Interview by Anne John

Soaring temperatures, over-worked air conditioners, availability of cheap fuel, lack of awareness – just a few factors responsible for the Middle-East’s infamous high carbon footprint. Launched in 2009 in the UAE, Ekotribe has become well-known for promoting sustainable living in the region. Anu Agarwal, Chief of Ekotribe talks to us about the journey so far.

Anne John (AJ): What was the motivation to start Ekotribe?

Anu Agarwal (AA): Over the past 6 – 8 years, I increasingly found that we have so much wastage in urban societies. Wastage in plastic bottles, aluminium cans, water, food – everything. We are a “Use and throw” society. Also, my travels have taken me to all parts of the world and I realized we have such a beautiful planet and [...]]]> Sustainable living has become a necessity today says Anu Agarwal of Ekotribe, a business supplying eco-friendly products and services in the Middle-East.

Interview by Anne John

Soaring temperatures, over-worked air conditioners, availability of cheap fuel, lack of awareness – just a few factors responsible for the Middle-East’s infamous high carbon footprint. Launched in 2009 in the UAE, Ekotribe has become well-known for promoting sustainable living in the region. Anu Agarwal, Chief of Ekotribe talks to us about the journey so far.

Anne John (AJ): What was the motivation to start Ekotribe?

Anu Agarwal (AA): Over the past 6 – 8 years, I increasingly found that we have so much wastage in urban societies. Wastage in plastic bottles, aluminium cans, water, food – everything. We are a “Use and throw” society. Also, my travels have taken me to all parts of the world and I realized we have such a beautiful planet and all we are doing is plundering it! Lastly, the increasing problems of climate change are for all of us to see – increasing hurricanes, extreme temperatures, pollution etc. We all have to start changing our lifestyles in small ways and I thought of doing my part.

All this got me thinking and I started looking to find greener alternatives for my everyday products. I found not much was available in the UAE. I started visiting trade shows in the US and realized that there is a whole range of eco-friendly options out there. We just haven’t seen them in the UAE. I felt that there was a huge opportunity here to bring eco-friendly options into this region…… and Ekotribe was formed.

AJ: Tell us more about the work you do. How does Ekotribe promote green living? What services do you offer?

AA: Ekotribe promotes green living by sourcing green and sustainable products and bringing them to this region. We cater to the wholesale market/corporates and The Green Ecostore handles the retail/individual customer needs. Ekotribe is a distribution and marketing division. We sell wholesale to retailers & corporates across the UAE, Saudi, Qatar and the region. Our range of products covers items for the family, kitchen, home, office and garden. Our customers are guaranteed products which are easily absorbed into the ecosystem, without compromising on design or quality. We offer high quality products that are either – biodegradable, environmentally safe, handmade, natural, recycled, recyclable, reusable, sustainable or organic. We support environmentally friendly manufacturers and  designers.

Ekotribe also offers green consultancy services to offices, though in a limited way. We provide consulting services on how to have a greener office, greener school environment etc. However, we are concentrating more on products initially. But we hope to increase our range of consulting services in the future.

AJ: The UAE isn’t particularly well-known for being eco-friendly. How well was your idea received by customers?

AA: Most people are extremely excited to find eco products finally available in the UAE. They need to be educated and explained on the benefits and thereafter, the demand increases automatically. I find a lot of UAE residents are becoming very conscious of the need to use greener products and they prefer eco options for their families.

What is very encouraging is that most large corporates now prefer giving eco items as gifts rather than the standard T Shirt, cap or keychain. I get specific requests for “only eco options”.

My customers are predominantly Westerners (male and female) and Arab women. I am amazed at the conscious effort made by Arab women to try and go green!

AJ: From where do you source your products? How do you ascertain how eco-friendly they are?

AA: We source our products from all over the world, ie: US, Australia, Canada, UK, China and India.

We select our range of products and partners based on the following criteria: Does the company test on animals?, Does this ‘green’ product use more resources than its ‘non-green’ counterpart?, Does the parent company make efforts to reduce waste and recycle in their facilities?, Can the product be reused, composted, or recycled once its life is finished?, What’s the environmental impact during the manufacturing process?, How much packaging is used for this product? Lastly, Is the packaging recycled or sustainable?

A whole step-by-step process is involved in choosing which products we market and add to our range.

AJ: What are the most popular products at your eco-store? And what are your personal favourites?

AA: Our bestsellers are the KeepCup, SnackTAXI sandwich bags, bhappy tote bags, Shains Kids Bracelets,  USBCell rechargeable batteries and the entire range of Water Bottles. My favourites are the Envirosax bags and the KeepCup reusable coffee cups. I use them on a daily basis.

AJ: Being a start-up what challenges did you face? Did you have to face any challenges being an expat?

AA: I think my biggest challenge was educating the customer! Once they see the products and realize the benefits, they buy them! Luckily, the UAE government is very involved and aware of the need to go green and that has given a huge boost to us. The constant coverage in the media has also made the public very aware of the need to live a greener lifestyle.

As an expat, I find no limitation or challenge working in the UAE. In fact, the UAE government departments in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have been one of my biggest customers to date!

AJ: What has been the most valuable lesson that you have learnt over the past few years?

AA: My biggest lesson is you have to grow slowly and steadily. Rome was not built in one day! You must be passionate about what you are doing and offer good quality products and excellent customer service. 

AJ: What are your future plans for Ekotribe?

AA: Very soon, we will launch a retail store. Plans are being finalized. And in the next few years, I plan to start manufacturing my own range of products!

*Photo credit: www.vectorportal.com (Used uner the Creative Commons Attribution License)

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

It is often said that history is written by the winners. If that is true, what does the absence of women from much of history mean?

Among the few initiatives to address this omission is Sound and Picture ARchives for Research on Women (SPARROW), an organization with a very unusual mission, “to build a national archives for women with print, oral history and pictorial material.” We interview here the Founder of SPARROW, the well-known author and researcher Dr.C.S.Lakshmi, who writes in Tamil under the pen name, Ambai.

Aparna V. Singh (AS): SPARROW has now been in existence for more than 2 decades. In today’s hyper-connected world, how relevant is the original mission – to archive women’s work in print, audio or visual formats?

Dr. C.S.Lakshmi (CSL): Why do you think [...]]]> Documenting women’s stories and work is very much a part of development. Noted writer Dr. C.S. Lakshmi tells us why.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

It is often said that history is written by the winners. If that is true, what does the absence of women from much of history mean?

Among the few initiatives to address this omission is Sound and Picture ARchives for Research on Women (SPARROW), an organization with a very unusual mission, “to build a national archives for women with print, oral history and pictorial material.” We interview here the Founder of SPARROW, the well-known author and researcher Dr.C.S.Lakshmi, who writes in Tamil under the pen name, Ambai.

Aparna V. Singh (AS): SPARROW has now been in existence for more than 2 decades. In today’s hyper-connected world, how relevant is the original mission – to archive women’s work in print, audio or visual formats?

Dr. C.S.Lakshmi (CSL): Why do you think that a hyper-connected world does not need a knowledge heritage? We are archiving women’s history and lives and documenting various aspects of what we call the politics of everyday life.  Even if you are only dealing with the here and now history is being created and it should be documented and recorded.

Anyone who thinks that this is irrelevant would be a person who lives under the delusion that anything we need to know has only to be downloaded. So our original mission remains and our dissemination of this knowledge keeps pace with latest ways of sharing knowledge and we do differentiate between knowledge and information.

AS: You have mentioned challenges over the years with funding, with finding a suitable place to work out of. Is there a feeling that history as created by women is not a “critical” project in a country like India with more important issues? How do you answer such criticism?

CSL: We now have a place of our own to work out of. But it has been a difficult journey and we have been literally swimming against the current. It is not that history as created by women is not a “critical” project in a country like India but it is the kind of history that a developing nation is looking for and the kind of history that we want to archive.

I once wrote a paper called Archiving in Times of Development. Archiving women’s lives and history is not seen as part of development for development is a quantitative process and archiving is a qualitative process. Even funders from abroad wanted to fund only those projects which had “stakeholders” and “beneficiaries” and visible results that could be quantified. In a situation like this an archiving effort such as ours was not seen as an effort directly aiding development.

We answer such criticism by saying that our efforts are very much part of development as development needs to know what was there before and needs to cover areas of women’s lives not normally taken into consideration to know the quality of women’s life so that policies can be made to add to the quality of their life and alter their life and not merely see growth as development.

In my language Tamil, we use two words for development. One is “valarchi” and the other is “mempadu”. “Valarchi” means growth and “mempadu” means upliftment, raising the level of something. I feel that efforts such as archiving have to do with “mempadu”; it is an effort aimed at adding to the quality of life. This is what we tell our critics.

AS: What is the quality of the material that SPARROW seeks to archive? Are there certain criteria for material to be included in the archive?

CSL: Where women’s history is concerned I feel that any material is part of women’s history. A historian friend of mine opened the trunk of a friend’s mother and found receipts for books she never imagined she would have read in the thirties. They were just receipts and slips for books she had ordered for purchase or from a library but they told so much about her life.

Sometimes we visit people’s homes and find a painting or framed embroidery hanging in an obscure corner and will find that an old widowed aunt or some other woman had done it and that her creativity was not taken seriously. Any little thing has a story to tell. So we don’t leave out any material. So we collect print material, photographs, newspaper material, print visuals, brochures, pamphlets, films etc.

We don’t set limits as to the kind of material we can collect and are always open to surprises. But oral history is our anchor project and dialogues with women from various walks of life will continue to be our major focus. We try to cover a wide range of areas like literature, Indian freedom movement, Dalit history, environment, art and culture, women in the left and other progressive movements, tribal women, NGO women, health, traditional healers and so on.

AS: Currently what are the ways in which ordinary people can access the collections that SPARROW has put together?

CSL: Students and researchers come and consult the archives. We conduct workshops and colleges, women’s groups and other groups request us to come and screen films which we do. They also come to the archives to watch films or consult books and other material. We have consultation rules. We also publish and take the archives out in different ways through exhibitions, workshops, camps and cultural festivals and through website postings.

AS: Finally, as a writer whose stories are often about the inner world of Indian women, do you see a continuity or relationship between your work as a writer and with documenting women’s work in India?

CSL: My writing and my work are very close to each other. They flow into each other very often. My archiving and research work involves a lot of travelling and meeting people and being in different cultures and situations. This expands my vision and my areas of experience. And some of these experiences enter my stories in an abstract way.

*Photo credit: AbsoluteJewelry (Used under the Creative Commons Attribution License)

Interview by Anne John

Ameesha Joshi and Anna Sarkissian met while completing their Bachelors of Fine Arts at Concordia University. Fascinated by the lives of Indian women boxers, they joined forces to create a documentary film on them, With This Ring. Here they talk about their journey, challenges and the relationships that they have nurtured with India’s under-appreciated sportswomen.

Anne John (AJ): Tell us a little about how it all started. Despite being from Canada what made you two choose a subject which is often overlooked by Indians themselves?

Ameesha Joshi (AmJ): In 2005 I saw a picture of a woman boxer from India at a photo exhibit in Montreal. This photo got me curious and prompted me to do some research, and that’s how I learned India had women boxers that [...]]]> Ameesha Joshi and Anna Sarkissian shine the spotlight on the members of the Indian Women’s National Boxing team in With This Ring.

Interview by Anne John

Ameesha Joshi and Anna Sarkissian met while completing their Bachelors of Fine Arts at Concordia University. Fascinated by the lives of Indian women boxers, they joined forces to create a documentary film on them, With This Ring. Here they talk about their journey, challenges and the relationships that they have nurtured with India’s under-appreciated sportswomen.

Anne John (AJ): Tell us a little about how it all started. Despite being from Canada what made you two choose a subject which is often overlooked by Indians themselves?

Ameesha Joshi (AmJ): In 2005 I saw a picture of a woman boxer from India at a photo exhibit in Montreal. This photo got me curious and prompted me to do some research, and that’s how I learned India had women boxers that were ranked some of the world’s best. I was inspired to learn about these women who were mostly from the more rural and traditionally conservative areas. Although I was raised in Canada, my parents immigrated from India and I am familiar with the culture. I could just imagine the struggles the boxers would be facing in pursuing an “unladylike” sport. I was inspired by their courage and felt the desire to share their remarkable stories.

Anna Sarkissian (AS): I’ve always been really interested in stories that would otherwise be overlooked or forgotten. As for what intrigues me about these women: they are so unique, and yet unassuming. For a long time, they didn’t really understand why we were interested in filming them. Despite a few perks, they live tough lives, and train in difficult conditions to pursue a sport that many might consider laughable. I have profound respect for the amount of discipline, physical and mental strength that boxing requires and am in awe of their dedication.

AJ: How has the experience been? Were your expectations challenged and did you have any surprises?

AmJ: The experience has been very enriching, but not without its challenges. We had every expectation of finishing the film back in 2006, when Anna and I traveled to India for the first time. Delhi was hosting the world championships, and the Indian team won 4 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals, crowning them the number one team in the world, which was an historic moment to witness and capture on film. Yet one of the biggest challenges on that shoot was our restricted access to the boxers. They train 6 days a week, 3 times a day for 10 months of the year, leaving very little free time. I also don’t speak Hindi so we had to deal with a language barrier with the team. As a result it took investing a lot of time to create a relationship with our characters.

AS: This incredible experience taught me so many things about myself, about working with others, about power and privilege, and so on. I definitely see both Canada and India in a different light after working in both countries – I appreciate certain things more and question other things. We were so warmly welcomed in India and traveled to so many little towns and villages that we would have never discovered on our own. We have had considerable help from a huge number of Indians – from friends and volunteers to sports journalists, boxing officials and human rights lawyers. They have guided, helped, and even fed us along the way.

AJ: What challenges did you face while filming?

AS: Funding has been a challenge. We are very grateful to the Canadian arts councils that have given us grants, but our budget was tiny compared with other productions of this kind. We also faced some difficulties adjusting to the climate in India. In 2008, we spent the summer in India at the boxing camps, where there is frequent power-cuts and intermittent running water.

AJ: Could you share with us one unforgettable moment that you had while shooting With This Ring?

AmJ: Watching Mary fall to her knees in tears after winning her fourth gold medal at the 2008 World Championships in Ningbo, China. It was her first medal after giving birth to twin boys. We saw Mary at the training camp in the summer of 2008 when she returned to train after a two-year hiatus with a baby in each arm. She was often up all night from them crying, but always got up at the crack of dawn with all the other boxers for their gruelling workouts. People doubted she could regain her title and judged her for returning to the sport after having children. Her determination to overcome these obstacles made her emotional win even more moving.

AJ: You’ve had to shuttle back and forth between Canada and India for filming, apart from juggling your jobs and studies. Being a beginner in filmmaking as well as an outsider in India, how did you cope with it all?

AS: It hasn’t been easy to juggle everything. In addition to having “day jobs” to pay the bills, Ameesha and I have both started and finished our master’s degrees during this time. Having someone to help motivate you and keep you going when your funding applications get rejected makes a world of difference. We celebrated the good times and the bad together. Having a good sense of humour is key!

The language barrier that Ameesha mentioned made things complicated. We could quickly, and easily, establish relationships with those who could speak English. But it was tough to make headway in broken Hindi. Something that we underestimated, for sure.

AJ: How does the act of filming your subjects over time affect your relationship with them, and in turn, your film? Can the film-maker be “objective” and is it necessary to be objective?

AmJ: A unique and creative perspective to telling a story is essential in capturing reality, not just fiction. For this reason I feel the beauty of a documentary is in its subjectivity. I don’t think it’s necessary to be objective, but it is necessary for the filmmaker to be responsible in how they portray the people and stories in their film.

AS: Whether you are writing an article or recording a scene, you are manipulating reality and re-packaging according to your own world view. Like other art forms, filmmaking is highly subjective and we will be presenting our version of the events. As Ameesha mentions, we have a responsibility to our characters. They have entrusted us with their words and likenesses and we take that very seriously. Over time, we have only gotten closer to them, and hopefully that will be reflected in the film.

AJ: How has the response been to With This Ring? What do the boxers you’ve covered feel about it?

AS: The boxers have been incredibly patient over the last six years. They are anxious to have the film finished, but honestly, they have more important concerns right now (i.e the Olympics). The general response to With This Ring has been very positive. People are always amazed to hear that India has a team. We can’t wait for the Olympics. Soon, the world will know!

Check out With This Ring on Facebook.

*Photo credit: With This Ring

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

In the last few years, Manipur has been in the news as a conflict zone where ordinary citizens face the likelihood of unpredictable violence. On the ground though, Manipuri women continue to work to bring peace to the state, with incredible courage and resilience.

Here we meet Binalakshmi Nepram, founder of the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network (PDF) that works with female survivors of the violence in Manipur, besides advocating for stricter gun control and disarmament. She was awarded as one of CNN IBN’s Real Heroes in 2011.

Aparna V. Singh (AS): It is more than a few years now since you began your work helping women affected by the conflict in Manipur. What drives you on?

Binalakshmi Nepram (BN): There is a humanitarian crisis in Manipur, one [...]]]> Binalakshmi Nepram works with Manipuri women who face a dual violence – when their men are killed and in the deprivation that follows.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

In the last few years, Manipur has been in the news as a conflict zone where ordinary citizens face the likelihood of unpredictable violence. On the ground though, Manipuri women continue to work to bring peace to the state, with incredible courage and resilience.

Here we meet Binalakshmi Nepram, founder of the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network (PDF) that works with female survivors of the violence in Manipur, besides advocating for stricter gun control and disarmament. She was awarded as one of CNN IBN’s Real Heroes in 2011.

Aparna V. Singh (AS): It is more than a few years now since you began your work helping women affected by the conflict in Manipur. What drives you on?

Binalakshmi Nepram (BN): There is a humanitarian crisis in Manipur, one of the world’s longest ongoing crisis. Every other day 3 to 4 people are killed in this conflict; that means 300 to 400 people every year, whether by the army, police or unidentified insurgents. And many of those men killed come from the poorest families, leaving behind the women to suffer.

When I started working in this area, I wept for Manipur and not just because I was born there. According to the Government of India, this is a law and order problem, not a conflict, but that is like responding to a cancer with a headache tablet.

AS: How are you helping these women?

BN: Whenever there is news of a killing, we go as soon as we can to meet the family. In some cases, there is a need for immediate intervention since the breadwinner has been killed and the women have almost nothing. We ensure that they have some funds to keep the house running at the moment.

The next step is to open a bank account in the woman’s name. In most cases, women have nothing of their own. Plus, it also helps their own safety to have an account in their name since widows may face trouble from other family members such as in-laws. I have seen cases where they are abused mentally or even physically – one woman was actually kicked by her brother-in-law and suffered a fracture. After the husband’s death, they become very vulnerable, and sometimes families even accuse them, that my son was killed because you brought him bad luck.

AS: And in the longer run?

BN: Then, we assess their skills and ask them what it is they can do or would like to learn. In most cases, the women have been housewives and never earned money before. We don’t teach them, but we ask them to come up with what they would like to work on. We help them with small loans needed to start a business. It could be amounts as small as Rs.2500, with which a woman can start a cocoon and spin silk thread.

Once they are assured of food and the children’s education, then they start looking for their legal rights. So, we have a legal rights team consisting of female lawyers, whom the women are more comfortable with. The next step is to find out why their husbands were killed.

Recently, we have also started a support program where we ask doctors in the state to donate a small amount of time where we can bring in these women and get them treated for their health issues. As you would know, anaemia is rampant in Indian women and especially in Manipuri women. The trauma of losing a loved one, mental depression and abuse, physical abuse, the stigma attached to being a widow, poverty – all these worsen their health. A lot of doctors have responded beautifully and give us pro-bono consultation for these women, and even free medication.

AS: Given the backdrop of AFSPA prevailing in the state, how easy is it to proceed with such cases? 

BN: To be honest, the Indian Army is now very careful, after the Thangjam Manorama case where women in Manipur stripped themselves in protest.  Much of the work is now done by the Manipur police themselves, and that is where many cases lead to, apart from people killed by insurgents – who may never be identified.

These cases may never culminate in the woman’s lifetime but we cannot leave it; the very act of filing and fighting a case is healing.

Recently, I went along to the CBI with a mother whose son, Irom Roger, was killed by the son of a minister. Even the chargesheet was not filed for over 10 months. I felt the strength in this mother’s voice when she is fighting for justice for her son – it is a process and at least there is a sense that the fight has started.

AS: Working with victims of violence, seeing this violence day after day, how do you and your group cope? 

BN: What keeps us going is the feeling that if we get disheartened, what will happen to them? We may weep together, but we also get up together. Whatever love we have given to people, we have received so much more. We say that now we have a house in every village in Manipur!

We work across Delhi and Manipur, because Delhi is where we need to be for advocacy and research purposes, while Manipur is where the on-ground support work happens, under our full-time coordinator Reena Mutum and three more team members, besides many other committed student and survivor volunteers.

AS: What would you count as your group’s most significant achievement? 

BN: Through the years, our group has been able to keep this issue on policymaker’s tables – and from a women’s perspective. We have been able to change the political discourse on insurgency, to include women’s perspectives. Last year, a United Nations team visited India for 3 weeks to assess and document our work.

Stopping the rampant infiltration of arms and shining a spotlight on the unregulated arms trade and its consequences – this is a global crisis that needs global tackling. Disarmament has to be about changing women’s lives on the ground.

*Photo credit: Leichombam Erendro Singh

Interview by Aparna V.Singh 

In this interview, we meet Preethi Sukumaran, Co-Founder of Krya, a small business with big plans to help consumers go eco-friendly. Their first product is a soapberry detergent. 

Aparna V.Singh (AVS): “Eco-friendly” is often seen in terms of end product, but your philosophy is on the entire process starting from sustainable business cards. How did you come to this philosophy?

Preethi Sukumaran (PS): Many times the footprint of the final product is the smallest part of the company’s overall footprint. In creating an “eco friendly product”, We might choose to import raw materials from faraway countries or travel often in a gas guzzling car, thereby undoing all the good environmental work that the final product can do, potentially.

A truly sustainable company HAS to measure the footprint of the sum total of ALL its [...]]]> Eco-friendly is a way of life at Krya, says Preethi Sukumaran on her initiative to make home products sustainable. 

Interview by Aparna V.Singh 

In this interview, we meet Preethi Sukumaran, Co-Founder of Krya, a small business with big plans to help consumers go eco-friendly. Their first product is a soapberry detergent. 

Aparna V.Singh (AVS): “Eco-friendly” is often seen in terms of end product, but your philosophy is on the entire process starting from sustainable business cards. How did you come to this philosophy?

Preethi Sukumaran (PS): Many times the footprint of the final product is the smallest part of the company’s overall footprint. In creating an “eco friendly product”, We might choose to import raw materials from faraway countries or travel often in a gas guzzling car, thereby undoing all the good environmental work that the final product can do, potentially.

A truly sustainable company HAS to measure the footprint of the sum total of ALL its activities and constantly work on improving its total ecological footprint.

This leads us to interesting, principle based decisions with sustainability at its heart:

Consumer interactions:

- If a consumer lives next door to our home / office or on our way, we often drop off their detergent ourselves instead of sending it through our regular delivery partner – this ensures that our service is fast, and that no extra carbon is wasted while delivering our product.

- We publish free resource guides and e-books for consumers to make their own environmentally friendly products at home, using simple, available ingredients. These are formulations that we can commercialize ourselves, but we feel that in the larger interest of sustainability, it is okay for consumers to lighten their consumption and make their own products.

Partner interaction:

- We practice fair trade with all our partners – we offer the best rates for raw materials and manufacturing, and do not as a principle bargain on prices. This leads to better trust, better product quality, great service and a win-win deal for both us and our partners.

- We also choose to work with partners with high environmental integrity – this adds back to the environmental integrity of all our finished products.

Designing product formulations

- We design products with a high amount of environmental integrity as well. We never add cosmetic ingredients, like fragrances, unless they have real value to the consumer and make a difference in her experience.

- We proudly declare every single ingredient that goes into each product we create – this is ahead of government mandated standards in the categories we operate in.

AVS: From careers with conventional FMCG to a ‘sustainable goodies’ business – how did you prepare for it?

PS: We are very grateful for the wonderful training and values we learned in the companies we worked in, including gold standards in corporate governance, managing a brand P&L, building teams, developing new products from thin air, and a fine appreciation for effective brand building.

We built on these skills in the gap year we took before we started Krya, to research natural products, understand boot strapping a company better, read up on website design and usability, and creating great packaging.

This is our first time at everything in Krya and every single day throws up new opportunities to learn. At any point in time we are reading half a dozen books on everything, and finding, reading and subscribing to newer blogs. We also try and meet atleast one interesting, new person every week.

AVS: What have been some of the apprehensions from potential users? Is the average Indian urban user ready to go green when it comes to daily use products?

PS: When we started Krya, we thought of ourselves as a niche brand / offering. As we progress, I’m delighted to see how many varied consumers we get spanning age groups and life stages.

To give you some examples: Vegans love our products as we are a vegan company. We use no animal or animal derived ingredients in any of our products and do not test on animals.

Consumers with young children love our detergent because they are concerned about the effects a synthetic detergent can have on their children’s skin.

Consumers living in water scarce areas like Chennai like our detergent concept because it can help them re-purpose wash water.

Having said this, we do come across certain apprehensions.

The chief among them is credibility related. We are finding a certain amount of healthy cynicism among consumers for green products – they often find they are not as green as they are painted to be, or unable to justify their value in their lives.

It is great to see that consumers are looking for depth in brands and companies – this is a sign of a healthy and mature set of consumers who will (once you have proven yourself) reward you with a great deal of enthusiasm and loyalty, which is something we see at Krya.

AVS: Tell us a little about how the Krya detergent gets made.

PS: Krya is made on a small-in-spirit (actually large), certified organic, horticulture farm in A.P, near Ongole.

The soapberries are harvested every year around April. Once they mature, fully ripe fruits are plucked, they are sun dried on a large stone platform for 3 days.

Once they are sun dried, the fruits are de-seeded, and the seeds are stored for future planting.

The de-seeded fruits which are now hard, dry and brittle, are then powdered to our specification in the processing unit within the farm.

Once powdered, a small amount of calcium carbonate is mixed with the soapberry powder (3%) and then packed in the Krya packs.

AVS: How have you been getting the word about? Is it a challenge as a new business in a niche?

PS: Being an ethical, sustainable company, it is a challenge to build awareness for our brand, without using fear based or push based marketing methods or exploiting the insecurities of any particular group of consumers.

For example, our brand naturally attracts a lot of parents who want to use safe products on their children. Many, consumer segments are vulnerable to exploitative advertising today and parents are one of them. A parent today has to wade through a minefield of products that confuse and cajole them into buying them as an investment towards their child’s well-being.

This kind of marketing is something we do not do at Krya.

We try a lot of different things in Krya. We use several permission based methods of communicating with potential consumers like our blog, features by invitation (like this opportunity with Women’s Web), and our Facebook Page.

We have also tried blogger and expert review programmes. The most recent one which we did was to get a designer who works with handlooms and other Indian fabrics and prints to try out Krya.

The designer loved Krya so much that she blogged about it, and recommended it extensively.

We are constantly on the lookout for newer, refreshing and non-intrusive ways of connecting with our consumers.

AVS: What next? A little about your future plans. 

PS: The products we create under Krya can be divided into 2 categories:.

- Green cleaners for the home :detergent, dish wash and floor cleaner

- Personal care : solid shampoo, bathing powder, natural talc and natural deodorant

This year, we are focusing on the range of products that help you clean your home in a natural and sustainable manner.

*Photo credit: Preethi Sukumaran

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

In this 2-part interview with Moyna Chitrakar and Samhita Arni, we spoke to the artist-writer duo on how they found the collaborative process of working on Sita’s Ramayana and what Sita means to them. This interview is with Samhita; you can find here our interview with Moyna.

Aparna V. Singh (AVS): What was it like working together with Moyna and her art to write Sita’s Ramayana?  

Samhita Arni (SA): Moyna’s artwork came first and her images are the primary narrative. So, in the text, I’ve tried to remain true to the spirit of the images, and not impose my perspective if it doesn’t complement Moyna’s point of view as expressed in the artwork.

When retelling the story orally it’s not difficult to switch viewpoints. [...]]]> Sita’s Ramayana, a collaborative graphic novel by Patua artist Moyna Chitrakar and writer Samhita Arni, is a retelling of the Ramayana from Sita’s perspective.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

In this 2-part interview with Moyna Chitrakar and Samhita Arni, we spoke to the artist-writer duo on how they found the collaborative process of working on Sita’s Ramayana and what Sita means to them. This interview is with Samhita; you can find here our interview with Moyna.

Aparna V. Singh (AVS): What was it like working together with Moyna and her art to write Sita’s Ramayana?  

Samhita Arni (SA): Moyna’s artwork came first and her images are the primary narrative. So, in the text, I’ve tried to remain true to the spirit of the images, and not impose my perspective if it doesn’t complement Moyna’s point of view as expressed in the artwork.

When retelling the story orally it’s not difficult to switch viewpoints. But in this book, we felt it would be best to stay with Sita’s POV. At a few places I had to ask Moyna to draw a couple of more images. For example, Sita doesn’t see the war as she is imprisoned in a garden. So I used a character from Kamban’s Ramayana, Trijatha, who can relate the events of the war to Sita and had to ask Moyna to draw Trijatha.

It was very interesting meeting Moyna finally and finding out what she felt about the complete product. There were certain details in her images – her plants have faces and so I made them into characters who talk to Sita. She hadn’t thought of that when drawing the images – and so was surprised when she saw the book!

The book was a collaborative process – the result of many back and forth conversations, and included besides Moyna and me, the editor Geeta and Publisher Gita Wolf, and the supremely talented Jonathan, a Japanese-Brazilian designer who did the layout.

AVS: In the Mahabharata you wrote as a young girl, you describe the female characters of the Mahabharata as being stronger and more interesting than Sita. Has your understanding of Sita changed as you grew older?

SA: As a child, I always preferred the Mahabharata to the Ramayana – I think because the ‘female characters’ in Mahabharata were more assertive – Draupadi, Kunthi, Amba – and so seemed more real and easier to connect with.

Growing up, I never really engaged with Sita’s character. She was a collection of virtues, the ideal woman and wife; submissive and demure.  Yet, when I returned to the Ramayana as an adult and read it carefully – the Sita I encountered was a complex, strong, wise woman. She has to be strong, she’s put through so many trials – I’ve tried to suggest that strength in the narrative.

The Patua version of the Ramayana is an oral, folk tradition. And the folk traditions are sung by women who have often expressed the restrictions and oppression of their own lives in these wonderful songs about Sita, in Sita’s voice. Nabina Dev Sen has done some wonderful work on these traditions, and her work was particularly helpful in thinking about other kinds of Sitas. Also as V. Geetha, the editor, mentions in her note on the book, there’s been a tradition of variant-feminist tellings of the Ramayana that date back to Chandrabati in the sixteenth century.

Women today are confronted by so many complex choices – as we try to juggle the demands thrust upon us as daughters, wives, mothers, career women. I think we can find a lot in common with the dilemmas we face and the choices and situations that Sita herself experienced. It’s important to see Sita not as a just a wife, or queen, but as a woman in her own right – and one who, at times in various retellings, displays a great of sensitivity, maturity and insight.

It’s important to see Sita not as a just a wife, or queen, but as a woman in her own right – and one who, at times in various retellings, displays a great of sensitivity, maturity and insight.

AVS: Was it a considered decision to make Sita heroic? How did this Sita emerge?

SA: In Sita’s Ramayana we have given Sita a voice that hopefully makes a reader empathize, and engage more deeply with her circumstances  – her captivity, her hopes, her fears, the tragedies that consistently happen to her.

Close to the end of the epic, Sita rejects Ram’s offer to return to Ayodhya, if she proves her virtue again. It’s a powerful moment – she rejects returning to be a queen to a people who doubted her, rejects being a wife to a husband who abandoned her even though she was pregnant with his children. Through the ages, many have been uncomfortable with that ending – is it a tragedy? Why, when Ram comes back to her, does she choose not to return?

Over the years I’ve thought about this. I don’t think that decision needs to be seen as a tragedy. I believe it affirms Sita. She emerges as woman in her own right, with her own mind, making her own choices. She grasps, and controls her own fate, with that choice.

AVS: What is your favourite part of the book?

SA: Favourite parts – Moyna’s illustrations! I love the one the book begins with – Sita in the forest, crying, surrounded by plants with faces. It’s so evocative. And the one where Hanuman jumps across the sea – there’s just sea…and it’s a wonderful way of expressing distance.

Interview by Anjana Basu

In this 2-part interview with Moyna Chitrakar and Samhita Arni, we spoke to the artist-writer duo on how they found the collaborative process of working on Sita’s Ramayana and what Sita means to them. This interview is with Moyna; you can find here our interview with Samhita

Anjana Basu (AB): Did you find any difference between your scroll art and the book?

Moyna Chitrakar (MC): No, I found no difference at all. It’s the same thing actually. As chitrakars, we visualize the Ramayana when most people are used to reading it in words and that visualization was transferred from scroll to book form. And yes, the words were translated into English after I had written the words of my song down for them on the [...]]]> Sita’s Ramayana, a collaborative graphic novel by Patua artist Moyna Chitrakar and writer Samhita Arni, is a retelling of the Ramayana from Sita’s perspective.

Interview by Anjana Basu

In this 2-part interview with Moyna Chitrakar and Samhita Arni, we spoke to the artist-writer duo on how they found the collaborative process of working on Sita’s Ramayana and what Sita means to them. This interview is with Moyna; you can find here our interview with Samhita

Anjana Basu (AB): Did you find any difference between your scroll art and the book?

Moyna Chitrakar (MC): No, I found no difference at all. It’s the same thing actually. As chitrakars, we visualize the Ramayana when most people are used to reading it in words and that visualization was transferred from scroll to book form. And yes, the words were translated into English after I had written the words of my song down for them on the back of every picture.

AB: You described everything from Sita’s point of view. Why is that?

MC: This is a tradition that has been handed down from our forefathers. I have not heard of Chandrabati’s Ramayana (note: a narrative tradition dating from the 16th century which is mentioned at the back of Sita’s Ramayana). I learnt this story of Sita’s endurance from my mother and drew it accordingly.

It is very relevant to us here in the village because village women go through a great deal of suffering. They are abused by their husbands who beat them when they are drunk, they undergo many kinds of torture both mental and physical. As a result, the rate of suicide in the villages is high.

Sita was married to a hero king who nonetheless did not rescue her because he loved her but because he was worried about his honour.

So I talk to them about Sita, who started out with everything and ended up with nothing at all. Despite everything that she endured, exile, kidnapping, separation and then rejection from her husband, she did not take her own life. It was only at the end, when she was asked to face another test of her virtue that she asked the earth to swallow her up.

I tell the groups of women I speak to that their sufferings are nothing when you take Sita’s into consideration. Sita was married to a hero king who nonetheless did not rescue her because he loved her but because he was worried about his honour. If Sita could endure all the disappointments and cruelty that she had to suffer with humanity and compassion, so can the women of the villages in Bengal.

AB: What is your favourite part of the book?

MC: Most people concentrate on the golden deer episode, but my favourite part of the Ramayana is the section where the monkey, Hanuman comes to Sita in the garden of Ravana’s palace. She does not recognize him, but he gradually gets closer to her and begins to tell her that he comes from her husband. She is forced to listen quietly because she is surrounded by sleeping rakshasas.

We women in the villages are surrounded by many dangers. We have to learn to survive in the face of it all and to find our own internal peace.

AB: Are you handing your art down?

MC: I have 10 or 15 girls under me whom I’m teaching. They will carry on the work of bringing hope to village women and spreading the message through stories from mythology and the great epics. Women have an important role to play in this world and they must learn, as Sita did, how to survive in the world of the villages where the odds currently seem to be stacked overwhelmingly against women.

And of course, in English, Sita’s message of endurance will I hope reach many more women apart from making them see the Ramayana through different eyes.

Interview by Anne John

Monica Geller of the TV show Friends is famously known for her interest in food and cooking. Here we have her namesake, who eats, cooks, writes as well as teaches about food! Meet the other food-enthusiast-Monica; Monica Bhide!

Anne John (AJ): Hi Monica! Your story of discovering cooking as a way to connect with people is touching. Over the years, how have you and your cooking evolved?

Monica Bhide (MB): In so many ways! I used to always cook to nurture and connect and then over the past few years, my writing began to fill that role as well. So, I guess, in many ways I am really lucky… Now I have two ways to connect with my readers, my friends and my family: I can write and [...]]]> With the explosion of interest in novel cuisines and healthy eating, has food writing as a career come of age in India?

Interview by Anne John

Monica Geller of the TV show Friends is famously known for her interest in food and cooking. Here we have her namesake, who eats, cooks, writes as well as teaches about food! Meet the other food-enthusiast-Monica; Monica Bhide!

Anne John (AJ): Hi Monica! Your story of discovering cooking as a way to connect with people is touching. Over the years, how have you and your cooking evolved?

Monica Bhide (MB): In so many ways! I used to always cook to nurture and connect and then over the past few years, my writing began to fill that role as well. So, I guess, in many ways I am really lucky… Now I have two ways to connect with my readers, my friends and my family: I can write and cook for them!

AJ: You have published 3 cookbooks so far. Given that Indians are big-time foodies, is food writing a viable career option in India? What does it take to ‘make it’ in this field?

MB: Food writing is definitely a growing field in India as Indians are becoming more and more interested in food. All you have to do is take a look at the number of magazines, newspapers and blogs featuring food! Magazines are also starting to pay well for features on food.

As far as what it takes; know your subject, write well, learn to cook, learn to taste and read as much as you can! I am sure there are many other things, but these are the basics.

AJ: Do share with us your journey to becoming a food writer. What challenges did you face? How did you overcome them?

MB: I think the challenges were similar to what anyone new to an industry would face. I was an engineer trying to learn how to write for magazines. I knew nothing about publishing, editing or writing. But, I tried to learn and by trial and error, I think I have come this far!

AJ: Most established cooks transition into Cooking Instructors and conduct Cookery Classes. But your classes are different (i.e.) focused more on food writing. How did this come about?

MB: I do both! I teach food writing (online and in person) and I teach cooking classes. I wish I did cooking classes more – I have to say, it has been a while since I did the last one!

AJ: What tips would you give budding food writers?

MB: Learn about ingredients – basic and exotic. Read a lot. Write every single day. Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions. Have fun.

Food writing is one of the best and most creative fields you can be in!

AJ: Which food writers do you enjoy reading?

MB: Oh, there are so many! Some favourites include David Leite, Ruth Reichl and Francis Lam.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

Alana Lowes has many credits to her name – but the one which pushed her into the limelight and earned her loads of fans from all corners of the world, was ending up as a finalist on Masterchef Australia 2011. Here she speaks about her journey, passions and her future plans.

Aparna V.Singh (AVS): At the risk of sounding clichéd, how has the MasterChef journey been? How has reaching the top 3 changed your life?

Alana Lowes (AL): MasterChef was one of the most amazing times of my life (other than getting married of course!). It has allowed me to be fully immersed into the world of food and I get to travel around and meet some incredible people, not only during the filming of the [...]]]> Interview with Top 3 finalist at MasterChef Australia 2011, Alana Lowes who captured viewers with her spirit and talent in the kitchen.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

Alana Lowes has many credits to her name – but the one which pushed her into the limelight and earned her loads of fans from all corners of the world, was ending up as a finalist on Masterchef Australia 2011. Here she speaks about her journey, passions and her future plans.

Aparna V.Singh (AVS): At the risk of sounding clichéd, how has the MasterChef journey been? How has reaching the top 3 changed your life?

Alana Lowes (AL): MasterChef was one of the most amazing times of my life (other than getting married of course!). It has allowed me to be fully immersed into the world of food and I get to travel around and meet some incredible people, not only during the filming of the show (I met Nigella Lawson!!) but also following the show. Some of the other contestants have become some of my friends for life.

AVS: You may know that Masterchef Australia was a big success here in India. Were you surprised to hear that?

AL: I knew previous seasons of MasterChef were popular in India and I just hoped that season 3 would be as popular. The support all the way from India has been fantastic; some of my most loyal and beautiful fans are Indian. I just love getting messages or hearing that people have cooked a recipe off my blog – A Morish Distraction. I really hope to (and soon…) get to India and travel around, sample the food and talk to the locals.

AVS: Obviously, you love cooking, but is there anything you dislike about it?

 AL: The dishes! I wish that I had a dish fairy that would come in at the end of a day of testing or after a dinner party and clean up all the mess!

AVS: Cooking for yourself or your family, day-in and day-out can get routine and boring. Any tips to handle the monotony?

AL: Mix it up with simple things, for example: if you don’t eat a lot of fish, pick up some fish fillets and pan fry them with some spices or make a lentil salad rather that a green tossed salad. If you usually cook with Indian flavours or South East Asian flavours, maybe it is time to grab some basil and oregano and all of a sudden you are cooking something that tastes Italian.

AVS: Among Indian cuisines/foods, what do you particularly like?

AL: I love naan bread and chicken tikka/tikka masala. Saffron rice is something that is really special as well as it makes the table look so colourful when it is served. And of course, anything that is dessert is a favourite.

AVS: Travelling is another one of your passions. Any interesting travel tale that you would like to share with us?

AL: When I travel I always do a cooking class as this is the place you hear the most interesting stories about a culture. Food is such an important part for each and every culture around the world and learning how a certain cuisine has developed over time is fascinating. I also love adventure and I have been hiking/trekking through New Zealand, Malaysia and Vietnam. Turkey was a magical place for me.

AVS: We hear that there are cookbooks and TV shows in the offing! Do tell us a little about your future plans.

AL: I am working with a production company at the moment developing my own food show and have been approached by other production companies to work with them.

I would love to have the chance to travel to India and work on a food show there as well, maybe visit different areas in India and learn all about the beautiful cuisine! For me, food and culture has such a significant connection and telling those stories is what people want to hear.

Thanks Alana! And do visit us in India soon!

Interview by Amrita Rajan

Kalamandalam Bindhulekha is a talented, self-assured young woman fast gaining acclaim for her work in a traditional male bastion – the temple art of mural painting in Kerala. Belying her matter-of-fact manner, she expresses herself through the use of vivid hues in her paintings. Elemental reds, blues and yellows reveal the rich landscape of her mind.

Here, she talks about following her dreams, creating her own opportunities and powering through life with self-confidence.

Amrita Rajan (AR): When did you start painting murals?

Kalamandalam Bindhulekha (KB): My guru is my brother-in-law, Sadanandan, so I studied at home in the Gurukulam style. He began practicing when I was 13 and that’s when it entered my consciousness. I learned the designs, style and patterns from him. But it was only after getting [...]]]> Meet Kalamandalam Bindhulekha, the mural painter who paints on temple walls – a profession that few women, if any, are involved in.

Interview by Amrita Rajan

Kalamandalam Bindhulekha is a talented, self-assured young woman fast gaining acclaim for her work in a traditional male bastion – the temple art of mural painting in Kerala. Belying her matter-of-fact manner, she expresses herself through the use of vivid hues in her paintings. Elemental reds, blues and yellows reveal the rich landscape of her mind.

Here, she talks about following her dreams, creating her own opportunities and powering through life with self-confidence.

Amrita Rajan (AR): When did you start painting murals?

Kalamandalam Bindhulekha (KB): My guru is my brother-in-law, Sadanandan, so I studied at home in the Gurukulam style. He began practicing when I was 13 and that’s when it entered my consciousness. I learned the designs, style and patterns from him. But it was only after getting my diploma for dance (Mohiniyattam and Bharatnatyam) in 1998 that I seriously pursued the art of mural painting.

AR: So you didn’t always want to paint murals?

KB: Traditional mural painting in Kerala has a rich history but it wasn’t always as well-regarded or famous as it is today. Only a few artists even did it. One of the last of the greats was the late Mammiyoor Krishnankutty Asaan. He set up an institute under the aegis of the Guruvayoor Temple and invited 10 students to learn under him. This was the first formal academic style institute to teach mural painting as opposed to the usual apprenticeship method. My brother-in-law was one of these 10 and that’s when my interest awakened in the subject and I began learning from him.

A few of Bindhulekha’s paintings

AR: How did you get your first commission?

KB: It wasn’t really a commission. By 2001, I was working towards an exhibition. But I really wanted to paint in a temple. Mural painting in Kerala is a temple art; if you learn a temple art, you obviously want to practice it in a temple. So my brother-in-law and I took my paintings and went to talk to the trustees at Tiroor Vadakurumbakaavu Kshetram. And one of them agreed at his own risk and made it all possible for me. It was an act of devotion that I offered as a prayer. Money was not involved at all.

AR: And what was your subject?

KB: It’s a Bhadrakali temple so I painted the three images of Devi – Saraswati (in shades of white), Bhadrakali (in shades of dark blue) and Mahalakshmi (in shades of red). I based the theme on “Rajas tamas satva”.

AR: And it changed your life.

KB: It was the greatest school I’ve ever attended. Painting directly on to a wall is very different from theory or painting on canvas or paper. You need to judge everything by eye and be careful as to the ratios of your color. There are lots of little secrets that are only revealed as you work on a wall. There was no time restriction, so I could take my time and learn as I worked.

AR: You mentioned it took you two years to finish?

KB: The head priest of the temple was a very old man and he was a little doubtful about letting me work. He’d tell me, “You’ll get scared if you work by yourself, you can’t work when the temple is closed to the public.” But then if he didn’t like the person accompanying me, he’d send us away. So I could only work from 6.30 to 10 in the morning, 4 to 6 in the evening. By the time I finished mixing the colours, prepped the wall and started work, it was time to leave. So it took me 2 years to finish.

AR: Is it true you were the first woman to paint murals in a temple?

KB: I think I was the first woman to paint on the walls of a temple. I haven’t really done any great research on the subject but I haven’t heard of anyone before myself. When my brother-in-law was studying, he had no female peers.

I was only conscious of my gender when other people began talking about being a woman in this field. Some years ago, I worked with my brother-in-law on a fresco in a church and that was quite difficult – you have to work at a great height to reach the ceiling. So people used to come and gawk at this girl painting at a height of 24 ft. So that’s when I noticed. Other than that, I’m fully immersed in my work. I have a very strong work ethic so I concentrate fully on the job at hand, I always have.

AR: So people were mostly supportive?

KB: I’m very lucky; I’ve never encountered any negativity. At first, yes, some of the older people who came to pray at the temple were a little put off. They wondered why this girl was hanging around in the temple every day. They said you can’t go inside the sanctum, you can’t work while the temple is closed and there were lots of rules. But that’s about as negative as it got. My friends and family were always supportive.

AR: Tell me something about your work itself. Painting the mural in the temple was the first time you worked on a wall?

KB: Yes, you learn by painting watercolours on paper. It’s quite rare to get an opportunity to paint directly on a wall.

You have to use natural colours and traditional materials, especially in temples; water based colours and organic gum paste. Of course, this only applies to walls built with traditional materials. Natural colours don’t apply well to modern cement walls.

AR: But you also paint on canvas? You’ve had some very successful exhibitions of your work.

KB: I prefer to work on canvas from a longevity point of view. Also, it’s easier to store and move. It’s a lot more convenient to take care of your art when it’s on canvas rather than a wall.

Traditionally, in mural work, the subject is based on mythology and scripture. But my last exhibition was an attempt to do something more personal, something born of my own dreams and ideas. It was called Voyages of the Mind.

AR: Do you do a lot of private work now?

KB: I got a number of private commissions right after I finished work on the temple. But I wanted to paint what was in my mind and was apprehensive that commissioned work would interfere with that. So I chose to concentrate more on the art that I planned to exhibit. And I got my wish in 2007 in Bangalore where I had my first exhibition. And this year in August I did a show called Tradition and Beyond in Thrissur.

But I still do commissions off and on.

AR: Do you think of your chosen profession as a challenge?

KB: When you consider life as an ordinary girl, I suppose a lot of my life could be seen as challenging, but I’ve never thought of it as such. My family is fully supportive and lets me be. When people talk about challenges, in fact, I wonder what they’re talking about. I’ve never thought of it that way.

I have a very positive attitude and self-confidence. For instance, I don’t speak English. In fact, I don’t speak any language except my mother tongue but I don’t let that stand in my way. I’ve been all over India and communicated through my work.