Sylviander House in the Rain

It was a good monsoon this year. 

We always enjoy the song of the rain drops, whatching through the windows, while doing our work – Alexander is painting, I am writing on a novel … 

It‘s the best time especially for artists or people who need concentration for their work. 

What is that? Rain in the night! I took the photo with flash from our roofed verandah – what a strange image!

When it rains for some days, our pond over flows a bit. But we are lucky, while some houses in the neighborhood are surrounded by water, most parts of Sylviander garden is not flooded. 

This year even our well was filled up with rain water! Great for us, now we can have our shower with rain water! What a luxury! 

Then how beautiful after a long rain, when sun appeares through the rain clouds, to illuminate the rain drops falling … 

Culinary Joy: Passion-fruits & Papaya!

Nowadays we are lucky in Sylviander House, our passionfruit plantation grows happily and so do the many papaya I have planted around the house – just put the seeds here and there after having eaten a ripe Papaya. 

Then of course care them, bring them our kitchen waste, also banana and passion fruit plants appreciate that natural fertilizer. 

And when climate was so dry in the first half of this year 2014, I had to give them water every day … 

What a pleasure to step into your own garden, harvest what your hand had planted and then make a paradise breakfast … 

Yesterday was such a paradise day in Sylviander House kitchen …

Thanks, nanni, danke! 

To Mother Earth and Nature. 

Photos of the Inauguration CSPA website

Just want to share some images of the inauguration of the CSPA website on August 9, 2014 in Kochi … 

Sethu Das, founder of CSPA, talks about designs&people …

I, Sylvie Bantle, talk about Sylviander House & Art Museum …

Dr.Dorjee presents a gift to Jaspal Singh … 

Jaspal Singh has push the button … 

Eswar explains the project on the website …  

Alexander Devasia offers some sweets … 

Cartoonist Yesudas and Jaspal Singh know eachother long time …

Eswar presents his poem book to Jaspal Singh …

Good-by & Pinne kanam! 
… Jaspal Singh will come with us to Sylviander House to stay for some days …

– thanks to photographer Sreekesh Nair/CSPA

Inauguration cspa website

Just happily came back from Ernakulam, where the inauguration of the website for our new project took place – have a look!

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www.cspa.in, the official website of 'Centre for Social & Political Art' (CSPA) will be inaugurated by Shri Jaspal Singh IPS, former Minister from Gujarat and former and Mayor of Baroda on Saturday, August 9, 2014 at 12 noon at Ashirbhavan, Ernakulam, Kerala.

CSPA, the first collaborative project of Design & People and Sylviander House is a platform to promote collective involvement of every citizen to appreciate rights of all living beings. It enables the marginalised and victimised people to voice their grievances, build awareness and receive empowerment. The Centre rallies creative artists, thinkers and activists under its banner to work against all power structures. It upholds freedom of all arts and creativity. The Centre is a catalyst, inspiring all vulnerable communities to strive against the existing repressive Social & Political order.

CSPA.in, the website of the institution also be the virtual space for Friends of Tibet Library of Books & Films and Design & People Library of Books. CSPA website allows its members and visitors to choose books and films online without giving a visit to CSPA. Researchers and students from outside Kerala can make use of the ‘Get a Book by Post’ facility. CSPA at Alappuzha consists of two Libraries - 'Friends of Tibet Library of Books and Films' and 'Design & People Library of Books' - developed and maintained by Friends of Tibet and Design & People, two organisations associated with CSPA. The CSPA Library has an extensive collection of books on Art, Design, Society, Politics, Architecture, Human Rights, Photography, Tibet, China, History, Religion, Traditional Medical Systems etc. Library facilities are open to CSPA Associates, Members of CSPA Residency Programmes while memberships are available for individuals and organisations. CSPA will also have a permanent collection of original photograhs of renowned Indian and International Photographers. Some of them are including Angel Lopez Soto (Spain), Brian Harris (Canada), Diane Barker (UK), Jaqueline Meier (Switzerland), John Ackerly (USA), Giulia Francesca Johnson (USA), Lobsang Wangyal (Tibet), Kathryn Culley (USA), Manuela Metelli (Italy), Ken Damy (Italy), Nancy Jo Johnson (USA), Prabir Purkayastha (India), Prabuddha Dasgupta (India), Sonam Zoksang (USA), Suresh Natarajan (India), Vijay Kranti (India) and William Chapman (USA).

CSPA houses rare collections of art and artifacts from Tibet. The Museum section is being made possible with the generous support from Friends of Tibet, a Tibet Support Group and a Member Organisation with CSPA. The Centre also houses original and prints of political cartoons by renowned Indian cartoonists.

All are welcome!

To know more, visit: http://www.cspa.in or call: +91.9995181777, +91.9645817014
Fax: +91.11.4761514 Email: life@cspa.in 

Butterflies&Dragonflies_02

Thanks to Dorothea, our guest from Germany during January 2013, we‘ve got some joyful impressions of these beauties … 

… flying from blossom to blossom of trees and plants in the garden around our Sylviander House. 

Since Dorothea spent her holidays here, she got plenty of time to sit and watch with her 2 cameras on our verandahs … 

… full of patience waiting for the right moment … 

 … to catch wonderful pictures, which we can enjoy now and again and again … 

… even though everybody knows, how important these tiny creatures are for the supply of our food – which means not only honey, but mainly their effort to pollenizing all the plants of our fruits, vegetables, nuts … 

… and even though everybody knows, that too many pesticides globally spread on the plants by humans will kill them … 

… why humans still go on by spraying pesticides, which kill them? 

Instead of going on in such self destructing manner, better let us care for that our garden will be full of flowers and blossoms to provide delicious food for our hard-working tiny supporters!

Whenever we see somebody using pesticides for plants, we explain them, how humbly we have to say thanks … 

Please keep your eyes open and remember the need of support of each petition fighting for the lives of bees and butterflies, and then sign – humankind of future will even thanks to us.

© all photographs by Dorothea Geist