Raksha Bandhan ki Shubhkamnaye

Raksha Bandhan or the bond of protection is a festival that celebrates the selfless and pure relationship between a brother and a sister. Though the festival is celebrated all over India, it is in northern states that Raksha Bandhan is one of the main festivals in the annual calendar.

Raksha Bandhan is observed in the Hindu month of Sravan, on the full moon day, which usually falls in the month of August or September. The sister ties a rakhi on the wrist of her brother and in return the brother pledges to protect his sister all his life. Rakhi is a thread, usually a silken thread, with an adornment in the center. Today, rakhis come in different designs, many reflecting the taste of today’s children. So, there are Ganesha Rakhis, Superman Rakhis and so on. There are some who even prefer gold or silver bracelets as rakhis.

THE RITUAL

Early morning, sisters and brothers dress up in new clothes. The sister prepares an ‘aarti’or a plate in which a lit diya or lamp, sweet, rakhi, haldi-kumkum, raw rice and flowers are kept. She first adorns the brother’s forehead with a tilak, then ties the rakhi on his wrist, showers him with rice and flowers and circulates the plate around his face thrice, simultaneously reciting a prayer, for the brother’s well-being and happiness. In return, the brother gives her a gift and a promise to be by her side to protect and cherish her.

LEGENDS ASSOCIATED WITH RAKHI

There are many mythological stories associated with rakhi, which prove thatRaksha Bandhan has been celebrated in India since ancient times. One famous historical story is of Rani Karnavati of Chittor in Rajasthan and Emperor Humayun of Mughal dynasty. It is said that when the Chittor kingdom was to be attacked by Bahadur Shah, the widowed Rani sent a rakhi to Emperor Humayun seeking help. The emperor was touched by the gesture and he set off to defend his sister but he reached late and the fort was captured by Shah and the Rani and other women had committed suicide. Still, Humayun to keep his word and as a respect to the rakhi, fought with Bahadur Shah and recaptured the fort.

There is also a story that the wife of Alexander the Great sent a Rakhi to King Puru and requested him not to harm her husband in the battle, which Puru agreed to. Such was the emotional bond that rakhi created.

Today, the festival has been influenced by modern lifestyle, yet, it brings together families and communities together to celebrate harmony, trust and brotherhood.

OUR HAPPY LEARNERS

iMADE never fails to give a happy experience to its students because we believe that a happy child is the most creative. Here we are at the most astounding and rewarding of places for a aspiring designer/artist -  National Gallery of Modern Art(NGMA), Jaipur House, New Delhi. NGMA is the premier art gallery under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. iMADE provided  opportunity for its Students to explore Delhi’s flagship art gallery that displays a remarkable collection of paintings, landscapes and portraitures from the colonial-era created by assorted Indian artists of that period, the Bengal revivalists, the Bombay progressives,  and many other contemporary giants. It was an “abundantly enriching affair” , as one of our students quoted, for all the budding pupils of gen-next in Design/Art guild.

12 Iconic World Landmark Illustrations

With a shared love of traveling, South African design studio – Makers Company, created this set of 12 iconic illustrations for a selection of the world’s most famous landmarks.

Simplified to showcase unique character, Markers Company have produced a gorgeous selection of icons with a limited colour pallet of blue, orange and cream. Recognisable landmarks such as Christ The Redeemer, The Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Piza, all share a clean and well-executed design that connects the icon and related city perfectly.

12 Noida School Students Win NASA Space Settlement Design Contest

A team of 12 students from Amity International School, Noida, has won the prestigious 20th Annual International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC), 2015, held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.

The team comprised 12 students – Dhruv Khanna, Aabhas Vaish, Aman Agarwal, Anuj Harisinghani, Rishab Srivastava, Chittaranjan Prasad, Suchit Jain, Rahul Rajput, Tanay Asija, Anant Chaturvedi, Grishma Purewal and Mudit Gupta.

The ISSD competition involves high school students designing a model of a city in space that can house over 10,000 people. The Amity team designed two main settlements and four outlying settlements to accommodate a population of 24,000 as well as a transient of 3,000 more on Mars using a transparent material, ‘Aluminium Oxinitride’. Their work involved various aspects such as Automation Engineering, Operations Engineering, Human Engineering, Marketing and Finance, schedule and cost.

Four companies with 50 participants each from all over the world competed in the final round of the ISSDC. The Amity team was a part of a company called ‘Vulture Aviation’, and was clubbed with teams from Latin America, North America and the UK. It was the only team from Asia to make it to the finals.

These Captivating Geometric GIFs Will Mesmerize You

The Netherlands-based artist Florian de Looij first sat down with a copy of Photoshop when he was 12 years old and obviously he never got up. The designer has been searching digital animation and illustration ever since, and late last year started posting his animation experiments on a Tumblr blog called FLRN GIF. Florian says he always inspired by the likes of M.C. Escher and other artists working with optical illusions, something that has undoubtedly influenced the direction of his design practice.

Artist Takes Famous Logos And Turns Into Impressive Embroidered Art

James Merry takes sweaters decorated with logos like Nike and Fila to create embroidery of flowers, wines and mushrooms on them. It’s a quaint project, bringing the natural and rustic joy of embroidery to a mass designed, urban brand.

NID, NIFT, NATA, B.ARCH., CEED, UCEED, FINE ARTS Coaching

NIDian designs economical toilet for Swachh Abhiyan

At a time when the government is aiming to build sanitation facilities for every rural household, a graduate of National Institute of Design (NID) has developed cost-effective toilets that will give momentum to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Mamta Gautam has designed toilets which are also ideal for areas with water shortage. The toilet seats come with a whirlpool technology and thus take less water to flush. Gautam, who graduated from NID in ceremics and design in 2008, said: "This is a strategy at a cluster level. I have redesigned the running projects of Thangarh cluster with added features and efficiency."

The product was displayed in NID as part of the design clinic scheme for Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Jitendra Singh Rajput, project head, design clinic scheme, said: "NID provides a common platform to MSMEs and designers. We make MSMEs realize value of design and provide them funding on behalf of the government to work with designers."

NID, NIFT, NATA, CEED, UCEED, B.ARCH, FINE ARTS Coaching in Delhi