Welcome, Karkidada Maasam!

Day 1 of Karkidaka Maasam : 

It is the fourth month of lunar calendar – Cancer a.k.a Karkidaka in malayalam. Doted with plentiful rains, this month is about self-reflections and restrain. (that’s how the tradition goes)

New Malayalam 'Kerala' t-shirt

The monsoons flourish the great back-waters and people alike, also the tiny micro-organisms. Strictly, the way we see it, the advised ‘healthy-leafy-diet’ for this month is a science of fighting the ill-effects (one of  the very few) of monsoons. 

Diet and meditate = cleanse and total rejuvenation. 

When in Kerala, try the Malayalee way.

The Hindu has more to say..  read it here

Happy Monsoons to all!!

Also, Eid Mubarak!! these are some happy co-incidences.

P.s. The New Malayalam Kerala t-shirts are available in stores at Thekkady, Mattanchery and Fort Kochi Or shop online here, www.viakerala.com

MALAYALAM PROJECT @ Viakerala Design Shop

MALAYALAM PROJECT is our favourite new pastime. As designers working in the medium of malayalam (language / letterform / landscape) this is an exhibit thats worthy of our time and research. It will show during the Kochi Muziris Beinnale 2014 - 2015 at the new Viakerala Design Shop Space at 292 B, Lily Street, Fort Kochi.

Come and visit!

#viakerala #shopviakerala #malayalam #typography #malayalamprojec

Bell tower of historic Kochi

Built over hundreds of years, the streets of Mattancherry offer significant insights into the addition of Malabari Jew's architecture. The Jewish synagogue, is an iconic visual metaphor for the historic trading center of Kochi. The main synagogue building dates back to the 16th century - the newer structures grew around it and so did the visitors from all across the world. Some came and never left.

Illustrated pencil sketch - Ar. Blessy John

Along with the 18^th century clock tower at the Paradesi Synagogue, the pigeons resting on top and the electric lines cutting across have all duly found their place on this pencil sketch. The journal style of pencil illustrations to convey the timelessness of architectural influences that you experience all over the old Cochin area. 

The illustration was silk screen printed on canvas fabric, which was then stitched into a shoulder bag. Beautifully handcrafted, light and user-friendly, this piece lets you carry along the memory of historic Kochi.

SankaranKutty

First in the classic malayalam movie inspired typography series, this rendition explores various facets of Malayalam as a language and its quirkiness.

the negative (silk screen)

 Ee Sankarankuttiku penu venam, is literally translated as: this Sankarankutty wants a girl. It is also a very common phenomenon in Kerala (and India) that parents are really worried if their son or daughter will settled down! So here's a tongue-in-cheek wearable placard that's perfect for the boys.

the process of screen printing takes two sets of hands for large sizes

Now this may stand true for any guy living anywhere is the world, what identifies our guy as a mallu, is his name Sankaran!. Derived from mythological name Shankar, a fairly common name on this subcontinent, the added Sankar..an stamps it typical Kerala.

the brave mallu man!

And then there is kutty.. it is a common suffix, used mostly as a term of endearment (a child is called kutty) but it often ends up becoming a term in one's official name; be it male, female, Hindu/Christian/Muslim.... someone with kutty as part of their name is definitely from Kerala! We even have persons called Babykutty - which translates baby baby!

Silk screen printed on 100% cotton t-shirts, they are meant for.. well, everybody!
Limited edition. Available in stores now.

earth&fire made magnets

Up-cycling the handmade produce from Kerala, we initiated terra-cotta works as Kaithozhil*, hand sculpted & fired earth magnets. 
Following the same thread of idea we are introducing, hand sculpted ceramic magnets. Celebrating the idea of travel and freedom, be it on foot, ubiquitous rickshaws or soaring high in sky, with these little mementos.

Both terra-cotta and ceramic magnets are crafted in similar fashion, made of fired earth even the process almost remains the same. Its the minor changes in temperature, water content, curing etc that brings out such dramatic differences in both these products. And because of certain qualities of ceramic it makes them suitable for glazing. Glaze is a coating fused to a ceramic object to make it non-porous, though it also finds its uses in many other decorative ways. 

 They are available in 3 lively hues. You can pick them up from our Cochin and Thekkady stores.

*hand crafted

Silk-Screen Printing

Screen printing has been around for quite a few centuries and even to this day is a widely used practice. Almost anything that can be flattened, can be screen printed. Be it paper, cloth, canvas, wood, metal....

This process is more or less on the lines of developing photographs from a negative. The film is transferred on to a silk cloth, and this cloth becomes the screen (negative) over which colors are spread and printed on to the chosen material.
Hence the term, Silk Screened!

Simple enough, yes!?

Well, it definitely sounds so, BUT imagine when there are multiple prints, here

-every sheet of paper/t-shirts needs to be cut or folded to the same size
-placed correctly under the screen
-every batch of the color mixed (there is ink, solvent) and tested to achieve if not exactly the same, but closest to the desired color.
-the pressure with which the color is spread should be consistent or else color density on the print wouldn't remain the same. If its a big print, like in case of our t-shirts, more than one set of hands maybe required.

All these for a single screen, which prints one color at a time. And now repeat all the above for the second color given to the artwork, and so on.. And with each added screen, alignment or 'registration' as its called in print terminology, gets trickier.

The beauty of this whole process lies in its simplicity. It is easy enough to be set-up within a small space and yet is labour intensive, maybe that's why screen printing makes for a perfect small scale industry. Photos are taken in Johnson's living room at home which doubles up as a silk screen room.

The Wild Side.

The Western ghats, one of the worlds richest hotspots for biodiversity, need a wee bit more awareness amongst people. Nilgiri and Anaimalai Hills, the end stretch of Western ghats separates Kerala from Tamil Nadu, giving Kerala its liberal rainfall. These highlands are host to a number of Wildlife Sanctuaries, Jungle Reserves, conserving many endangered and endemic species. 

A modest gesture to familiarize you with the Western ghat wildlife, we hand rendered in pencil colour illustrations, the standard set of 52 playing cards. They are divided in four suits of Mammals, Birds, Invertebrates and Amphibians. The most spectacular of the species being awarded the highest value cards and so forth. Each card carries the name of the species in English and the native Malayalam.

Grab a pack of custom illustrated playing cards at:
viaKerala Thekkady store, 
viaKerala Cochin store,
also available at Ananmalai Nature Information Centre, ANIC
and Last Forest, Kotagiri.

Reversed norms

The multitudes of checks and colours one see floating on native shoulders when traveling these parts, that's a sight which sticks to mind as an essential local couture. 

Upscaling the 100% cotton handloom fabric, traditionally used to drape women in sarees and sometimes men in mundu, we try to gently bridge the gap between traditional & modern and start something new. The reversible, reusable, conveniently foldable bag, is something fun you could carry to work or a weekend shopping. Start your day with bold checks or peppy colours, carry a bit of Kerala upon your shoulders. 

Visual Metaphors

Fort Cochin: Architecture

The start to understand the spice market left us standing at its doors with a camera.

Architecture spoke and we listened to the eased persuasions of the changing hands, from the star of David to Islamic arches, from Roman kuruss (cross) to Dutch siblings. 

Weathered textures revealed the layers of absorbed cultures.  And at heart the Spice market, which always remained the Malabar port, has welcomed the world which traveled to its shores.

Loopy Letter Love

Read it, turn it, flip it, or even hang it upside down, a Malayalam letter is going to intrigue the reader. It does not matter if you can read Malayalam text or are lost in its curves and loops, it would still make sense with its asymmetrical balance. 

Dipped in colours that invariably catch the eye; the deep blue sky and the lush green, the tiled roof's red and the sun bathed ochre. 

The Malayalam letters are the simplest memoir of a complex Kerala. 

These letter forms are available in two different thicknesses. Check them out in person at the studio outlet; #102, Canal Road, Girinagar, Cochin. Or call us at 0484 4012392, any time between 10 am and 5 pm.

A girl called India

Last summer, India Menninghaus spent a few months doing research and typography design at Viakerala. Heres an excerpt from her writings about working with the malayalam alphabet:

'Listening to Malayalam is exactly the same as trying to decipher the signs around the city: strings of dips and swirls that all blend together. The language is beautiful, and looks as friendly as it sounds with geometric curves & elaborate letter forms that loop back onto themselves. The spoken tongue seems to be peppered with an occasional English word, but never quite enough for me to understand the context of the conversation. After finally getting my hands on a copy of ‘Learn Malayalam in 30 Days’ I worked to twist my tongue into the unfamiliar sounds. It is not a concise language by any means, which I learned as I practiced the translation of 
“what’s up?”= enthe okke unde visheshangal 

During my time here, I worked on a typeface design inspired by the malayalam letterform, which turned out modern with a slight ornamental flavor of the local script.' - India Menninghaus

Elephant posse

Check out these cool elephants hanging out at Viakerala, thekkady.
Once you get to know them, you're sure to be friends for life.
Did you know that an elephant's memory is ever lasting?

hand woven + hand made = hand bag

Via Kerala is seeking to conserve creative traditions in a number of ways.  By experimenting with and re-working hand-crafted designs, by utilizing local craftsmen and women to produce our designs, and by using locally hand-made fabrics within our designs, where possible. Skills such as needlework, weaving and basket weaving are commonly found throughout the state. By exploring and improving designs, we are attempting to create more aesthetically appealing, unique products that also serve a practical function, help raise awareness of our local crafts, and keep these practices thriving. Our reversible bags made with locally woven fabrics are proving very popular.

Text by Leyla Temiz. Photographs by Deepthi.

Twisting Type, Twisting Tongue

A beautifully curly script, Malayalam’s loopy curves co-incidentally symbolise the movements the tongue makes during pronunciation, and some characters are ever so hard for a non-native to pronounce. In some instances Malayalam takes your tongue to places it’s never been before! 

 

 At Viakerala, we have been researching on local hand-painted signs, and working on typographic designs that explore the Malayalam script and language, in a bid to bring fresh and exciting Malayalam-based typography and design to the attention of travelers and local young ‘mallus’ who may have moved to foreign tongues. 

Photographs & text by Leyla Temiz.

If you have some crazy cool malayalam typography that you dont mind sharing, drop us a note here, or email us. design@viakerala.com

Namaskaram, this way in

The fact that the Viakerala store and the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary lie in the same corner of the world is also representative of the more obscure similarities between the two initiatives. In the same way conservationists in national parks seek to protect, research, sustain, and promote wildlife and the interest surrounding it, the Via Kerala team is working hard to document, conserve and rejuvenate the traditional crafts and language of Kerala, through exploration, design and promotion.

 Photographs & text by Leyla Temiz.

official, officially, finally

After so much planning and test runs, the Viakerala shop finally opens on Feb 5, 2012.  Yes the Kerala villaku made an appearance to honor the moment. (gave the designers some time to contemplate a new interpretation for the traditional lamp!)

Photography by Milo Inman

Deputy director Sanjayan Kumar, from Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary and Dr. Veeramani (who has been kind enough to be our research hotline for Wild5Five) joined us for a hot cuppa and some kappa! What started as an evening of dialogue has incredible possibility for knowledge exchange and a larger awareness model.