hurry or faced with a new obligation. It is important we remember that there is more to life than achieving success, making money, and even caring for others. Your spiritual needs should occupy an important spot on your list of priorities. Each task you undertake and each relationship you nurture draws from the wellspring of your spiritual vitality. Taking the time to engage in spiritually fulfilling activities replenishes that well and readies you to face another day. Making time for the activities that contribute to your spiritual growth has little to do with being selfish and everything to do with your well-being. Regularly taking the time to focus on your soul's needs ensures that you are able to nurture yourself, spend time with your thoughts, experience tranquility, and expand your spiritual boundaries.

It is easy to avoid using our free moments for spiritual enrichment. There is always something seemingly more pressing that needs to be done. Many people feel guilty when they use their free time to engage in pursuits where they are focusing on themselves because they feel as if they are neglecting their family or their work. To make time for yourself, it may be necessary to say no to people's requests or refuse to take on extra responsibilities. Scheduling fifteen or thirty minutes of time each day for your spiritual needs can make you feel tranquil, give you more energy and allows you to feel more in touch with the universe. Writing in a journal, meditating, studying the words of wise women and men, and engaging in other spiritual practices can help you make the most of this time.

Making time to nurture your spirit may require that you sacrifice other, less vital activities. The more time you commit to soul-nurturing activities, the happier and more relaxed you will become. The time you devote to enriching your spirit will rejuvenate you and help you create a more restful life.

Daily Om - The Power Of The Circle - Eternal Ring
April 19, 2006
There are many reasons for why a gathering of people in a circle is powerful. A circle is a shape that is found repeatedly throughout the natural world, and it is a symbol of perfection. We recreate this perfect shape when we join others to form a circle. Being in a circle allows us experience each other as equals. Each person is the same distance apart from the next participant, and no one is seated higher than or stands apart from others in a circle. From tribal circles to the mythical round table of King Arthur, the circle has been the shape adopted by gatherings throughout history.

The circle is acknowledged as an archetype of wholeness and integration, with the center of a circle universally understood to symbolize Spirit - the Source. When a group of people come together in a circle, they are united. This unity becomes even more powerful when each person reaches out to touch a neighbor and clasps hands. This physical connection unites thought and action, mind and body, and spirit and form in a circle. Because a circle has no beginning and no end, the agreement to connect in a circle allows energy to circulate from one person to the next, rather than being dissipated into the environment.

Like a candle used to light another candle, the connection with spirit that results when one person joins hands with another is greater than if each person were to stand alone. People who take part in a circle find that their power increases exponentially while with the group. Like a drop of water rippling on the surface of a pond, the waves of energy produced in a circle radiate outward in circular motion. While one person may act like a single beacon that emanates light, a circle of people is like a satellite dish that sends out energy. There is power in numbers, and when the commitment is made by many to face one another, clasp hands, and focus on one intention, their circle emanates ripples of energy that can change the world.

AM n PM Christmas1999 - CorelDraw graphic-drawing

Just believe it

Bruno Gideon

All great achievements in science, music, art, and science and technology were made possible because the people concerned refused to accept the word "impossible." We can learn from these people, because this truth applies to our everyday matters as well. We all face challenges that seem impossible at first but really are not. The secret to conquering the word "impossible" lies in our attitude.

Never, never, never, never give up.– Winston Churchill

All things are possible until they are proved impossible –and even the impossible may only be so, as of now.– Pearl Buck

Bruno's commentary
Remember the question, “Is the glass half full or half empty?" "The glass is half full" should be our motto not only in times when we are challenged to persevere in order to succeed but also in every little thing that happens to us day by day. If we think that we can't do it, then we can't. But once we learn to stop being a “poor me,” once we learn to refuse to accept the impossible and stop looking for a scapegoat, we become positive and then, look out -- there will be no stopping us!

Just believe that you can do it … that is all it takes.

my sister's kids - CorelDraw graphic from school pictures, using Bezier curves and nodes like my Christmas card, 1999 

graphite cartoon-drawing, 1995 - pre-computer days when I didn't know what "mouse" and "mousepad" had anything do with machines, maybe making a house between the resisters in the TV set 

Peter's cousins in Germany - 1997 CorelPhotoPaint experiment gone awry - overworked because I went nuts over all the filter fx 

My Dad - CorelPhotoPaint experiment gone awry from a good Christmas photo, 1997 

my baby sister - CorelPhotoPaing, 1999