Introducing Mahatma Gandhi – What does he stand for?

Inspired by the wooden Gandhi-figure that we have in our store…

1889 an elegant young man walked the streets of London. The only difference between him and his kin was the colour of his skin. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi studied law, took dance classes and learned French to become the perfect Gentleman. Today, everybody knows him as the legendary skinny yogic Indian freedom fighter who was a charismatic leader and founder of a new world view.

At school, however, he was a quite shy boy with moderate marks. He even had to repeat a class at 14, because he was married to a girl the same age and was said to have been distracted. After graduating cum laude, Gandhi went to England and studied. A change of lifestyle came to pass when he suddenly started budgeting himself and saving money.

After a sudden and successless start as a lawyer in India, the mostly speechless attorney worked in Africa for a while where he had to face discrimination. His successful engagement for Indians in the same situation led to his prosecution and a relocation to India.

His passive resistance, meaning either his famous famine strikes or the call of his fellow countrymen to demonstrations would from then on characterise and at the same time threaten his life over and over again.

Transcendency led him to the pursuit of his main goals in life: thruthfulness and justice through selflessness. He devoted his life and work to India and its independency.

Gandhi was assassinated during a peaceful demonstration in 1948.

for The Soul of India by  Stephanie Krießmann

 

In praise of women – “One billion rising”

“We are born of woman, we are conceived in the womb of woman, we are engaged and married to woman. We make friendship with woman and the lineage continued because of woman. When one woman dies, we take another one, we are bound with the world through woman. Why should we talk ill of her, who gives birth to kings? The woman is born from woman; there is none without her. Only the One True Lord is without woman” (Guru Nanak, Var Asa, pg. 473)

In this way women are described in the  holy book of the Sikhs, the Siri Guru Grant Sahib. If we would look at other holy scriptures we would probably find many other references that express the great value and worth of a woman. Beautiful Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped by many to bring wealth and prosperity.

Whoever has followed the news recently knows, that sadly the reality is often very different. The horrible Delhi-rape case not only shocked a nation but the entire world. Of course these kind of things don´t happen only in India, but the brutality of this particular case had the effect of a wake-up call and raised the question about the treatment and safety of women in general. The day before yesterday, on Valentine´s Day millions of girls and women around the globe gathered in cities and villages to demonstrate against violence as part of a movement called “One billion rising.” Be it Berlin or Bangalore – thousands came together  to share their message through dance.

But where is the connection?

Unfortunately girls and women are not only in a threatened position when it comes to their homes, families and marriages. Often the work place means another serious risk.

Young girls who end up in child labor are often victims of abuse and harassment, but also later this threat doesn´t end. Especially if working conditions are poor, there are no safety standards or ethical guidelines; women are often the ones to suffer most. There are sad cases of girls “being sold” to factories for a number of years to “earn” their dowry money.

That´s why our focus should be especially on the women: to improve their working conditions and also ensure safety and education for them. If we think of fair trade we should try our best to ensure, that women are treated well, that they are paid a fair salary (not less than men, often for the harder work!) and that they have access to various support.

As the quote from the beginning says: There is no one without her. Let´s remember that.

Hanna for The Soul of India

 

Nieuwe producten….

De komende tijd zal ik jullie meer producten laten zien uit de collectie van The Soul of India. Alle activiteiten zijn vanaf nu gericht op het verkopen van het assortiment. Zelf ben ik op dit moment druk bezig om diverse afzetkanalen te voorzien van informatie omtrent onze werkzaamheden. Goed nieuws is dat The Soul of India sinds enkele weken nu ook officieel geregistreerd staat als onderneming in India. Gevestigd in de Pink City Jaipur maar ook werkzaam vanuit diverse locaties in Noord India. We  kunnen nu unieke traditionele maar ook meer trendy producten rechtstreeks versturen vanuit India.
Scherpe prijzen voor producten welke u niet of zelden tegen zult komen in uw omgeving. Kijk daarom op de website voor onze gehele collectie. Hieronder een aantal producten die nu of binnenkort ook op de site te zien zijn;

 

 

 

 

Fair Trade in India….het kan ook anders!

Er is de afgelopen tijd veel gesproken over Fair Trade, de geloofwaardigheid van dit label en hoe hier mee om te gaan in de toekomst. Niet alleen voor de mensen achter deze organisaties maar ook voor de consument. Degene die er van uitgaan dat producten met een dergelijk label voldoen aan dergelijke Fair Trade eisen. Mensen die zich steeds vaker afvragen; “Wat koop ik nu eigenlijk?” Iets wat begrijpelijk is. Er verschijnen namelijk steeds meer Fair Trade labels op de markt waardoor het voor de consument steeds onoverzichtelijker wordt. Men er vanuit gaat dat je bij de wereldwinkels nog de grootste kans hebt om eerlijke producten te kopen. Alleen zijn daar de producten minder trendy en worden deze winkels helaas door een beperkt publiek bezocht. Daarnaast is het kopen van Fair Trade producten iets duurder. Vrijwel iedereen wil wel graag dat de producten via eerlijke kanalen wordt ingekocht, maar willen we er ook daadwerkelijk meer voor betalen?Continue Reading