Follow the Hindu Moon

A guide to the festivals of south India

Soumya Aravind Sitaraman

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Pooja Basics

Embracing the Almighty

Getting Organised

Celebrate! Festivals

Hindu Cosmology

Path to God

Festival Food

Festoons

Etiquette

Contact Links and Forum

Current Positions

Founder Director: What is India Publishers

Founder Trustee: Sivagami Ammal Memorial Trust

Member: Asia Centre, Bangalore

Governing Board: Natyalakshana Akademy

Advisory Committee: Smriti Nandan Cultural Centre

Previous positions: USA

Planning Committee: Mexican Heritage Plaza Art Gallery

Communications Coordinator: Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA)

Arts Council of Silicon Valley Grants Review Panel for Artists’ Fellowships Visual Arts: Painting

Co-Editor:“Of our own voice” the AAWAA artist reference guide

Board Member: Fine Arts League of Cupertino

Art Director: 1995 Las Madres Club (non profit with 1500 members)

Cultural Coordinator: Santa Clara Chapter Las Madres.

Juror: Balavihar Art Competition, Sunnyvale

Advisory Committee: Groundswell project

Board Member: Center for Visual Art, Oakland, CA

VAAST (Visual Artist Alliance Summit at the Triton) Show Committee

Gallery Director: Ranjini: Gallery of a Contemporary Woman Artist.

Visiting Faculty: Euphrat Museum arts and Schools Program: De Anza College. Summer Program.

· “Chat on the Mat” Radio interview on Radio City , Bangalore 2006

· “Contemporary Issues of Asian American Women Artists”. India International Center , New Delhi May 2001

· “Nurturing a child’s vision:” Bangalore International School Nov ‘00

· Lifelines: Artist presentation with lecture on a recent signature series. Jan ‘00

· Body as Self Image: South Asian Women's Health Project Sept.‘99

· Symposium Panelist: “Contemporary Issues of Asian American Women Artists”. June ’99

· “Roots and Contemporary Vision”, City College of San Francisco , San Francisco. Oct ‘98

· “Voices”, Kalart, San Francisco Feb ‘98

· “Connections”, Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino, Jan ‘98

· Artist talk, Berkeley Sept ‘97

· Panel speaker: Empowering Women forum. Aug ’96

Commissions

Private Picture Commission 2001
Private Portrait Commission 2001
Private Portrait Commission 2001
Wall Murals. Wilson Preschool, Santa Clara , CA Sept. 1999
Private Commission: “What We Live By”: Mural on a ’72 VW convertible August 1998
Private commission: “One Indian Summer Afternoon” March ’98
Brochure image for Media in Instrumental Development: Labors of Love: Child Labor Project ’97
Images on Glass, Sunnyvale Hindu Temple , Sunnyvale , CA May ‘95

Exhibitions

Bibliography

Special Interviews

· “Podhigai” TV interview, Doordarshan , India --- Jan ‘01.

· Zee Tv, Star News, Dec ‘00

· “Las Madres”: TV interview by Ms. Sandra Stricker, KNTV CH. 11 --- Sept ‘97

· From the Ganges to the Guadaloupe”: TV interview by Ms. Sandra Stricker, KNTV CH. 11 --- Dec ‘96

· “Vaergalikku Vanakam”: TV interview by Ms. Nirmala Chakravarthy, Doordarshan , India --- Jan ‘96.

Publications

· San Jose Mercury News ,Design Digest Magazine, Discover India , India West, India Post, India Currents Magazine, SPAN…

Soumya Aravind Sitaraman

Biography

Soumya Sitaraman is the author of Follow The Hindu Moon, a comprehensive, fully illustrated practical reference on South Indian Festivals published by Random House India. The book captures the essence of tradition in contemporary narrative, providing the modern family easy access to traditional know-how and festival celebration in volumes that Dr. S. Ramaswamy, fullbright scholar and Fellow, Silliman College, Yale University accords the highest praise when he compares it to Fraser’s monumental “The Golden Bough” and calls it a thesis in social and cultural anthropology.

Follow the Hindu Moon received high appreciation from His Holyness Shri Jayendra Saraswati and His Holiness Shri Vijeyendra Saraswati (Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham) Swami Dayanand Saraswati of the Chinmaya Tradition, Swami Paramarthananda, Paramacharya Palaniswami (Hindu Temple, Kawaii, Hawaii) and Swami Vydhiadishananda Giri amongst spiritual leaders.

She is the award winning illustrator of Chachaji’s Cup, one of the Top Ten Children’s books for 2004 published by Children’s Book Press, San Francisco and the first book with an Indo- American theme. She won the Skipping Stones Award, the Papertiger’s illustrator award and the book rated Bank Street College’s Best Books of the Year in the Top Ten Children’s books for 2004 published by Children’s Book Press, San Francisco. won the Patterson Prize. visit www.soumyasart.com for more

As a result of her continuing vision and drive to be a voice of connection and social interrelation, Soumya’s current commissions include

· Developing, producing and anchoring Let’s Celebrate! Follow the Hindu Moon: A televised series on Indian Hindu culture and traditions.

· Speaking at various forums on Indian culture, festivals, art, etiquette and cuisine

· Developed content for the Hindu Temple, Kauai, Hawaii, presented at the "Media & Religion" panel at the Melbourne Parliament of the Worlds' Religions, December 2009. Melbourne, Australia.

· Content for the Hindu Temple, Kauai, Hawaii, for public awareness on Hindu festivals, featured in Hinduism Today 2010 and in educational material for media awareness.

She presents “Ancient Value Systems at Crossroads” at the International Masters Program in Practicing Management (IMPM) for Graduate students of International Marketing at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore. (2010, 2009)

“Tea With Chachaji”, a musical based on the book Chachaji’s Cup she illustrated is the latest production of Making Books Sing, an innovative arts organization based in New York. Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford, California added 3 shows to it’s current programming.
Her recent production, “Tryst with a River” a documentary on the River Ganga that shown at the TAG Corporation, Chennai.

She is working on her next book on Hindu Samskaaras that include the Sandhyavandanam and the Vivahaa.

Soumya is on the governing board of Natyalakshana where she works on projects to develop classical dance awareness with the founder, Mrs. Usha Venkateshwaran. Together, they have presented a series on the Classical dances of India at the Smriti Nandan Cultural Centre, Bangalore.

She is an active member of Asia Centre, Bangalore. Soumya is the webmaster and host of the Asia Centre website. www.whatisindia.com/asiacentre.html

She is the co-founder and trustee of What is India Publishers, a non-profit India Information network on www.whatisindia.com

Her books, like all she has achieved, is a result of her vision and drive to be a voice of connection and social interrelation. With acute perception, Jan Rindfleisch, Executive Director, Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino , CA , once wrote ‘Soumya Sitaraman’s work directs observation of complex social issues through her subtle narratives and visually bold imagery. Her singular use of texture and color demand attention to realms that as a society, we are rapidly becoming oblivious,… she thinks of the constant re-evaluation of life systems, of death and rebirth, her awe of nature, the connection between the individual and the natural world…’

Soumya Sitaraman has stayed true to this critique, applying a compelling approach and parallel ethic to her latest venture, Follow the Hindu Moon, a work of non-fiction that has taken her six years of dedicated work to complete.

Her childhood was the prefect crucible for this most recent venture of hers. She grew up in a traditional Mylapore setting steeped in culture, music, dance and Indian lore. Her most beautiful memories of childhood are rooted in the aesthetics of culture—of flowers of the Parijatha tree, jasmine of several varieties, pattu paavdais, and the magnificence of the sounds, sights and aromas associated with festivals. Her early influences were complemented by a tradition of pioneer women in her family. Her Kannadiga maternal grandmother, Kumuda, was one of India ’s first women pilots, and a teacher, and her paternal grandmother, Alamelu Viswanathan, a much respected patron of the arts, and performing artist who used to whisk Soumya into the realms of traditional beauty that the two of them shared alone. Together, they watched the temple idols being decorated for festivals, strung flowers and picked out the most elegant silks.

A Career as an artist

Soumya moved away from all this and reinvented herself in San Francisco , where she graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Science. While living in the San Francisco Bay Area, she founded Shakti: the first coalition of Contemporary artists of Indian Origin, bringing forth their vision and voices into the larger fabric of art in the Bay Area. The mission was successful, with the group’s premier at Euphrat Museum of Art followed by several more exhibitions such as “Voices” at private galleries, culminating with the largest exhibition, “Shakti: Roots of Vision”, at the cutting edge gallery, WORKS, SJ, where she was short listed for and awarded an Artist in Residence program to produce her series Lifelines, a series aptly honoured by none less than Dr. Kapila Vatsayan as ‘a thinking person’s exhibition.’

One reviewer wrote, “Soumya makes powerful images with simple, natural, everyday objects to create a positive portrayal of life. In this series - Lifelines, each piece celebrates the human spirit beyond the barriers of nationality, caste, economic status and sexual preference.”

Compelling issues of ethnicity, diversity and choice led her to serve several organizations as Board and committee member throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

· She served in the Planning Committee for the Mexican Heritage Plaza (an institution recognized by the Smithsonian) and Plaza Art Gallery in San Jose .
· She was on the Museum Assessment Advisory Panel for History Museum of San Jose.
· She was appointed as panellist to select Fellowship recipients in the Visual arts for the Arts Council of Silicon Valley
· She served on the advisory board of the Center for Visual Arts, Oakland , the Fine Arts League of Cupertino, and the Visual Artist Alliance Summit at the Triton (VAAST) show committee.
· Her work is featured in the Asian American Women Artists Association, (AAWAA) Artists Reference Guide, "Of Our Own Voice".
· She is a guest lecturer and speaker at many forums that focus on Women in the Arts and the empowerment of women She was the coordinator and speaker at the symposium, “Contemporary Issues of Asian American Women Artists“ along with Dr. Valerie Matsumoto, Professor of Art History at UCLA, and artist Dr. Lucy Arai to assess the current status and issues challenging Bay Area Asian American Women visual artists.
· She was an advisor for Body as Self Image: A South Asian Women's Health Project initiated by the graduate students of Stanford Medical.

As a visual artist, she curated and co-curated and exhibited her work at several successful exhibitions in the US . As Cultural coordinator of the Santa Clara Chapter of Las Madres, she conceptualised and co-curated “Las Madres: The art of Motherhood” at the Trition Museum of Art, Santa Clara. This was such a resounding success that she was invited to curate the exhibition the following year. The Silicon Valley Visitor’s Guide reported “with close to 600 people attending the week long art exhibition in 1996, the two organizations felt compelled to repeat the theme of this special exhibit.” To generate awareness on social issues she curated, “Keeping Abreast: Points of Interest” Art of the Breast and “Displaced, Transplanted, Immigrant Brides”. She has the acknowledged honor of being the first Asian woman artist to create an Internet Art Gallery as acknowledged by the India Post News Bureau and the The Santa Clara Valley Weekly.

In addition to her exhibitions and curatorial forays, she was given a large commission by ABC Affiliate anchor and special assignment reporter Sandra Stricker to create the only hand painted mural on a 1972 VW convertible with acrylic emulsion. The moving mural titled “What we live by” featured in Ron Kimballs calendar and filmmaker Harrod Blank’s book and movie ArtCars continues to be on display in San Francisco and is displayed annually at the Art Car Fest.

Her return to India in 2000 after nearly a decade in the United States placed her in the unique position of appreciating her culture afresh. Once more her goal was to bridge what she perceived was an ever-widening gap between the demands of a contemporary lifestyle and traditional cultural roots. She devoted the next six years entirely to the research needed for Follow the Hindu Moon. She traveled extensively and collected details of our traditions and cultural heritage through several sources and compiled them in to the current compendium.

She regularly addresses groups on Indian culture, traditional practices, festivals and etiquette across South India .

Anjali Sircar’s observation of her Art “Her (Soumya Sitaraman’s work) involving on one hand, modernism’s most radical pictorial impulses - and on the other, to the pre-modern tradition of painting as an activity that involves deliberation, premeditation and the rational engagement of the artist…they convey the abstract attributes of the natural world…The painted areas are transformed from static precincts into a celebration of colours and interior space simultaneously becomes more complex and lively.” holds true with her writing.

Soumya, inspired to research and document what she saw as fast disappearing traditional knowledge and practices helps the reader follow complex social nuances, providing the fundamental raison d’etre and insightful observations and with subtle finesse. Her approach is practical and tuned to our current lifestyles while simultaneously respectful of tradition and deferent to logical practice. She strikes the right balance between the practical and the practiced, offering her readership a wide range of acceptable options to embrace. In Follow the Hindu Moon, Soumya Sitaraman brings our attention back to the strong and insistent connections with Nature, which as a society we are rapidly becoming oblivious. She has re-evaluated our systems and practices with refreshing perspective, pulling ideas together with clarity to bring much more than the obvious to the table. Sitaraman draws her material from diverse resources, ranging from the community elders whom she sees as the storehouses of fast-disappearing know-how, the Puranas, Vedas and several contemporary cross-disciplinary studies.

Sitaraman contributes articles on Indian art, architecture and culture to several leading magazines worldwide even as she continues her ongoing research on South Indian Culture.

Her work has been reviewed in the Hindu, Asian Age, Indian Express, Artweek, Asian Art News, Hong Kong , The San Jose Mercury News , India Today, India Currents and the Telegraph among other International publications.

Photographer Usha Kris

Biography

Usha Kris has developed her artistic photography over the years and has produced thought provoking and visually challenging images of her other interest, Nature. The India International Center, The Center For Photography As An Art Form, Mumbai, The United States Information Service and The Oberoi have hosted successful exhibitions of her work. Photographs of the temple town of Tiruvarur titled ‘Living with a Legend’ were exhibited in Chennai at the Amethyst, and at the India International Center , New Delhi.Usha Kris’s work regularly features in several leading Indian magazines and books including, Chennai that is Madras, Kerala, and Vaastu. Swept into the romance of the ancient Indian empires, inspired by the lore and grandeur, Usha Kris has documented several ancient monuments for the recently published book “The Hindu Temple ”. The images produced for this commission, tributes to the sacred spaces she tread, helped her successfully merge two personal passions: her Hindu heritage and her interest in photography as an art form.

She is a visiting lecturer at St. Xaviers College, Mumbai where she conducts a photography workshop every year. Her commercial work includes tabletops, food photography and on-site photography of factories, and Export oriented commercial establishments. Architectural photography is one of her fortes. Usha Kris has the work of many of the leading Architectural houses in Chennai in her portfolio, taken for Architecture and design magazines, brochures and publicity. On special commission, Usha Kris created VCD presentations with her photographs of Export-oriented industries to be presented at European Trade Fairs.

She has a dedicated monthly photo travelogue and feature, "The Road Ahead with Usha Kris" published by Eves Touch..

International Assignments: Usha Kris’s international assignments include images for the Indonesia exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco . Her work is in several private collections in India and he United States . She has been a guest lecturer at The University of California , Los Angeles (UCLA), California

Books: Her work has been prominently featured in The IWA Cookbook; books on Bharatnatyam, and durries. "Chennai that is Madras", "The Senate House", "Kerala”, “Vaastu” “The Hindu Temple ” are the most recent publications that carry her work. A regular contributor, her images are frequently published in several magazines in India and abroad.

Awards: Usha Kris received the Bharat Nirman Award for excellence professional photography on March 9th, 2002 at New Delhi . She won acclaim for her audiovisual presentations on Jewelry and the city of Chennai .

Education: Usha Kris graduated from Indraprastha College , and completed her masters in Psychology from Annamalai University . She completed a specialized course at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Monica , California and was mentored by leading photographers in Chennai and California in her early years as a professional. Starting her career in photography in 1982, she is one of the first women to have succeeded as a long-standing professional photographer in India .

Other spheres: She was a lecturer of psychology at a finishing school- The Cultural Academy, Chennai and has been a guest lecturer in several of Chennai’s leading Universities like Stella Maris, Stella Matituna, SIET College , and the IIT. Her workshops and courses in Transactional Analysis have been held at The National Productivity Council and the College of Catering Technology , Mumbai. A behavior therapist, Usha Kris plays the Veena for recreation, and has a large collection of Bonsai plants, with her oldest, a 25-year-old banyan.

Lectures and Presentations

She presents “Ancient Value Systems at Crossroads” at the International Masters Program in Practicing Management (IMPM) for Graduate students of International Marketing at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore. (2010, 2009)

" Tryst with a River" Community Services of Bangalore, Sept 10

"Festivals of Chennai and Bangalore" Rotary Club, Chennai August 2010 for Madras Day

"Intent" Rotary Club Temple City, Chennai August 2010

"Bharatanatyam" Smriti Nandan Cultural Centre, Bangalore

"Follow the Hindu Moon: Customs and traditional practice”, was the 77th lecture of the South Indian Heritage Lecture Series, at the TAG Corporation, Chennai

·“Follow the Hindu Moon: the book, the author” was a special event at the Little Theatre, the National Centre for Performing Arts, (NCPA), Mumbai.

“The Art and Etiquette of south Indian cuisine”, Grand Ashok, Bangalore.

Soumya Sitaraman regularly addresses women’s groups like Anamika, schools like The International School, Bangalore and other interested groups on Indian culture, traditional practices, festivals and etiquette across South India .

A Random House India Publication