
Bharatanatyam Dancer Cake
Bharatanatyam is a form of Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Tamil Nadu. Bharatanatyam is known for its grace, elegance, purity, tenderness, expression and sculpturesque poses. Today, it is one of the most popular and widely performed Indian dance styles and is practiced by male and female dancers all over the world although it is more commonly danced by women. The word Bharatanatyam combines "Bharat" meaning India and "natyam" meaning dance. Bharatanatyam proper is a solo dance, with two aspects, lasya, the graceful feminine lines and movements, and tandava (the dance of Shiva), masculine aspect. My entry for the small decorative exhibit category - A Bharatanatyam dancer with the backdrop of the chariot wheel of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Sun temple of Konark. (This entry won the Silver award in the Small Decorative Exhibit category at Cake International London 2016.)
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The Sufi Whirling Dervish
During my recent trip to the beautiful city of Istanbul, I had the opportunity to watch the mesmerising Sufi ceremony of The Whirling Dervishes - Sema. The Sema represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love towards perfection. The follower grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth and returns from this spiritual journey as a man who has reached maturity and a greater perfection, so as to love and to be of service to the whole of the universe.' My love for Rumi and the chance to watch this ceremony inspired me to create this sugar piece which depicts a whirling dervish in between his prayer. The recent terror attacks that shook Istanbul has been so tragic. To see a city and its people, so immersed in culture and spirituality, being attacked and brought to it's knees is truly heart wrenching. On that note, here's something that comes to my mind from the book 'The Forty Rules of Love' : "In many ways, the twenty first century is not that different from the thirteenth century. Both will be recorded in history as times of unprecedented religious clashes, cultural misunderstandings, and a general sense of insecurity and fear of the Other. At times like these, the need for love is greater than ever" #PrayforIstanbul
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Woodland Theme Wedding Cake!
The woodland theme wedding cake I made for my brother’s wedding. My brother and his wife loves nature! They go on bird watching treks and other nature treks like frog spotting etc. I wanted to create a sort-of typical wedding cake with the pretty sugar flowers and their initials in the front of the cake, and the back of the cake to have more of a swamp feel with a handmade frog, dragonflies, some birds and butterflies. I added some sugar succulents, roses, a magnolia topper and some filler berries and hydrangeas around the cake. And to keep the woods feel, I created one tier of the cake like a bark of wood with their initials etched on it! Once I started making the cake, many things obviously changed from my initial idea. But at the end, it’s one of my cakes I’m most proud of.