HYDERABAD:Squishing clay with your hands in the pottery class, or filling the gaps in your colouring book -- these activities soothe your brain and calm you down. Similar art form, proven to be therapeutic is Ikebana, the Japanese way of arranging flowers.
And Ikebana International, Hyderabad Chapter, #250, that is 18 years old and has 50 active members hosting is the first Annual Ikebana Festival in the city.
“We decided to host this annual festival, starting from this year in memory of Grandmaster Meena Ananthnarayan, the first president of the Hyderabad chapter and Ramani Nambiar the second one,” informs Uma Chigurupati, current president, while taking us through the exhibition on public display at Paryatak Bhavan, Begumpet.
The theme of the exhibition this year is Baskets & Bamboo. “Each of these pieces is specific to the artist’s vision. We have special styles in Ikebana -- erect, slanting, upright etc,” explains Uma.
Beautiful flower arrangements -- a combination of exotic and local flowers, decking up vases and baskets commonly found in our households, are a treat to the eye. “Once the exhibition is over, they will be sent back to the artists and they can be used as show pieces at home. They are pleasant to look at and can be recycled,” points Rekha Reddy, former president of the Chapter. The members meet regularly and work with flowers.
“We are a not-for-profit body and have workshops regularly. The art form you a sense of calm and is nature friendly. We also make sure that we connect to Indian culture because we don’t see any point in simply promoting a Japanese art form,” she says
“The exhibition stands for how you can make use of a cup and saucer from your kitchen and make it a showpiece,” she adds.
The festival will be an annual one and will take place every February. The exhibition ends at 3 pm today.