NZ Fashion Tech students exploring fashion and textiles in Tamil Nadu …. And having great fun!! Week Two of the experience From: Tori Green What a week! Yet another 7days of awesome! Carrying on from the week before we were lucky enough to visit the kitting and printing/dyeing factories, after visiting these places it makes you think a lot more about your whole wardrobe and how things were printed and knitted... or maybe that’s just me Once seeing the dyeing process we had the opportunity to dye and screen print out own fabrics, we also had a mind twisting lesson where we learnt about the chemical reactions that occur during the dyeing process! After not having done chemistry for quite some time it was a surprisingly fun and testing exercise! I would love to broaden my knowledge in this area in the future its very interesting! This week we were also treated to two days in a yoga centre (the Temple of Consciousness), we arrived late on Wednesday and didn’t realise how amazing it was till morning! The stunning grounds are nestled beneath huge mountains, and there were monkeys everywhere! Just down the road from the centre are the monkey falls which we visited both days. On the second day though, myself, two other students and the faculty members showered under the waterfall! Something special to cross off the list of things to do! On Saturday we had a half days rest and then headed to the Sathyamangalam dam which stretches 14km from mountain to mountain, with 99% of it being made from mud! We climbed to the top and as you could imagine the views were beautiful! There’s even a temple on top of it! Fancy that! Sunday we had an early start and travelled to Ooty, we scaled the mountains dodging monkeys and busses the whole way up and when we reached the top it was covered in tea plantations and brightly coloured homes, definitely my favourite place in India so far! We visited the Pykara waterfall, went on a boat ride, drove through a botanical garden and visited the shawl manufacturers, where I purchased a shawl that took approx 1 month to decorate! The shawl makers danced and blessed us which was a very heartwarming experience! And it makes me think how when I first started my journey at NZFT never in my wildest dreams did I think that it would lead me to this stunning country yet here I am! I feel so proud and blessed to be here and with the second week down I can’t wait to see what else they have planned for us! From: Natalie Masters The second week of our Indian adventure has flown by in a flash. On Thursday night we endured a 4 hour bus ride to a blissful place called Aliyah. In Aliyah lies the Temple of Consiousousnss which in other words is a meditation and yoga retreat. Early next morning we got shown around the beautiful green grounds and then during breakfast of curry and rice, we were pleasantly surprised to see a cheeky monkey on the roof of a nearby building. Next thing we knew there were monkeys everywhere! They are very fast, they look like little old men and they are a wee bit frightening! After breakfast we started our first meditation and yoga class. I found the meditation quite difficult as Im not used to sitting up so straight (need to stop slouching) and whilst concentrating on not thinking I would find myself daydreaming about different types of food from NZ that I was missing, like smoked salmon, cream-cheese and dill. The next part of the class was rather amusing. So yoga consisted of clenching and releasing our ANUS muscles over and over. Anus clenching we were told has many benefits, such as fertility for both men and women, digestion and a longer and healthier life span. We all tried hard to fight off the giggles, as we were knowingly cleaning our pelvic floor muscles as a class together. I think that day was a bit of a bonding session for us all. The next day we visited monkey falls which is the most beautiful waterfall surrounded in forest area and monkeys. A few of us decided to bathe under the waterfall, it felt wonderful and exhilarating. I felt so refreshed and clean for hours afterwards. My next favourite part of our week was our trip to Ooty. We left at 6am Sunday morning and stopped for breakfast on the way. 6 hours later we arrived in Ooty. After a long windy drive we were in the most beautiful part of India, a mountain region scattered with an array of colourful houses and shops. First we visited a waterfall, then afterwards went on a boat ride around a serene lake. The climate in Ooty was a lot colder than the rest of India, Im talking Wellington temperatures and none of us were prepared with warm clothing. After the boat ride we were lucky enough to be taken up the mountain to visit the most beautiful old Indian ladies and their hand-woven shawls. Each shawl takes over one month to weave and is sold for a mere $40 NZ. Almost everyone bought themselves one of their beautiful shawls and a few other hand woven products (scarves, bags, purses etc). Next the group of dear little old ladies performed a tribal dance for us, which they sang along to. It was so magical! My favourite part of the whole trip do far. One of the old tribal men showed us the temple, with a story to accompany it then we made our way back down the mountain for some dinner and late night shopping. Cant wait to see what the next couple of weeks bring! Here are a few photos of my favourite moments to far.... From: jimmie mackay As we travelled to the beautiful mountain-top town of Ooty we were mesmerized by the brightly-coloured homes darted around the hilly landscape. The beautiful town offered an array of fun activities such as boating, horse riding, shopping and great food making it a popular destination for tourist. After briefly seeing the town we adventured via van to the tranquil pykara falls, a short 20 minutes drive from Ooty township. The falls were peacefully located in the countryside and although not large in scale the atmosphere was calm and relaxing. The locals offered us treats like barbecued corn and home-made chocolates which were popular amongst us all. Returning back to Ooty township we stopped by the botanical gardens, a historical spot for locals which was littered with people picnickng and playing sports in the afternoon glow. Nested above the gardens we visited the Toda tribe, a small tribe of native people who spoke the toda language (an ancient language not written or spoken by many). The tribeswomen hand embroidered shawls, bags and other cloth works using traditional methods. One shawl alone took up to one month to be carefully completed. The tribal works had lovely patterns and images stitched into them using red and black threads on cream cloth. The women were draped in vibrant floor length shawls hand-stitched by themselves. These shawls could take up to 6 months to be finished and would not be offered to the public. After carefully selecting from the crafts we purchased most of the pieces on offer to us (many xmas gifts for family and friends). On send-off the women performed a tradition dance in which they danced in circular motion whilst chanting blessings. This trip to Ooty will be remembered by all of us and our purchases cherished. And here’s a note from Shiyamaladevi, one of their teachers at Bannari Amman Institute of Technology: Hello Mam. Hope you are doing great.... I feel very happy to see the news blog by the students of New Zealand. It’s really a different experience with these students, i would like to mention that we are learning together. Everyday we come across different experiences with them. The students are so energetic and enthusiastic in learning not only the subject matter but also the cultural perspectives. There’s are a lot to share but let me restrict myself here..... Hope to see you with us as early as possible. Expecting you to join with us in the Mysore trip.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 02:18:42 +0000
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