Arts Of Seduction
Inspired By Story Teller Seema Anand
Seema Anand is a London based mythologist and narrative practitioner, but also a dear friend and mentor to Neishaa Gharat, Creative Director and Founder of the House of Gharats. They share a bond of #sisterhood. Their first meeting at the National Portrait Gallery was in the depths of London’s cold, dark winter and Seema’s stories and signature hot pink woven silk sari and armful of silver bangles was the light.
Seema Anand’s mission to change the world one story at a time resonates with Neishaa’s mission to change the world one scarf at a time, and so ‘The Arts of Seduction’ collection was born. Neishaa was inspired to combine the sensual experience of Seema’s book with the sensual experience of a scarf. In Seema Anand’s words ‘The right to feel pleasure..’
This collection of scarves are inspired by Seema’s book, The Arts of Seduction, a guide to having great sex in the 21st century. As Seema explains, the book draws inspiration from the kama Sutra, whose groundbreaking attitudes towards sex remain relevant thousands of years after it was first composed, the book delves into numerous techniques and refinements that elevate sex to an altogether different level – whether it is innovative codes for love messages, the effects of applying perfume or the many types of kissing during love making.
Seema Anada turns to Kama Sutra, a book compiled by Vatsayayan in the third century to explore the ancient Indian texts describing love. Vatsayayan did what no one had dared to do before, he broke the gender myth, saying women had their own independent source of pleasure and men were not necessary to achieve this. Revolutionary thinking for its time, but even more timely now.
Scarf & Pocket Square Collection
Paan & Love Making
Paan is a wrapped concoction made with the leaves of the betel plant, filled with tobacco, fruit etc and chewed. It is a delicacy found in Eastern cultures, including India. Kama Sutra says that Paan is the transition between foreplay and sex, the ultimate symbol of romance and passion.
The first design in the collection focuses on paan, the very first stages of foreplay and the connection between sex and food. It has been described by ancient texts that heavy meals should come after sex, this allows the body to raise sexual energy rather than directing this energy to digestion. The Kama Sutra recommends light snacks and a couple of drinks before sex to satisfy her tastebuds and provide energy, as food and drink should help the process, not distract from it.
The before and after sex meal was to include nuts (to increase blood flow to the genitals and raise energy), mutton soup and chicken broth (to recoup energy after an exhusting night), kebabs, grilled vegetables, fragrant rice, sugar cane juice, mangoes, fish candied oranges, sherbets, scented water, onion, garlic, turmeric, red chillies and black pepper. These foods are depicted in the design to illustrate how the food you eat makes all the difference to your sex life.
Every Paan carries a message
If you wanted to begin flirting, there was a paan for it, if you wanted to romance a lover there was a paan for it and if you wanted to seduce an ex, there was a paan for it! In the design of the first scarf of the Art of Seduction Collection we wanted to focus on the physical presence of paan as a food, while also exploring the symbolism behind it.
‘Desperately in love’ – if you wanted to tell someone you were desperately in love with them you would send what the Kama Sutra calls the Kaushal paan.
‘Setting up a date’ – to ‘hook’ someone for a night of passion you sent an Ankush paan. This paan was shaped like an isosceles triangle with the top corner bent to resemble a hook.
‘I am feverish with excitement at the thought of seeing you’ – a Kandarp paan was sent. This was shaped like an equilateral triangle and could only be delivered in the evenings after the moon had risen.
‘I have absolutely no interest in you, don’t contact me again” – the paan had to be made inside out and then tied with black thread.
‘I am breaking up with you’ – this one was positively brutal. You sent a paan that was torn in the middle and tied with black thread.
‘I am ready to spend my life with you’ – a paan tied in red cloth.
…and you can find many many more in the book.
Kissing, Love bites and erotic nerve endings
The second design depicts kissing, touching and body language as a representation of love and seduction using line drawings and bold background colours.
There are so many different types of kiss, described throughout history and varying depending on the country and culture, but a kiss on the mouth is the closest you will get to the act of sex without the actual act and according to Kama Sutra is the most important part of the ‘love game’.
The first kiss, whether that’s your very first or just the first of the day is very important. In a similar way to paan, the different kisses have different meanings.
Kamasutra – The first kiss, this should be treated as three steps of one kiss. This is broken down into Nimitaka (nominal kiss), Sphuriaka (vibrant kiss) and Ghattitaka (rubbing kiss).
Raga Dipana – The kiss of seduction.
Pratibodhika – The man kisses the woman when he arrives home
Are just the beginning of the types of kisses described in the book.
The Kama Shastras are the only texts who use the love bites as a terms of romance, a ‘love letter’ and the love bite is described as one of the sixty-four essential skills of Kama Sutra.
The lips are not the only part of the body which have been depicted in the scarf, the feet and curved finger have been included as these two have meaning in seduction. Major erotic nerve endings are located in the big toe of the left foot and the fingers, the line drawings in the design of the scarf show the foot bring pressed and struck with an open palm as well as the toe being sucked.
There us an entire language of the feet when it comes to love and they are seen to symbolise dancing which is the first of the sixty – four essential skills of the Kama Sutra. In chinese culture, the foot is thought to be the most sensitive and intimate part of a woman’s body leading to ‘pleasure and repeated orgasms’.
The Kama Sutra believed that the art of the curved finger was the ultimate way to please a woman, it was ‘ the doorway to orgasm’. Each finger on the hand represents a different element. A hand with the index finger resting on the middle finger is called Vikan. When the index and middle fingers are placed side by side, the ring fingers are placed under them this is known as Pataka or Flag. Kamayudh is when the middle and little fingers joined to the thumb create the shape of Kamadeva´s bow and Kamausadh is the joining of the little and middle fingers to resemble the crescent moon.
Transcending human and the celestial
The erotic sculptures of Khajuraho
Khajuraho group of monuments strike the perfect balance between architecture and sculpture. It is a renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site in India. In the words of Lakshmi Sharath “Love alternates with lust as these amorous men and women are etched in a montage of erotic art. They seem unabashed as they make no attempt to cloak their feelings. Some are locked in a tight embrace, others gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes, while the rest are enacting various scenes out of the Kamasutra. And even in those private moments made public, they seem to have eyes only for their beloved.”
The story of Kamadeva
The final design depicts the story of Kamadeva, who set out to distract Shiva and break his meditation and turn his thoughts towards love. It is said that Kama asked all of his companions to go with him, these are all depicted in the design of the scarf. Vasant represents spring, Megha represents heavily laden rain clouds that optimises romance and desire irresistible to all lovers, Sugandha the perfumed breeze and lastly Gandharvas the heavenly musicians. Kamadeva succeeded in breaking Shiva’s meditation and had to pay for it with his life, however his tools of seduction and romance remained alive.
The phases of the moon
The different phases of the moon are said to create different erogenous zones all around our body which shift and change every day. These have been depicted in the design of the scarf in a circular pattern surrounding the two figures in the middle. Each of the moon’s phases represents a location on the body which acts as a stimuli during this phase.
The seventeenth phase represents the eyes, the eighteenth phase the Lips and the nineteenth the cheeks, the twentieth phase represents the day of rest for the man, the twenty first phase the throat and the twenty-second phase the side of the waist. The twenty third phase symbolises the nipples, twenty fourth phase the entire bosom area and twenty fifth phase the navel. The twenty sixth phase the buttocks, twenty- seventh phase, the woman knees, the twenty-eighth phase the calves, the twenty-ninth phase the foot and the thirtieth phase the big toe of the left foot.
Jewellery and the art of seduction
In erotic art of ancient india, the fugures were always naked all except jewellery. In the design of the third scarf the figures in the centre are adorned with jewellery to mimic this style, each jewellery carries its own meaning. Loud jewellery was worn by a woman who wanted to attract the attention of a particular man, while upper class women usually worn subtle jewelry.
During the time of Kama Sutra, women were not suppose to be incontrol during sex, men were therefore on top as this was seen as a position of power. However, the Kama Sutra says that a woman may be on top if she was very good at love making, proven by the ability to bring both herself and her partner to orgasm by moving her hips. To prove this women woild wear a girdle of jingling bells around her waist during sex, ensuring no sound was made.
Gems and precious stones
Precious stones from mines deep in the earth and below the ocean surface are said to represent the planets of our solar system. Gemmology, or the study of gems, is listed as one of the sixty-four skills in the Kama Sutra.
Coral would be used to correct reduced blood flow to the penis, diamonds could help with low sex drive, topaz with sexual ineffectiveness and dark opal sexual depression.
These planets are depicted in the design of ‘The Arts of Seduction’ collection and are shown in the colour of the precious stone they represent. Ruby is the planet sun, pearl the planet moon, coral the planet mars, emerald the planet mercury, topaz the planet Jupiter, sapphire the planet saturn and diamond the planet venus. Crystals can be mixed with anything to enhance the power of the other substance.