KANAKAVALLI JOURNAL

Little Rituals : Aarambam - Part II

This wedding season, Kanakavalli follows the kalyana podavai, the bridal kanjivaram, as it journeys across two parallel timelines - its creation in the hands of the weaver and its role in a bride'...

Little Rituals : Aarambam - Part I

Kanakavalli celebrates the wedding season with another volume of Little Rituals - Aarambam - which traces auspicious bridal beginnings through the unique lens of the kalyana podavai (the bridal sar...

Little Rituals Part III : Deepavali - Daybreak

As dawn breaks on the day of the festival, the house fills with golden light. Faces glow with excitement and the new silks appear radiant, the colours more vivid in the early morning sun. Laughter ...

Little Rituals Part II : Deepavali - Deepavali's Dawn

In the hours before dawn, while it is still dark outside, the household slowly comes to life. Sleepy-eyed children wake to the sound of rain, their excitement palpable as they emerge into the bustl...

Little Rituals Part I : Deepavali - On The Eve

Experience the Little Rituals of Deepavali with Kanakavalli — the traditions and emotions that bring families together in South India for the festival of light. This year, we focus on the little th...

VANAM SINGARAM : COLOURING PAGE PRINTABLES DOWNLOAD

We hope you enjoy the the distraction of these six printable colouring pages we’ve put together for you taken from our Vanam Singaram Kanjivaram colouring book, which we’ve now accompanied with som...

Fabric Mask Making - Kanakavalli's Step by Step Guide

We've gotten together some simple and easy to follow step by step guides for you to make your own face masks -  and we hope you give them a try ! These great, easy sew and no-sew fabric face mask m...

Mask Me Up - The 411 on Fabric Masks

In case you haven't noticed - the face mask has become fashion’s unexpected (but invaluable) accessory! And you can have so much fun with it, and stay safe at the same time. Here are our top tips a...

Kanjivaram Care - Sari TLC tips!

As we're all locked down, working from home, and isolating ourselves from the world outside, you might find little opportunity to wear your favourite kanjivarams. Many of you have asked how best to...

Tending to the Sari

Back in the day, when the kanjivaram was the everyday – almost obvious – garment of choice, its wearers formed with it a relationship so personal and affable; there was a certain rigour combined wi...

My first love...

Nearly 24 years ago, just as I turned 16, my mother bought me a kanjivaram sari – a copper sulphate blue with fine zari all over its body and a thin border. They say that every kanjivaram is a seam...

It’s not all about the zari!

Zari, and people’s obsession with it, got me thinking about how we, as a community, and perhaps a culture, are obsessed over the idea of material. And that material unfortunately has become the pri...