For Lal, 55, that’s meant joining forces with a Catholic aid agency to educate girls from the Dalit caste in Bihar, raising money for Ottawa’s Syrian refugees, supporting the Hopewell Eating Disorders Centre and DIFD’s youth suicide awareness program, as well as acting as a public speaker for the Aga Khan Foundation.
The little brass wire elephants, antelopes and horses guarding Ottawa interior designer Tazim Lal’s fireplace mantle have something to say.
They’re dhokra figurines — made using a traditional Indian metal-casting technique that dates back 4,000 years — and from their perch, they whisper a story about the native artistry of the subcontinent’s ancient past.
So, too, does a maharaja and his colourful retinue, proudly and noisily (one imagines) parading in their hundreds, while some unknown artist painted them on a piece of ivory, now framed and hanging over the dhokras in Lal’s living room.
More at the source: Ottawa Citizen
Ismailimail 