Day 236-Miniature Paintings On The Walls

Preface

All the following pictures were taken in the Sultan Mahal at the Samode Palace. They are of the paintings on the walls and archways in that hall. So much details were found in so little space that I spent almost 1 hour just covering 1 of the walls which is no bigger than a large canvas painting.  I took these pictures for all lovers of miniature paintings but mainly I took these pictures with my dear friend, Betsy , in mind. 

Entrance Archway

Details-A series of Nautch girls decorating the archway

Entrance archway-see top of archway

Outer Room Walls

Details-Love Scene

Details- Hands Around the Window

 Details within details-Nautch girl and musicians

 Details within details-Maharajah Pleasuring his Favourite

 Details-A Day in The Life of a Maharajah

One side of the Outer Room Wall

Inner Room Alcove 1

 Details-A pair of Nautch girls (dancing girls)

Alcove 1

Inner Wall Alcove 2
(the wall where I spent 1 hour)
 

 

Details-Fetching Water

 Details within details-At The Well

Details within details-Offering Water

Details - Returning To Palace

Details within details- Gossip

Details within details-Who is he? 
I stared at this man for a long time wondering what he was doing. I finally decided that he was a tax collector. This picture was badly taken because of the poor lighting and my lack of skills but after spending so long staring at this man, I felt compelled to share it here. 
I hope one of you can shed some light on Who is he? for me.

 Details- Village Life -I love this portion...

Details within details- ..especially when I saw how the man was depicted here.

 Details -The Palace

Alcove 2- The Painting On The Wall

 Details within details- Of the Painting Below Alcove 2

Details - On the Inside of Archway (hidden in pic of Alcove 2)

Details - On the other side of Archway 

 Details-On the Archway

 My Favourite

 Details - My Favourite Nautch Girl (on the inside of another archway)

Day 236- Sojourn In Samode Palace

Imagine You Are A Princess

must surely be the most played out fantasy for girls.

Me imagining life as a Princess at Sultan Mahal (Sultan Hall) Samode Palace

Alas, we grow up to find that it is 

Not Always As We Imagined It To Be.

YuC as a princess "confined to the Harem", looking down into the Durbar Hall

 

The Prince Charming,

Guard adjusting YuC's veil,  posing as a "couple" like the painting on the wall

Corridor leading to passageway outside -2nd floor Durbar Hall

a mere illusion ?

Floral designs painted on the arches, walls and vaults of the corridor leading to the Zenana  2nd Floor Samode Palace  


And The Happily Ever After

 
Me and YuC as Maharajah & Maharani- 2nd floor Durbar Hall

 
Just A Fairy Tale.

Painting on the wall (details)

  
Living A Fairy Tale

And that was exactly what me and two of my girlfriends decided we should do when we were in Jaipur. Who cares if it was only an illusion? In fact, the more unreal , the better. And no, we did not need it to last. 

Samode Palace

 If you want to live a fairy tale, there really is no better place in the world to do it than India. Where else can you check into a real Maharajah's Palace and start your make believe?

Infinity Pool

Where you can bathe in a pool with water extending to as far as your eyes can see only to reflect the Mighty Aravelli Range like a painted canvas with you in it.

Deck with day beds

Where pool decks are decorated like palace harems so that you can laze and read in the outdoors with the comforts of the indoors.

Jacuzzi

And when night falls and you are reluctant to leave, you can slip into the enclave of a warm jacuzzi and bathe some more. 

Puppet Show

Where there is never a dull moment even if you are merely walking  towards  dinner  as the puppet master entice you to stop whilst his handsome young apprentice drums his way to your heart.

 The creme de la creme Royal Suite- but aren't they all?

And when luck is on your side and they upgrade you to The Royal Suite, you stare incredulously at a living room, a reading room, a dining room, a fireplace and a huge bathroom, spoiled for choice on  where  to rest your feet.

And in the morning when you wake and you open the door to what you think is the balcony,  an ostentatious courtyard greets you instead. Even on the 3rd floor, you have your own fountain, an outdoor jacuzzi and more luxury than you have time to enjoy.

 Best of all, this fairy tale is full of art.

Roomful of art

Blue Hall

 Details of shutter windows

 

 Maybe even a life time worth of art.

So who cares that it is just for one night?

Is it not better to love and lost than not to love at all?

So I say live and love and don't care that it doesn't last.

In fact, live and love like it is your last

because one day, you will be right.

Day 249-250-Old Metal Trunks

For someone who loves travelling, 

I sure have an inexplicable dislike for luggages. 

I love old metal trunks though, 

especially if they are vintage rusty steel suitcases 

reminiscent of old India. 

When I first saw this plastic box, it really reminded me of a luggage. 

All new and functional and completely  flawless. 

Before my mini days, this box would have been chucked into the bin.

Now, I just take out my paints and brushes

and see if I can make it into something I love.

I have two of these boxes so I painted one metallic blue and the other purple.

Then I gave them rust which added 100 years to their otherwise shiny surfaces. 

I also gave my metal trunks old fashioned handles, locking bars and brackets.

The handles and bars were made from wires and brackets from papers.

It took me quite a while to stick that tiny bit of bar in between the catch.

But I think it was worth it, don't you?

I made one of the trunks open and the other shut

but I made both just as flawed. 

This is so I can love them now. 

And do you remember the ones I painted in the dark last November?

I have always wanted colours on them. 

So I repainted one metallic red on red

then mixed the red with some  autumn yellow for green.

All the closed trunks are placed one on top of the other.

Then back to the corner they stand. 

And I knew exactly what I wanted them for.

Books. 

Precious, treasured books like the ones I won from Flora. 

Books which we take for granted 

but for the Rollas, they must be worth their weight in gold. 

The last trunk I placed at the foot of Ro's bed.

A footlocker for things close to her heart.

Will you find her dowry? Pieces of embroidery? Jewellery?

Just more books, rare editions, handmade books,

foreign magazine few can lay hands on,

a couple of love letters

and  mementos from their walks in the sand.

Things that are close to her heart. 

Credits: 

Sun bleached books on the 3 steel trunks were made by me 2 months after I started my hobby in 2009. I had printed the covers on the wrong side of the glossy paper and the colours ran. I decided to keep them because they looked worn and old, like my favourite books. In that stack are readable books on ceramics and Iznik pottery. 

In the opened trunk, the "books"-one of them with a blue cover titling Mahatma Ghandi - lying flat on the left (facing you)- and the 2 wonderful "letters" were made by Katie. The readable magazine "Happinez" as well as the mini conch shells were from Jollie. 

In the same trunk, the black book was one of the first minis (actually my 2nd but the 1st which were goblets were all dismantled, thanks to lousy glue)  I made. It is a book on Indian miniature paintings. I made the 2nd special edition book with a little pearl on the cover shortly after. This book is about Iznik pottery. They are both readable. 

Last but not least, the opened book on the floor (2nd last pic) was by Erika Vanhorn. I bought it  in December last year. It is an Illuminated Book of Days. I bought it because there was a very famous Arabic version which  is now lost in history. 

And now may I show you my real life trunks.

I met these trunks long before I was interested in miniatures. I was shopping for a themed party in Little India when I saw them. I had bought trunk loads of Indian textile  from this shop and I brazenly asked the owner if I could have these trunks to bring the textiles home. He said yes and I remembered lugging these heavy trunks to the car with some help. I believed one of them was blue and the other green before I painted them white to go with the guest room. They now hold the fabric for my miniatures.