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Game of Blogs – Memory Intrigues – Chapter 25

The story so far:

Jennifer has been driving around now for almost 2 hours.  They are driving along Linking Road, Bandra.  She suddenly realizes how hungry she is and decides to stop at a restaurant for a cup of coffee.  She sits down and orders a cappuccino and a club sandwich.  Just then her mobile rings.  It is from Shibu.  She picks up the phone and notes down the information that Shibu gives her.

“Thanks Shibu.  That was really quick.  You are a real life saver.  I owe you one!”

She quickly gulps down her coffee, pays the bill.  She needs to move quickly.

_____________________________________________________

Chapter 25

Links: Previous Chapter; Next Chapter.

5 P.M:

The taxi is waiting for her outside the restaurant. Jennifer gets into it quickly.

“Driver, iss pate pe jaana hai. Zara jaldi karo” (I want to go to this address. Please hurry a bit.)

Shibu has given her the address of a guest house owned by Mr. Ahuja; he comes here off and on. If Mr. Ahuja is not in his flat, this is where he most probably would be. “Trust Shibu to get the information and that too so quickly,” she thinks. The guest house is located on Pali Hill, a very posh locality of Mumbai.

She reaches the guest house only to find that it is surrounded by a six foot high compound wall. Fortunately, there is a coffee shop on the first floor of the building, opposite the guest house. She asks the taxi driver to wait there, goes up a flight of stairs and enters the coffee shop. A waiter approaches her.

“A table for one on the terrace please” she says. The waiter leads her out onto the terrace and she sits at a corner table facing the road.

“A Cafe Latte please” she orders. The waiter goes off, leaving her to herself.

The tables and chairs on the terrace are placed very conveniently for Jennifer and she gets a clear view of the guest house across the road.

She takes out her DSLR camera from her bag and fits a high-zoom lens. The living room of the house opens onto a terrace garden through a French window. The powerful camera lens gives her a clear view of the room. She zooms in and sees three people – two men and a child. She scrutinizes their faces and recognizes them from the photos in Cyrus’s blog. One is Cyrus himself. The older, plumper person is Mr. Ahuja and the child is Roohi. Jennifer has no difficulty identifying any of them.

All three are sitting around a carom board. Jennifer is taken by surprise. She had expected Roohi to be tied to a chair or something, but here she is happily playing carom with her kidnappers! She observes them for a while longer. Roohi is very excited and keeps cheering every time she scores a point. She even hits Cyrus and Mr. Ahuja playfully at times. They are totally absorbed in the game and Roohi keeps smiling and laughing throughout.

Jennifer slowly lowers her camera and places it on the table. She keeps seeing Roohi’s face in front of her eyes, even though she is no longer looking at her. The waiter comes and places the coffee on the table. She thanks him and picks up the cup. For some reason, she is unable to steer her thoughts away from that image. Why is Roohi’s face disturbing her so much? Does it resemble Tara’s face? No, it doesn’t. Then why? The question keeps lingering on in Jennifer’s mind. Roohi reminds her of someone, but she is unable to pinpoint who it is.

She slowly gulps down her coffee, her mind on the puzzle and eventually keeps the cup aside. Her eyes fall on a faint reflection of herself in the glass cover of the table below. A hazy image forms in her mind’s eye. She sees the innocent face of a Jennifer who is about 15 years younger, a face with the same innocence she has just seen in Roohi’s face. With a shock of realization, Jennifer leans back in her chair. The innocent, vulnerable face that she has just remembered, belonged to a young, carefree, trusting Jennifer. Roohi’s trust in her kidnappers is unwavering, just as unwavering as her own trust in Shekhar had been.

How easily she had been taken in by Shekhar during her youth. When he told her he will not leave her in a thousand years, she had trusted him. When he told her she was his life and he could not live without her, she had trusted him. When he told her he would not leave her even if the whole world opposed their marriage, she had trusted him.

But what happened? Forget the world, just two people – Shekar’s parents – opposed their marriage and he changed his mind, almost overnight! Was that person, the coward who deserted her in the face of the slightest opposition from his parents worth pursuing after all? Didn’t she trust him too much, back then? And now? Suddenly realization dawns! What has happened, has happened for the best. She is better off without this so-called ‘man’. Tara is welcome to him. It was a desire for revenge, rather than genuine love that had been driving her all these years. “Do I really love Shekhar?” she asks herself.

Jennifer is shaken by the realization. She closes her eyes for a while and she slowly comes to a decision. She picks up her mobile and dials Shekhar’s number.

“Shekhar, Jennifer here. I think I can help you get Roohi back. However you will have to keep your nerve and play the game carefully. If the kidnappers call you, play for some more time. Tell them to give you time till tomorrow afternoon.”

She can almost hear Shekhar heave a sigh of relief.

“Thank you so much Jenny. That is so kind of you. I always knew I could depend on you … Our friendship … and love … is as strong as it always was.”

Although Shekhar tries to infuse confidence into those words, he cannot hide his skepticism.

“Why this sudden change in Jennifer? She is singing a totally different tune. What had happened during the course of the evening to make her change her mind? Was this for real or was this some new game plan of Jenny’s?”

Jennifer can hear it in his voice. Of course, he wouldn’t trust her any more. How could he, after all that happened between them?

She shakes her head hard as if to shake off all the emotional baggage that has been bothering her and weighing her down all these years. She is determined to finish the game that she has started. Yes, she is the only person who can do it, and she will.

Destination Infinity

Links: Next Chapter, Previous Chapter.

Follow all the chapters, as they are published, from our Facebook page.

About: Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com . #CelebrateBlogging with us. This is a collaborative fiction writing contest. 

Related Posts:Game of Blogs – Memory Intrigues – Chapter 15Game of Blogs – Memory Intrigues – Chapter 2Blessing in Disguise? (Short Story)Two short stories with sad endingsThe Kidnap (Short Story)

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The Modern Temple: ISKCON, Chennai

Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple (ISKCON Temple) in Chennai is a Modern Temple in looks and spirit! Fourteen years back, I remember going to ISKCON Temple in Bangalore for the first time and I was astonished to find shops, bakery, eateries, cinema theater (yes you read that right) inside that Temple!! This Krishna Temple in Chennai is a more recent one, and I thought why not visit and see what they have here.

Needless to say, ISKCON Temples are neat and well maintained. There is no entry ticket for the Temple, and I found one donation box near the footwear deposition chamber (where they request an optional donation of Rs. 2). One person was confused whether this Rs. 2 was for one pair of chappals or three pairs of chappals (for his family). Taking advantage of the ambiguity, he decided to pay only Rs. 2 in the end There is a huge bike/car parking facility in front of the Temple.

This is the ground floor. There are two shops on the left and right of this statue where they sell Krishna books, shirts, pictures, night lamps, idols, Non/Natural Coffee, distilled cow urine, decoration items, etc. Behind this statue is a chattaram/hall where some private event was going on and they were singing Krishna bhajan. The idol of the God/Temple is in the first floor. I went at 3: 30 PM and they informed me that the Temple opens only at 4:00 PM. So I went to the,

Canteen. Have a look at what all delicacies they are selling in a Temple!! (Above photo). I had one Puliodara and Samosa. I thought the combination might go well, but nah!

Then I went to the Temple on the first floor where they have kept the idols. This is one of the idols kept there. Yes, you can take a photograph of the idol! They however ask us not to take a photo of anything else inside the Temple, including the paintings, etc. but people were clicking everywhere!

This is the photo of another group of idols kept there. Have a look at all that woodwork! There is a large hall in front of these idols where one can sit and contemplate on the (non existent) meaning of life. While I was doing that, a Bharatanatyam dance program by some dance school students started! I watched a couple of dance performances and then left because I had to visit a Jain Temple nearby. Yes, the dance was good.

This ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), popularly known as Hare Krishna movement, was started by Swami Prabhupada. It seems, he came to the US in 1965 on a freight ship (free lift) with equivalent of $8 USD in cash and many books. That’s all he had. And within 12 years, he established hundreds of Temples and developed a devoted following across the world. Don’t you think that’s fascinating?

If you want to visit this Temple, you might want to take a look at the events/timing from this chart:

PS: While coming back from this Temple, I visited fellow Blogger Jeevan who blogs at Jeevan’s World, as his home was on my way back. We had a great time and discussed a lot of things, including blogs. Here’s his post on our meet.

Destination Infinity

Photos: By Destination8infinity (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Game of Blogs – Memory Intrigues – Chapter 15

Game of Blogs – Memory Intrigues – Chapter 15

Links: Previous chapter; Next chapter; Chapter 1.

The story so far:

Cyrus sits next to Roohi and appreciates the artwork she has been doing. He finds her very talented and helps her with her artwork.

“Look mummy, finished… Uncle helped me complete” Roohi says as Tara returns with a plate of snacks and orange juice.

“Good, honey, now go pack your bag and get ready for tomorrow”.

”Thank you uncle”, Roohi says, as she hops away to her room, indicating she had jelled well with Cyrus.

“So, lets begin….” Tara and Cyrus start discussing about work as Shekar leaves the room …..

—————————————————————————-

Chapter – 15

Ab Tak, the main competitor of 365 x 24 x 7 – where Tara was working earlier – is abuzz with activity, as usual. The Senior Editor, Mr. Narasimha Murthy, is expecting Tara for a job interview. She reaches the office in the afternoon, as per the appointment. The Senior Editor gets a call from his PA. “Is she already here? Please send her in,” he says.

Tara walks into the MD’s room and is impressed by the large room, wooden furniture, dim lights, and the neat arrangement of items on the table. She compares this to the always messy offices of her previous employer. The Senior Editor notices the wonder in Tara’s eyes and greets her with a big smile. He stands up and offers his hands to Tara, who shakes his hand with gratitude. She sits on the comfortable silken cushioned seat, and they discuss Tara’s role and experience in the previous organization.

After a brief discussion, the Senior Editor finally comes to the point – “You were responsible for breaking the controversial news regarding the Central Minister, weren’t you?”

“Yes Sir,” she says.

“And I believe you have more information and evidence to share with us?”

“Not yet, Sir. I am working on it and I am confident that I’ll get my hands on it soon,”

“You have some connection to the source?”

“Yes. I do,” she replies.

“Good. You can start your career here with a bang,” he says with a smile.

“So when can I join?”

“You are already our employee. This interview was just a formality. You can hand over the documents and discuss the details of your remuneration with my P. A. She will prepare your appointment letter by evening, after consulting with me. All the best,” he says and requests the P.A. to take Tara to her room.

Tara settles down in her room after discussing with the P. A. She thinks of sharing her happiness with Shekhar and picks up the landline phone to call him. But midway, she decides against it and calls Cyrus instead. Her hands fumble while dialling the number and she is impatient as Cyrus doesn’t pick up the phone immediately. After a few rings, she smiles as she hears the mature and sweet voice of Cyrus, once again.

“Hi Cyrus! Guess what – I’ve got a new job with Ab Tak, and they’ve agreed to give a salary hike of at least 20%!” she says.

“That’s great news Tara. I am sure you deserve it.”

“And you know what – I have my own room, here. There is a Mac Computer on a wooden table covered with glass, an executive chair, beautiful purple-themed wall hangings and posters complementing the blue walls, cupboard with lock, and even a few small pots with flowering plants just in front of the window, behind me. I’ve always wanted to work from an office like this – It’s a dream come true!” she almost shouts.

“Excellent, I am very happy for you,” he says. “I just realized how much I miss you. You are an angel, when compared to your colleagues in your old office.”

“Come on Cyrus. Don’t you think ‘Angel’ is a bit of an over-statement? I am just a normal journo . . .” she says.

“No. You are an Angel Journalist” he says and pauses for a couple of seconds. “I hope you won’t forget me in all this excitement.”

“Of course not, Cyrus. You can continue with your research in my new office from now on. I am looking forward to meeting you at 2 P.M. tomorrow afternoon.”

The next day, Cyrus goes to Tara’s office but realizes that he has reached a little early. Since it is lunch time, and he did not have lunch yet, he goes to the coffee shop, opposite to Tara’s office. While searching for a place to sit, he hears a familiar voice calling him. He turns to see Mr. Ahuja, Tara’s neighbour, whom he had met recently in Tara’s apartment, invite him to his table. He joins him for lunch and tells him why he is there. Mr. Ahuja tells him that the film studio is nearby and he comes to this coffee shop daily for lunch, from there.

“But why do you go to the film studio?” Cyrus asks.

“I want to do comedy roles in Hindi movies. I visit the studio daily to meet producers and directors and try to convince them to give me a role. That’s the reason I moved from Delhi to Mumbai.”

“That’s cool. Any luck yet?”

“No yaar. You know how difficult it is to get a break in Bollywood. Everyone wants an actor who is already famous.”

“Have you published any humorous videos in Youtube?”

“Yes. Some of my comedy shows are on Youtube. You know I am a stand-up comedian, don’t you?. That’s how all this started. But not many people follow my Youtube channel”.

“I think I can help you. I am a blogger and am active in social media too. Send me the links to your best stand-up comedy episodes and I will publish it in my blog. I’ll also spread it in my social media channels. Who knows, it may reach the right people”.

As they say, life is a game of luck, and luck often favors people who work hardest. Mr. Ahuja knew that in the entertainment industry, especially, every bit of exposure counts. He gladly accepts Cyrus’s offer and they exchange cards.

“I need to take a picture, and ask some questions – I am planning to publish your interview too,” Cyrus says.

“Sure. You can come home today evening,” Mr. Ahuja says, and they leave. Cyrus goes along with Tara to her home, after work. He plays with Roohi for sometime, who accompanies him to Mr. Ahuja’s house. Cyrus sets up the camera on a Tripod for the photoshoot and Roohi jumps on Mr. Ahuja’s lap as she is also eager to get photographed. Cyrus drops Roohi at her home after the interview, says goodbye to Tara, and leaves the apartment.

Destination Infinity

Links: Previous chapter; Next chapter; Chapter 1.

Follow all the chapters, as they are published, from our Facebook page.

About: Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com . #CelebrateBlogging with us. This is a collaborative fiction writing contest. 

Related Posts:Game of Blogs – Memory Intrigues – Chapter 2Blessing in Disguise? (Short Story)Is Work more Important than Health?My Favorite Story – Pursuit of HappynessThe Monologue (Short Story)

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How was rice discovered initially?

Some things perplex me to no end. This is one question/thought that has been tarnishing my mind over the few days. I’ve put it in the blog so you people can also suffer

How (and why) was rice discovered initially?

Let’s assume I don’t know rice – I’ve never seen it. Now, I happen to wander on the plains and I happen to see a rice plant. But I don’t know that it is rice. What will I most probably do? 

I will assume it is some weed and happily continue wandering. You’ll also do that only right? Accept it.

At best, what will we do if we feel curious? We’ll pluck some seeds (as it will appear to us), try to put it in our mouth, and conclude that it is some wild inedible plant.

But someone, at some point of time, happened not only to pickup the seeds, but also removed the outer cover, put the raw rice into boiling water, boiled the rice, made sambar, rasam, curry, etc., mixed it with the boiled rice, ate it, survived it, and announced to the world that they have discovered a grain which is tasty and healthy!!!

I mean, do we pluck the seeds of each and every plant we find on the road, put it in hot water, and check if it can be eaten? No, right? Obviously those ancient people would have eaten something if they had survived until then – so even for them, discovering rice wouldn’t have been a big priority or need.

Then how did anyone discover rice? And why did it happen? If you know the answer, tell me in the comments

Destination Infinity

Image credit: By IRRI Images (originally posted to Flickr as Korea_0001) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Guys, howz my New blog Design?

OK guys. After a long time, and much procrastination, I have finally redesigned my blog. I am using the same WP theme (Twenty Thirteen), but I have changed the standard header into a large ad for destinationinfinity.org!! I have also changed the color of the sidebar and main-bar (below the header). The links are also blue now, in continuation with the blue-color theme I’ve chosen for this blog. Have a look at the redesigned home page.

Howz it??? Any suggestions?? Do you like it?  

Destination Infinity

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Game of Blogs – Memory Intrigues – Chapter 2

I am participating in the Game of Blogs challenge organized by BlogAdda. It’s a collaborative novel writing competition. Our team is Dynamic Word Weavers. Links to: Chapter 1, Chapter 3.

Chapter – 2

Tara, a senior reporter at the News Broadcasting Channel 24 x 7 x 365, got up from her desk and was about to leave the office when she noticed the Sub-editor walking towards her. ‘What is she going to come up with now?’ Tara wondered but put up a fake smile anyway.

The sub-editor came up to her and flashed a wider-than-normal smile. “Where are you going, Tara?” She asked.

“I guess I sent my schedule yesterday to you and the Editor. You guys even approved it,” Tara said, coldly.

“Oh, I forgot. You are doing an interview with that film director, aren’t you?” the Sub-editor said. She continued in a mocking tone, “It’s an important assignment I guess, considering they are our client and buy ad spots on our channel, occasionally.”

Tara took a deep breath, bit her teeth, and said, “I am already running late. If you want to tell me something-”

The Sub-editor intervened – “Aren’t you covering the building collapse case?”

“But that was assigned to Sanjeev, yesterday,” Tara said, referring to a senior colleague, but looked at the Sub-editor doubtfully.

“Actually, no. Sanjeev has a training program today. The case has been allocated to Nikhil,” the Sub-editor said, and smiled.

Tara understood why the Sub-editor was generous with her smiles, today. She looked towards the closed door of the Editor’s cabin and murmured, “What the-” and started walking quickly towards the Editor’s cabin. She pushed the door open without the usual customary knock and found the Editor engaged in a phone call.

“I’ll talk to you later,” the Editor cut the call and looked at Tara.

“I am sorry I interrupted your conversation,” Tara said, with a cold voice.

“That’s not a problem at all. I am always available to all my journalists, he replied, with a little smile on his lips. “Aren’t you supposed to do an interview today morning?”

“You know I can postpone that interview to any other day,” She said. “I heard that you’ve allocated the building collapse coverage to Nikhil?”

“Yes. I thought you were busy with the interview and-”

Tara interrupted – “Cut the crap. Nikhil is five years my junior. How can you assign such an important assignment to him when a senior reporter is present in the same city?”

The Editor turned his face towards the computer monitor and placed his hands on the mouse. Tara’s eyes widened and she was breathing heavily. “I asked you a question,” She reminded him.

The Editor typed something hastily on his keyboard, clicked the mouse, and then looked at Tara. “Yes, where were we? Oh that – Look, allocating the right resource for the news leads that come to me is under my discretion. I am not obligated to select the senior most person always,” he said and went back to working on his computer.

“But-” Tara protested. He waved his hand dismissively, urging Tara to leave. Tara shrugged and turned back.

“If you prefer to work on certain assignments, create your own leads,” the Editor said just before Tara walked out of the room and closed the door behind her with a bang.

‘Becoming a pet and nodding one’s head to whatever the boss says seems to work very well in this office,” She mumbled rather loudly and walked out of the office.

Destination Infinity

“Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at  BlogAdda.com . #CelebrateBlogging with us.

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The Kidnap (Short Story)

It was dark all around him. Except for a small one-meter hole a few feet ahead of him, that brought in faint light, he couldn’t see anything else in the room. He tried standing up, but he only felt the ropes tied to his hands and legs on the chair, tighten.

The door opened after a few minutes. Someone switched on the lights. He saw three people enter, one after another. They sat in three chairs kept around the circular table, before him. They were wearing black trousers, black suit, white shirt, black tie, and black glasses.

The person sitting opposite to him, probably the leader, spoke – “You’ve been kidnapped.”

He was silent for a couple of seconds and then burst out laughing. He laughed until he was coughing and there were tears in his eyes.

“What’s so funny about being kidnapped?” the Leader asked in a serious tone.

“No, I did not laugh for that. I laughed because you chose to kidnap a new and budding author. How much ransom you think you can extract out of a novelist? Don’t you guys do some research to identify the right prospects before kidnapping?” he said and beamed.

“If you’ve finished your lecture, we would like to clarify that we did not kidnap you for money. Of course, we have that much common sense!” the leader said.

“Then why did you kidnap me? Why?” he asked.

“You are the author of the recently released Mystery novel – The Great Bank Robbery,  aren’t you?” the Leader asked.

His eyes widened in excitement. He said, “Yes. So you were that one person who bought it. Did you read it? Did you like it? Why don’t you leave a positive review for it on-“

“Stop it.” the Leader thundered. “We liked your plot, and the research you have done on the banking system. Besides, you are the only author of a bank robbery mystery living in this city.”

“Well I did expect some crazy fans,” he said with a smiling face. “But this is taking fandom to a whole new level. I mean, you could’ve just walked into my house if you had wanted my autograph. This kidnapping thing wasn’t-“

“Nonsense. The novel, for your information, was dull and unengagingly written. It was a hopeless mystery,” the Leader said looking straight into his eyes.

“Then why did you kidnap me?” he shouted, unable to hide his agony.

“If it isn’t obvious to you yet, we want you to write a foolproof plan for robbing the Royal Bank. With the kind of information you have, this should be easy,” the Leader said and smiled.

The enormity of the situation struck him hard. Even the lack of sales (except that one copy) did not discourage him. But this was walking into trouble. For the first time, he wished he hadn’t written a Bank Robbery Mystery. A Harlequin Romance might have been a better . . . safer choice? Hmm . . .

Destination Infinity

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The Green Bazaar, Chennai

So I went to the inaugural edition of Green Bazaar, an expo on green, organic and sustainable living in cities organized by The Alternative, last Sunday, Sept. 07 @ SPACES, Besant Nagar, Chennai.

If you are following this blog, you know that I am passionate about green living/sustainable living practices. I have an entire category dedicated to Sustainable Living articles. How then could I miss an event that brought various green living aspects under a single roof? I just had to go.

As expected, there were a no. of stalls in the exhibition, but there were also talks/workshops on various topics. I’ll give a brief introduction to talks I attended and some stalls I visited, in the Green Bazaar, Chennai. See if something interests you. There is bound to be!

Talks:

* Composting, Organic Gardening & Permaculture by reStore Gardens/Magic Bean: In this talk, they explained the basics of composting, why it is required for organic terrace gardening (growing your own veggies/greens/herbs at home), and Permaculture – the art of growing your own soil! More . . .

* Seed Saving by Organic Garten: In this talk, they explained how to save our own seeds from organically grown and healthy plants, and the disadvantages of buying seeds (and fertilizers, etc.) off the market from “corporate companies” selling them.

* Know Your Fabric by The Chakra Design Studio: In this talk, they explained the disadvantages of powerloom clothing  (clothes manufactured in machines we normally wear) and explained why we should consider wearing cotton/ handloom/ khadi clothes. More . . .

* Reusable Cloth-based Sanitary Pads by Eco Femme: In this talk, they explained the disadvantages of using disposable/plastic-based sanitary pads and introduced their range of reusable/washable cloth-based Sanitary Pads. More . . .

* Cooking With Millets by Vaer Organic: In this demonstration, they showed us how to cook a few tasty dishes using Millets, the grains that were popular and healthy, but ignored in favor of rice and wheat. A number of millet recipes are here, if you want to try.

Stalls:

Daily Dump – Terracota pots for Organic Composting at Homes.
Maduban Naturals – Pomegranate fruit-based products and supplements.
Ultimate Cocos – Cocopeat, coconut products, coir, coco seedling cups.
Tru Bio – Organic Spices.
Terra Earthfood – Organic snacks.
reStore – Organic foods, grains, oil, millets, etc.
Aruvadai – Organic produce, organic farms.
Thai Vazhi Gramathu Iyarkai Unavagam – Herbal juices, soups, millet foods, etc: Jones Road, Saidapet, Chennai.
Lotsa Lavender – Organic bakes, breads, cookies.
SHARAN – NGO committed to make India diabetics free, healthy cooing workshops.
Krya – Organic and vegan/cruelty-free detergents, body care products, etc.
Saahas.org – NGO promoting waste/e-waste recycling.
Bambaram – Online toys rental for kids.

I am glad that such a useful/informative event was conducted in Chennai. Looking forward to attend the future editions of The Green Bazaar, too.

People, visiting The Green Bazaar (in the future) will inspire you to inculcate natural, green and healthy practices in your everyday lives. Don’t miss.

Do like and follow their Facebook page for latest updates.

Destination Infinity

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Reusable Cloth-based Sanitary Napkins: Eco Femme

Video Introduction – Eco femme Cloth Pads:

The disposable sanitary napkins are useful to a lot of women. But, did you know that these disposable pads are made mostly of multiple petroleum-based plastic layers, and hence take 500 – 800 years to decompose? Or that they can’t be incinerated (burned) at temperatures lower than 800 Deg. C, as they can release toxic chemicals into the air? Or that they affect the health of rag pickers who come in contact with them while clearing dump yards? Or that, they are not as healthy as you thought they were? Or that, they are expensive on the long-run?

That’s why, Eco Femme, an organization based out of Auroville, Tamil Nadu, is making cloth-based reusable/washable sanitary napkins/pads for women, and is selling them all over the world!

I got a chance to attend a talk given by Ms. Kathy, originally from Australia but now living in Auroville – India, at the recent Green Bazaar, Chennai. She invented these cloth pads for her own use, and then friends/visitors started buying it as they were good.

She told us that women had been using bits of cloth material in India before the popularity of disposable sanitary napkins surged. But India, along with the world, is slowly becoming aware of the harmful side-effects of using plastic. While  companies are working hard to replace plastic with bio-degradable and natural (healthy) products across the world, Eco Femme is doing their part by promoting cloth-based sanitary napkins instead of disposable pads.

It seems, they are also coming up with cloth-based diapers, soon. Another important requirement that is overlooked. An audience member asked if there were cloth-based underwear too, as these could be safer, comfortable and bio-degradable, but no one was aware of such a thing. Are entrepreneurs listening?

Have a look at this documentary video to understand the depth of problems that disposable plastic-based sanitary napkins are creating, and how switching to cloth-based ones could be better for oneself and the earth.

Also do visit their wonderful website where they have put up a lot of information on reusable/washable sanitary pads. I think this is an idea/concept worth spreading. Don’t you?

Destination Infinity

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Handloom Cotton Clothes with Vegetable Dyes maybe better?

At the recent Green Bazaar, Chennai, I attended a talk hosted by Bindu Kasinadhuni of Chakra Design Studio & Preethi of Krya. In this talk they asked: Why not use Handloom Cotton clothing made using hank yarn & natural vegetable dyes, instead of the machine made clothes & chemical dyes?

Frankly, I never knew Handloom was an option for me. Second, I didn’t know its advantages. Have a look at some:

Handloom is made using hand, hence doesn’t use electricity. Powerlooms use equivalent of 1.6 Kg of firewood to make 1 Kg of cotton.
Handloom clothes are more suited to Indian climate – they do not lock heat & sweat. They have air pockets and are breathable.
They are softer and more comfortable to wear.
They are long lasting and get better with time.
Handloom clothing integrate cultural and historical elements in their design.
They don’t pollute land/water systems. Synthetic/chemical dyes affect/pollute rivers, land, and people working with them.

It seems, India once clothed the world. Even until our Independence, 90% of our clothes were handloom. Gandhiji’s Chakra is a symbol of our handloom textile industry. Now, almost 80% of the clothes are made using yarn spun in powerlooms that use chemical/synthetic dyes. When I was in Coimbatore, I used to read newspaper reports that mandated closure of textile industries in Tiruppur as their chemical wastes not only polluted the river and made the water unsuitable for irrigation, but also affected agricultural lands around the area.

We are wearing clothes made of the same chemicals!

Handloom cotton clothes have their limitations. They have non-uniform designs and patterns, edges are not straight, have a limited color palette, have a matte finish (not bright), fades faster, etc. They also need some care while washing and cost more.

But, the issue is, in Urban India, we don’t even consider buying handloom clothes! This mindset needs to change, and I think I will also buy and use (at least a few) Handloom shirts soon enough.

We were also introduced to Kalamkari painting and how the artisans work hard for a long time to create interesting paintings and patterns on clothes.

Have a look at this beautiful video that introduces Kalamkari textile making process:

 

Have a look at this article that introduces the work done by Chakra Design Studio in Handloom cotton clothing (and why it’s important).

So why not consider buying handloom textiles for yourselves?

Destination Infinity

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