3d illusion arts: Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Maramadi – The Famous Bull Race of Kerala
Iglu Dorf – Living Like an Eskimo in a Luxury Igloo Village
La Maison a Vaisselle Cassee – Outsider Art in Louviers, France

Maramadi – The Famous Bull Race of Kerala

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 01:38 AM PST

The most famous traditional game involving bulls is Spanish bullfighting, but the people of Kerala, India, have come up with a way celebration that doesn’t involve torturing and killing poor animals. It’s called Maramadi, and it’s held every year, in the post-harvest season.

Maramadi is essentially a bull racing event, only instead of a track, it takes place in flooded rice fields, which makes it infinitely more entertaining for the crowds watching from the sidelines. In preparation for the event, the freshly ploughed fields are filled with water, thus ensuring that every competing team makes a big splash for the audience. Although bulls are the main competitors in Maramadi, their human masters have the important role of guiding them during the race, making sure they don’t stray off the course before reaching the finish line. Each team consists of two bull and three guides, who have to keep up with the animals if they want a shot at wining. That of course takes good speed perfect balance.

Photo © freebird

Around 30 teams compete in traditional Maramadi bull races, which usually last from noon to sundown. The crowd play an important role, as they cheer each team as they splash through the muddy waters, applauding their efforts whether they make it to the finish line or fall face down in the mud. Bulls are bred and raised specifically for the purpose of running in Maramadi competitions. They are well fed and groomed, and on the big day they are dressed in bright colors and have their horns painted.

Photo via Facebook

The most famous of all Maramadi races in Kerala is held in Anandapali village, located in the Pathnamthitta District of the Indian state. It takes place every year, around August 15.

Photo via Facebook

Maramadi – The Famous Bull Race of Kerala was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Iglu Dorf – Living Like an Eskimo in a Luxury Igloo Village

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 12:27 AM PST

Looks like Igloo hotels are becoming more and more popular these days. A few weeks ago we wrote about the Igloo Village in Finland, and now we introduce you to Iglu-Dorf, a concept hotel that offers igloo villages in seven locations in Andorra, Switzerland and Austria. What's different about these igloos is the fact that they are rebuilt every year, using 3,000 tons of snow from the Pyrenees and the Alps.

The history of Iglu-Dorf began with one extreme skateboarder’s crazy idea to spend the night in an igloo so he could be the first on the slopes the next day. Apparently being first is a matter of great pride for skateboarders, so he decided to build himself an igloo to make sure no one beat him to that first ride down the mountain. The next day he looked like the happiest person alive, and when someone asked him why he had a big smile on his face, he just pointed at the mountain and said “You see that line over there? That was me." More and more people followed his example and asked to sleep in his igloo. The next season he built two igloos, then three, and that’s how the Iglu-Dorf igloo villages were born. Now the company builds 12 of them every year, in different locations around Europe.

At first, the igloos were built block by block, the old Inuit way, but that took a team of five people two weeks to build just one 8-foot-wide and 8-foot-tall igloo, and they could only open the resorts at the end of January. They had to come up with a faster way, and found balloons were the best option. They filled up these big balloons, covered them up with snow and waited until it hardened, then simply deflate the balloons and voila, perfect igloos. But that’s where the serious work starts – artists are brought in to carve the lounges, the snow furniture, beds, decorations, etc. An entire Iglu-Dorf village now takes just two weeks to build, and considering they make igloos as big as ten meters wide now, it’s quite an improvement.

Although Iglu-Dorf does offer heated rooms with a stove, most of the snow igloos are only equipped with sleeping bags to keep you warm, so you better pack some winter clothes. Temperatures during the night don’t fall too far below 0 degrees Celsius, but if you feel chilly, you can try the nice cheese fondue fountain, or jump into the incredible hot-tub built right in the snow, and count the stars. Prices at Iglu-Dorf start at €99 per night, and go all the way up to €439, on New Year’s Eve. It’s definitely not the cheapest winter getaway, but if you can afford it, this unforgettable experience is worth every penny. Just look at the photos and judge for yourself.

Photos via Welcome Beyond and Iglu-Dorf

Iglu Dorf – Living Like an Eskimo in a Luxury Igloo Village was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

La Maison a Vaisselle Cassee – Outsider Art in Louviers, France

Posted: 02 Feb 2012 11:28 PM PST

La Maison a Vaisselle Cassée or The Broken Crockery House, is a very special place located in Louviers, France. I took a look at a few pictures and couldn't help being reminded of the gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel. Of course, you can't eat this one and there’s no evil witch living there.

This was the home of Robert Vasseur and his wife, who abandoned wallpaper and painstakingly decorated their home with mosaics made from broken crockery, seashells, twinkling china and glass. Born in 1908, Vasseur was a milk transporter and also worked in textiles. His strange passion for mosaic decoration started way back in 1952 when he first got the idea while doing repair work in his kitchen. He embellished an old cement kitchen sink with broken crockery mosaics and never looked back. Starting with that old sink, he expanded his idea to the interior of his house, the backyard, then the garden and later even the dog house. This went on for the next 50 years or so.

Photo via Tripod

In order to keep up with his decorating hobby, Vasseur requested the local garbage man to put aside broken pieces of crockery from the collected trash. After cleaning the pieces thoroughly, they were put to use in his home décor ideas. Neighbors also helped Vasseur and his wife by bringing them empty bottles and broken crockery that they could no longer use. Vasseur died in 2002, but the unique broken crockery house is still being looked after by his son Claude, who likes to work on restoring and developing the creative work of his father. He has even made tours of the house possible to those who are interested in viewing the unique property. The colorful Maison a Vaisselle Cassée has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Louviers, and even all of Normandy.