When asked how many seasons are there, the prompt answer is 4: spring, summer, autumn, winter. But where is the rainy season or monsoons - a major part of the Indian climatic cycle!
How many seasons do you have in your country?
In India we have 6 seasons. In this peninsular landmass that prides itself on various kinds of landforms, the foliage changes from the coastlines to plains to mountainous terrain. Hence we don't see the vibrant fall colours in the plains. I visualized the tree motif as the majestic Banyan (Indian Banyan, Ficus bengalinensis - the national tree of India) and the equally majestic Chinar (Chinese banyan, Platanus orientalis) for autumn and used the same motif to depict the six seasons for #colourmeEndrucks June game in the Endrucks 1920 Project FB group.
It is very interesting that the names of four seasons are male names. Varsha is a common female name; is it because rains are the source of life and due to the dependency on monsoons for an agricultural lifestyle? And Grishma (for warmth) is a rare female name. Ritu means season and this is also a common girl name.
Following pics show each model and my seasonal impressions through shades and picots. The only changes I made are to the ring which is diagrammed; the rest of the pattern remains unchanged. My notes are scattered throughout in bullets.
Endrucks' pattern #14, reworked and presented by Ninetta Caruso - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mWiQTu_9oVPYpX_1MsObBRR7n1MJWr80/view
Threads
- The shades used. All size 40 threads from different brands.
- Ball (browns) and one shuttle (greens) throughout.
- I often used scraps of leftover thread and in some models you will see the messy addition.
- Tiny picots in sap green to represent new shoots.
- All joining picots are small.
- One joining mistake in the chains between 6th and 7th rings. Picots are longer to show growth.
- Number and size of picots to indicate the season, as indicated in the ring diagram in each image. Overall ring count remains same as in pattern.
- Deliberately allowed the greens to show through the trunks for a more organic feel.
- No symmetry in block tatting, following Endrucks' style, again a deliberate choice for that organic look. Hardly discernible at a glance.
- Reduced the size and number of picots here.
- Used reverse join or sometimes simple transposing of threads to change colours/direction, while keeping the green shuttle active at all times.
- Watch out for the chains between 5th and 6th ring. It had escaped my notice and I kept bungling in the first few motifs.
- Second point of mistakes initially, was where to join the chains. This is block tatting, but notice how cleverly it has been adapted to create these spreading arms.
- Started and ended with a knot, leaving short tails. This, too was deliberate since these were meant to be glued on paper in a kind of landscape collage with some painting and beads added. Couldn't get around to that before the end of the month, so now I have a little something else in mind to use these. Most probably turn them into bookmarks for our new game of the month - Mark Me Endrucks!
- leaves sprouting in a second layer or randomly on the trunk branches;
- onion rings for denser foliage;
- adding beads as a third colour to represent flowers, fruit,...;
- using different motifs to represent different seasons; and so on.
Turned out I didn't have the right size beads for size 40 and no time to tinker around. As it is, I kept making silly mistakes while tatting - the reason for 8 motifs (and one discarded at the very outset) instead of six. Thankfully I figured it out and then it was smooth sailing and enjoyable.
Related links -
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/06/impressions.html
Related links -
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/06/impressions.html
Love your explanations of the seasons and your trees. A splendid project. Here, according to my geography lessons, we have three seasons - winter cold and dry, summer hot and dry and summer hot and wet. We do talk about Spring. In parts of the country, the msasa trees spring colours are similar to European Autumn colours.
ReplyDeleteChecked out images of msasa trees - they are beautiful, Jane! Interesting seasons you have there. 💚💚💚
DeleteBeautiful trees and amazing six seasons of India:)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Anetta 🧡🧡🧡
DeleteI'd known about the monsoon, but not as a sort of separate season. India is very interesting and its people very nice, from my own experience.
ReplyDeleteThe trees are lovely. You could also mimic roots a bit, if you tie in a few strings at the bottom.
It is the Himalayan range that prevents the monsoon clouds to move along like in most countries. Hence all the water is dumped on the subcontinent, creating a distinct season instead of scattered rains throughout the year.
DeleteSo happy you've had good experience with Indians, Lavi 💖💖💖
Love your idea of roots! In fact the banyan tree has aerial roots that over time, take root in the soil below, thus bearing the burden of the large canopy.!
Beautiful trees and I enjoyed learning about your 6 seasons, I didn't know you have a pre-winter season with its proper name. Amazing how you transformed your words in tatting 🥰
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nin 🥰 Besides 6 seasons, our time (24 hours) are divided into eight 'pahar' of roughly 3 hours each, 4 during nighttime, 4 of daytime. Of course this is now followed only to determine auspicious time, etc. In my grandparents' generation it would be easy to communicate the time to a nearer approximation rather than dawn, dual, etc. I doubt new generations have even heard of 'aath pahar' 😆
DeleteThat’s very interesting. I’ve often thought that time needn’t be divided as we divide it.
DeleteTrue, Jane 💙 Same holds true for the Gregorian calendar. Lunar months coincide better with seasons, etc. But then there's something to be said for uniformity in an increasingly interconnected world.
DeleteWonderful post about India, and I love your tress, we have four seasons, I hope when I get time I can do them in the British seasons.
ReplyDeleteThat would be wonderful, Margaret 💚
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