Kala Raksha

At one of the coffee mornings, before Christmas, several groups came to sell their wares to us westerners who were dropping a lot of money on "Indian" christmas presents for our friends and loved ones back home. One group that particularly caught my attention was Kala Raksha. They had beautiful handmade games. One in particular, Chopad (the original Parchizi), really caught my attention and I bought two. (I later ended up ordering several more from them which were then delivered by courier, as they are located up in Gujerat.) When Jules was here in February, we stumbled upon an exhibit they were having in South Mumbai. There, I bought a quilt for Luis, a purse for me (and one for a gift), a change purse, and a skirt (for Sarah). All were hand made and in the traditional style of Kutch (a western region of India).

With the notion that once we leave India we are most likely not coming back, I am suddenly feeling sad that I will not be able to email my friend Nilesh at kala Raksha to order another Snakes & Ladders to give as a birthday or christmas present - or any of their other fine products. So, I made one last big order. It arrived today and I was again so pleased by how lovely their things are. I tried to capture this in some photos. I'm not sure I've done them justice. I am posting small pictures, but you should be able to click on them to see a larger version.

Chopad (Parchizi):

Checkers:

Snakes & Ladders:

I also ordered two quilts (Mom ordered one, too). Below is one of mine and one of hers draped over the sofa:

I will miss these kinds of items when I leave India. I will miss being able to buy things like this from a show where the actual artisan is present and can talk to me about the piece. Sigh.

[If any of you blog readers are interested in anything you see here, there is still time to order before I leave - email me]