The mystery surrounding the origins of Singing Bowls persists. For centuries, monks and priests used the bowl almost exclusively in ancient religious practices and ceremonies - but we can't be sure that this was their original purpose. After all, while these bowls were popularized by Buddhist monks around 600 B.C, Monks are known to have used bowls for collecting and eating meals. It is not clear how they graduated from there, to creating vibrations that cleanse energy. Historians suspect the first bowls originated 2000 years before that in Ancient Mesopotamia! Their history has since been lost to the ravages of time, leaving us unable to confirm how they used their bowls. Sound, however, has always played an influential role in ancient rituals - from chanting to accompanying instruments. The fact that singing bowls produce a sonorous, soothing tone suggests that they were incorporated into ceremonies right from the time of their invention. 5000 years on, and singing bowls are as popular as ever, taking their place both at religious ceremonies and simple meditation and healing sessions. 

Singing bowls and healing: A match made in heaven.

The East had always believed and practiced the power of spiritual and physiological healing. Cultures across countries share different versions of a central belief - a healthy body consists of balanced energy (or Chakra). These chakras can be manipulated in various ways when thrown out of balance, helping the stricken individual recover naturally and quickly. 

Sound therapy is one such method. At its core, energy is believed to be composed of simple vibrations. For thousands of years, it was thought that manipulating sound around us to form frequencies that matched those of our bodies would help restore balance, and therefore health. If nothing else, sound proved to be relaxing when played at the right frequencies, generating brain activity and waves that actively help meditation and produce a host of positive side effects. 

Just like all treatments, some are simply more effective than others. When singing bowls would have first started to appear in the East, the meditative tone it produced would have caught on in no time at all. Temples and monasteries across the region used bells and gongs all the time - the instrument in question wasn't always sacred. It was the sound it produced. The best Singing Bowls offered tones that reverberate richly through the air, waves of calming sound resonating outward from the palm of their hand. It wasn't long before these beautiful bowls started to appear in households in place of gongs, with large bowls produced for monasteries or therapy classes on occasion.

The types of Singing Bowls

Singing bowls can generally be played in one of two different ways - tapping or circling the bowl. The composition of the bowl and wand used can change or enhance the sound produced, with different materials producing different vibrations. Bowls today are being produced with everything from crystal to brass . Some traditional handmade singing bowls were produced with an alloy made from up to seven metals! But when it comes down to it, these antique singing bowls should be judged on the sound produced first - and aesthetic qualities after. Handmade Tibetan singing bowls are generally made from a mix of metals    and produce some of the best vibrations and tones. Singing bowls can also be either handmade or sand cast. Although sand cast bowls do render satisfactory vibrations, they cannot match the soothing quality of handmade singing bowls. It takes teams of these talented artists to craft a single bowl, hammering a patty of the metal alloy into shape before smoothening the edges and working the interior. Experts will always be able to identify a handmade, hammered singing bowl from the indents and shaping of the metal. More importantly, Handmade Singing Bowls carry the good energy generated by the passion and hard work of the artisans, passed into your home.

The great crossover: How Singing Bowls went West.

As the world slowly opened up to easy travel, trips to the other half of the world became increasingly common. But before this was possible, this type of trip might have truly been a once-in-a-lifetime occasion - if even that. The secrets of the East were hard to access - and held mystery and mysticism for those accustomed to a different philosophy and way of life. However, secrets only remain hidden for so long. Meditation and yoga have always been attractive forms of therapy to the western world, with many making the trip to places like India to find meditative peace - not content with simply practicing at home. 

Many people thought yoga was a passing fad - a strange ritual that was popular because it was different. But these are real practices with documented benefits. Over time, the healing offered by these ancient methods won over more people, and yoga was here to stay. With a growing belief in eastern medicine and practices, popular artifacts like singing bowls started to generate demand, often shipped across the world at great cost to ensure authenticity and quality. 

Today, fortunately, one doesn't have to go to this extent of trouble to get an authentic antique bowl for themselves. Certain reputed sellers source the material for the bowl before turning it over to traditional artisans to craft. The best Tibetan singing bowls are shipped to customers no matter where they are - allowing you to procure a piece of history and culture at a fraction of the cost it would have taken just a few decades ago, while still supporting the artists behind the craft.

The origin of shawls in the world can be traced back more than 700 years. The first record comes from the Mughal period. By the 16th Century the Kashmir shawl industry was well-established. Mughal Emperor Akbar promoted the manufacture of shawls in Kashmir. He presented a gift of Kashmir "jamawar" shawl to the Queen of England.

The name Pashmina comes from pashm, the Persian word for wool. This wool comes from changthangi or ladakh or pashmina goat, a special breed of goat indigenous to high altitude of the Himalayas.

Due to the extreme weather conditions, the pashmina goats grow a special fur during winter. This fur is shed during spring and the fleece is caught on thorn bushes. Villagers scour the mountainside for the finest fleece to be used.

                           The Pashmina Goat - image courtesy: kashmir-rose.com

The winter fur that the goat grows is 1/6 the thickness of human hair. It is so fine that it cannot be spun by machines, so the wool is hand-woven into shawls, scarves, wraps, throws and stoles for export worldwide. The workmanship is so intricate and time consuming that some embroidered shawls take 2 to 4 years time to create.

 At Kaarigar we source the finest collection of pashmina directly from the artisans in Kashmir. 

In every shipment we put together we try to include a few items that aren't typically found in Vancouver - a 'Kaarigar Experiment' if you like. More than uniqueness - what we look for is an item with an engaging story that our clients can connect with. On this occasion it's the turn of the humble tiffin. A tiffin, or dabba (DUH-bah), is a simple lunchbox made up of stackable stainless steel compartments. While they're common throughout India, Bombay is where the tiffin has truly left it's mark. In Bombay, a hot meal for your office or school lunch is not seen as a luxury but a necessity. Moreover, Indians are notoriously picky when it comes to food (just ask). Home cooking is king here. This is where the tiffin comes into play. Every weekday morning in Bombay, a delivery system unlike any other on the planet swings into action. The system's goal: pick-up, deliver and then return each lunchbox on-time - a monumental task given the traffic, weather and number of tiffins. The people that take on this challenge are known as dabbawallahs - literally: box-carriers. They make their rounds of Bombay's neighbourhoods after the morning commute, collecting freshly prepared tiffins. Through a combination of bicycles, railway trains, a simple coding system and a handful of sorting checkpoints, the dabbawallahs are able to deliver a hot home-cooked lunch to schools and workplaces across the city. After lunch, the process is reversed and the empty lunchbox is returned home. The most remarkable aspect of the dabbawallah system is its unprecedented success rate - a recent study found that a tiffin is late or goes missing roughly once in every seven-million deliveries. This success rate is even more impressive considering that the dabbawallahs have a low level of literacy and that Bombay has a high level of road congestion. More recently, the system has gained recognition from the international business community and fame from Bollywood (see the movie 'Lunchbox'). Come by and pick out your own piece of this story.

 

The Singing Bowl, also called a Himalayan bowl, is known to be used by Buddhist monks since 600 B.C. It is most commonly known for sound therapy and space clearing, but there are other uses for it. The singing bowl can be used to balance our chakras, reduce stress and even sound massage. 

The sound produced by the singing bowl is that of the AUM –  the absolute. There are two basic ways of playing a Singing Bowl, you can either strike it with the wooden wand for percussive, pulsating tones; or you can encircle the edges repeatedly with the wand for a sustained effect.  Resting the singing bowl upon the palm of your hand will usually enable you to appreciate the experience to a greater depth than placing the bowl on a pad.

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In every shipment we put together we try to include a few items that aren't typically found in Vancouver - a 'Kaarigar Experiment' if you like. More than uniqueness - what we look for is an item with an engaging story that our clients can connect with. On this occasion it's the turn of the humble tiffin. A tiffin, or dabba (DUH-bah), is a simple lunchbox made up of stackable stainless steel compartments. While they're common throughout India, Bombay is where the tiffin has truly left it's mark. In Bombay, a hot meal for your office or school lunch is not seen as a luxury but a necessity. Moreover, Indians are notoriously picky when it comes to food (just ask). Home cooking is king here. This is where the tiffin comes into play. Every weekday morning in Bombay, a delivery system unlike any other on the planet swings into action. The system's goal: pick-up, deliver and then return each lunchbox on-time - a monumental task given the traffic, weather and number of tiffins. The people that take on this challenge are known as dabbawallahs - literally: box-carriers. They make their rounds of Bombay's neighbourhoods after the morning commute, collecting freshly prepared tiffins. Through a combination of bicycles, railway trains, a simple coding system and a handful of sorting checkpoints, the dabbawallahs are able to deliver a hot home-cooked lunch to schools and workplaces across the city. After lunch, the process is reversed and the empty lunchbox is returned home. The most remarkable aspect of the dabbawallah system is its unprecedented success rate - a recent study found that a tiffin is late or goes missing roughly once in every seven-million deliveries. This success rate is even more impressive considering that the dabbawallahs have a low level of literacy and that Bombay has a high level of road congestion. More recently, the system has gained recognition from the international business community and fame from Bollywood (see the movie 'Lunchbox'). Come by and pick out your own piece of this story.

This hilarious article was written by an ​ 

Architect from BaaN, Netherlands who spent two years in Hyderabad.

For the benefit of every Tom, Dick and Harry visiting India and daring to drive on Indian roads, I am offering a few hints for survival. They are applicable to every place in India except Bihar, where life outside a vehicle is only marginally safer.

Indian road rules broadly operate within the domain of karma where you do your best, and leave the results to your insurance company. The hints are as follows:

Do we drive on the left or right of the road?

The answer is "both". Basically you start on the left of the road, unless it is occupied. In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess. Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the intended direction. Don't you get discouraged or underestimate yourself except for a belief in reincarnation, the other drivers are not in any better position.

Don't stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to cross the road. You may do so only if you enjoy being bumped in the back. Pedestrians have been strictly instructed to cross only when traffic is moving slowly or has come to a dead stop because some minister is in town. Still some idiot may try to wade across, but then, let us not talk ill of the dead.

Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries. We horn to express joy, resentment, frustration, romance and bare lust (two brisk blasts), or, just mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar.

Keep informative books in the glove compartment. You may read them during traffic jams, while awaiting the chief minister's motorcade, or waiting for the rain ​ ​
waters to recede when over ground traffic meets underground drainage.

Occasionally you might see what looks like a UFO with blinking colored lights and weird sounds emanating from within. This is an illuminated bus, full of happy pilgrims singing bhajans. These pilgrims go at breakneck speed, seeking contact with the Almighty, ​ 
often meeting with success.

Auto Rickshaw (Baby Taxi): The result of a collision between a rickshaw and an automobile, this three-wheeled vehicle works on an external combustion engine that runs on a mixture of kerosene oil and creosote. This triangular vehicle carries iron rods, gas cylinders or passengers three times its weight and dimension, at an unspecified fare. After careful geometric calculations, children are folded and packed into these auto rickshaws until some children in the periphery are not in contact with the vehicle at all. Then their school bags are pushed into the microscopic gaps all round so those minor collisions with other vehicles on the road cause no permanent damage. Of course, the peripheral children are charged half the fare and also learn Newton's laws of motion en route to school. Auto-rickshaw drivers follow the road rules depicted in the film Ben Hur, and are licensed to irritate.

Mopeds: The moped looks like an oil tin on wheels and makes noise like an electric shaver. It runs 30 miles on a teaspoon of petrol and travels at break-bottom speed. As the sides of the road are too rough for a ride, the moped drivers tend to drive in the middle of the road; they would rather drive under heavier vehicles instead of around them and are often "mopped" off the tarmac.

Leaning Tower of Passes: Most bus passengers are given free passes and during rush hours, there is absolute mayhem. There are passengers hanging off other passengers, who in turn hang off the railings and the overloaded bus leans dangerously, defying laws of gravity but obeying laws of surface tension. As drivers get paid for overload (so many Rupees per kg of passenger), no questions are ever asked. Steer clear of these buses by a width of three passengers.

One-way Street: These boards are put up by traffic people to add jest in their otherwise drab lives. Don't stick to the literal meaning and proceed in one direction. In metaphysical terms, it means that you cannot proceed in two directions at once. So drive, as you like, in reverse throughout, if you are the fussy type. Least I sound hypercritical; I must add a positive point also. Rash and fast driving in residential areas has been prevented by providing a "speed breaker"; two for each house.

This mound, incidentally, covers the water and drainage pipes for that residence and is left un tarred for easy identification by the corporation authorities, should they want to recover the pipe for year-end accounting.

Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience (for those with the mental makeup of Genghis Khan). In a way, it is like playing Russian roulette, because you do not know who amongst the drivers is loaded. What looks like premature dawn on the horizon turns out to be a truck attempting a speed record. On encountering it, just pull partly into the field adjoining the road until the phenomenon passes. Our roads do not have shoulders, but occasional boulders. Do not blink your lights expecting reciprocation. The only dim thing in the truck is the driver, and with the peg of illicit arrack (alcohol) he has had at the last stop, his total cerebral functions add up to little more than a naught. Truck drivers are the James Bonds of India, and are licensed to kill. Often you may encounter a single powerful beam of light about six feet above the ground. This is not a super motorbike, but a truck approaching you with a single light on, usually the left one. It could be the right one, but never get too close to investigate. You may prove your point posthumously. Of course, all this occurs at night, on the trunk roads. During the daytime, trucks are more visible, except that the drivers will never show any Signal. (And you must watch for the absent signals; they are the greater threat). Only, you will often observe that the cleaner who sits next to the driver, will project his hand and wave hysterically.

This is definitely not to be construed as a signal for a left turn. The waving is just a statement of physical relief on a hot day.

If, after all this, you still want to drive in India, have your lessons between 8 pm and 11 am-when the police have gone home and The citizen is then free to enjoy the 'FREEDOM OF SPEED' enshrined in our constitution.

Having said all this, isn't it true that the accident rate and related deaths are less in India compared to US or other countries!

NAMASTE

Yoga has become widely practiced worldwide. In the United States with growth to more than 20 million people since 2002. According to the U.S. News & World Report in 2015, yoga practice showed more growth than any other natural health therapy   

 The mention of the word "YOGA" conjures up images of super fit people posing in sometimes impossible looking "Asanas". Much of these poses do not exist in the real yoga. You do not have to be able to achieve these fancy poses to be considered a yogi. The core principle of yoga is to align your life to be in harmony with Mother Nature and be a good human being. 

The birth of yoga originally comes from the Vedas (ancient Hindu scriptures), which dates back between 4,000 to 5,000 years. Vedic knowledge was passed down from teacher to student through perfect memorization in the way of verses and poems. But it wasn’t until the second century B.C. that a sage named Patanjali outlined what is known today as the Eight Limbs of Yoga. 

 

An Overview of the Eight Limbs (Ashtanga) of Yoga 

 Here’s a brief overview of each of the eight limbs:

1. The Yamas are rules of moral code and include ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), bramacharya (sexual restraint), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness).
2. The Niyamas are rules of personal behavior including saucha (purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (discipline or austerity), svadhyaya (spiritual studies), and Ishvara Pranidhana (constant devotion to God).
3. Asana refers to yoga postures but in Patanjali’s initial practice, it referred to mastering the body to sit still for meditation. The practice of yoga asanas came about eight centuries later, which helped disciples ready their bodies for meditation.
4. Pranayama are yoga breathing techniques designed to control prana or vital life force.
5. Pratyahara means withdrawal of the senses.
6. Dharana refers to concentration.
7. Dhyana is the practice of meditation.
8. Samadhi is merging with the divine.

As you can see, Asanas is just one small part of the way of life that has been prescribed. We do not see the 7 other key pillars being either practiced or taught. Try to incorporate these steps into your life and you will feel a sense of contentment.

We are unable to elaborate on each of the 8 Ashtangas here but there is enough information available on the web.

We are vulnerable to unethical marketing especially when it involves a science that is foreign to us. 

Comments/Opinions welcome.


 
 

 

 

We're about to embark on our latest sourcing trip to India, so we thought it'd be a good time to share our top-5 tips for visiting this enchanting country. Traveling through India can be daunting, especially for first-timers. Preparation is a must and we hope these tips prove to be helpful for your first or next visit.

1. Personal Space = Premium Real Estate There is a different understanding of personal space in India. It is, after all, a nation of over a billion people. Accept the fact that public areas such as elevators, queues, sidewalks and public transport will be more crowded than you're probably used to. That being said, don't be afraid to stand your ground when someone is particularly aggressive. A stern look in the right direction should do the trick.
2. There Will Be Noise Another byproduct of one billion inhabitants is noise. Regardless of what your wristwatch is telling you - if you're outside, your ears will know it. Once again, accept that cars will honk, music will blare, people will chatter and shopkeepers will yell. If you're a light sleeper - pack ear plugs. If you dislike loud vendors - pack an iPod too.
3. BARGAIN! Speaking of vendors, it's important to understand that India has a culture of bargaining. Bargaining, not cricket, is the national pastime (yeah I said it). They absolutely love it! Most prices are negotiable, and most prices are intentionally set quite high in anticipation of bargaining. You'll find this happens at street-side kiosks, shops at the mall and everywhere in between. Ask for the price, counter with a much lower figure and settle for something in between.
4. Escape to the Country If the crowds, noise and intense negotiations become overwhelming, it's time to get out of the city. Rural India differs greatly from her urban sister. Life is less hectic here. This is where yoga was born and where Buddha found nirvana. No trip to India is complete without experiencing the tranquility of the her countryside. It also gives you the perfect excuse to hop onboard India's legendary rail system.
5. Watch Your Feet In India, the foot is considered an unclean part of the body. You're expected to remove your shoes when you enter a home or holy place. If you see a doorway with several pairs of shoes placed around it, lose your footwear before proceeding. This means that you're going to need to slip in and out of your shoes regularly. Invest in a shoe or durable sandal that'll make your life a bit easier. Furthermore, be careful of how you use your feet. Simply showing the soles of your feet to someone is considered disrespectful so think before you kick back.

As we've mentioned, preparation is truly the key to a smooth visit to India. There's plenty of helpful information on this subject floating around on the internet so read up and travel safely!