Behind the warf and wept

Today, its Gandhi Jayanti and also the birth anniversary of one of the most influential and perhaps the best Prime Minister India had, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Since last few weeks, i often received questions and remarks from my friends and colleagues, if i stitch my own clothes and kurtas.
While, their remarks were in the spirit of light hearted banter, it made me realize the deep rooted lack of empathy, we as a generation have towards basic requirements  of food, clothing, shelter and education and the people who make these available.
We have inherited these with minimal or no special efforts.

It seemed apt to write about handloom today.
This post is to highlight the efforts that go into making a handloom saree.

To put few numbers in perspective,
The handloom industry in India is the second largest un-organized employment provider after agriculture with approximately 10 crore plus population dependently directly on handloom.

The number of people that the handloom industry employs directly or allied is close to 1.5  to 2 crores often employing the entire family.

There are approximately 43 lakh weavers in India

Source : http://handlooms.nic.in/

Here's a short video explaining the process of making a saree from start to finish.
From raw material to the exquisite saree, here's what it takes.

The reason why we should be wearing only handloom is only for our own benefit and well being.
It has less impact on environment and uses low energy to produce and dispose.
Wearing handloom is good for our skin and is superior in quality over any other clothing.

Cutting off a Lifeline - Saraswati Kavula

Every one must be his own scavenger.

-Mahatma Gandhi

Crisp, skillfully crafted, soul stirring and shaming the foundations of neo-liberal establishments, "Cutting off a Lifeline", a film by Saraswati Kavula explains how we have destroyed the lifeline of Hyderabad, by destroying the Musi River.

The screenplay and script of the movie prods us to question our fundamentals and the mad rush we are chasing in our day to day lives.

It showcases the lopsided vision of our leaders and 'lets make a quick buck' corporation. 
It slams the present day silo-ed approach to solving problems.

The fate of Musi River is similar to the fate of most of the Rivers in other mega-cities of our country.

We have still not learnt our lessons. We in our cities are living off the resources from surrounding villages. It is bad debt model of growth.

Do watch this film, if you are re-thinking for long to change the very nature of living.

Do watch it, if you are looking to solve a fairly large problem through technology and people at its core.
The film essentially is a waking call to re-look, re-think and unlearn some of our daily habits in favor of building a better future not just for ourselves but also for everyone who is a part of this fabric called Earth.

Mahatma Gandhi keeps coming back to teach his lessons time and again.

Lesson for today : Anger is great!

Anger is great! It has an amazing power to transform.

Anger in a egoistic head can lead to revenge, hatred, blockades, power struggle and lack of originality in our actions.

Anger on another hand has the ability to transform into positive ideas, self strengthening and re-inforcement of fundamental beliefs. Those fundamental beliefs would lead to one or two ideas that one can hold dear and work on.

I think I have benefited immensely through anger over last one year, which has been very insightful.

From 10 ideas, anger led me to cut all the other ideas of their womb and chase 1 idea. It would be great if there was no idea at all. LOL. But, i guess there is more time to it :)

Anger, as i have come to understand is a natural defense to protect what we hold dear.

I have been angry uncountable number of times
when i lost my dear ones I have been angry
when things didnt work i have been angry
when my team mates question integrity i have been angry
when my team mates left, i have been angry
when i couldnt meet my expectations, i have been angry
when i couldnt make things work, i have been angry
and many more instances.

One thing I have learnt and practiced in the last one year is to not blame others for my anger.
So yes I have been angry and out of place more often than not, but I have chosen and practiced consciously to direct it into action.

My sister shared with me a picture, very deep and profound. I am trying to stay true to the dictum. Havent been successful, but it has been a conscious effort :)

Anger has led me to better choices. In some ways, it has compassed my decision making.
Anger like all other feelings should not remain always. It is a medicine that is needed in limited quantity.
Anger shows new ways! So, for days when my current action still continues to anger me, I know i have to change something. Perhaps the action itself!
Anger is great!