The art of folding

The sun was out and the air just cool enough for us Bombaywallas to be able to enjoy the weather on our first day in Coorg, Karnataka. With the rain gods resting, we visited temples, drove and trekked through lush settings, wandered in the market and indulged our shopaholic side with local delicacies and knick-knacks, uninterrupted. 

But when we reached our hotel room, something unexpected awaited us. On our bed lay a lovely, long-necked peacock, made from a white towel and decorated with yellow and red petals and green leaves. For a minute, my sister and I wondered whether we had walked into a honeymooning couple’s room. But soon we learnt that our family and friends’ rooms too had been visited by the elves, who’d left them with towel art. 

We assumed it was part of Club Mahindra Madikeri’s welcome gesture, only to find a butterfly sitting pretty on our bed the following day. This time, the artist had taken the liberty of using my sister’s chequered shawl to create its wings, while a napkin sprinkled with rose petals formed the body and two ferns became the antennas. 

Then on, we’d wait to return from all the sightseeing to discover what was in store for us every evening. We got a cute little elephant on the third day and an elegant duck on our last. Our parents, on the other hand, got two swans facing each other to form a heart. 

While we siblings were overjoyed at catching our artist in action — his name we learnt was M Raju — a day before we returned home, my mother was thrilled that they were going to conduct a workshop to teach guests a few towel folding tricks.

5 easy steps for a heart of swans

Take a towel, open it fully and fold it horizontally and secure the middle point with a clip
Open the towel back and place a heavy object on the right side
Tightly roll the left side of the towel in a conical shape. Place the weight from the right side onto the left and roll the right into a cone, equally tight. 
By now, the cones will become stiff and will taper into a narrow point on one end. Allow the two rolled sides to face down. Then fold almost half its length upwards to create the swan’s long neck.
Just a little before the tip of the narrow end, bend it downwards to form the face and your swan should be ready. Make another swan, place these face-to-face and voila, you have a heart of swans!