Ever wondered what books would be great to read to your children? Especially the younger ones? While there are some wonderful books in the western publishing world, where are the Indian children’s books that could give your child the much desired multi-cultural flavor, especially if you are residing abroad? Enter Saffron Tree – an initiative that discovers and reviews gems in Indian children’s literature. Saffron Tree does the work of figuring out what books you should be reading to your child. All you need to do is read their site!

The Better India was privileged to have an e-mail exchange with Praba Ram, the founder of Saffron Tree. Here is what Praba Ram has to say about Saffron Tree and the thoughts behind it:

To check out the delightful world of children’s books, visit Saffron Tree’s website: www.saffrontree.org

And before we sign-off, here is letting you know that Praba is also an author of a recently published children’s book. It is titled “Dinaben and the Lions of Gir”. The book talks about the Asiatic lions of India and the community of cattle people called the Maldharis that live in the jungle with the lions. They have been co-existing peacefully for centuries. The book celebrates their lives and that of the lions of Gir. Sounds wonderful? It is! You can read more about it here and here.

The region of Gujarat has been home to many a tribal cultures and has nourished them from the earliest known periods of history. The stark monotony of the arid landscape in this region is relieved by the bright shades of handicrafts made by the tribal women. Specifically, the Okhamandal Taluka is home to more than 200 Self Help Groups (SHGs) of men and women. It is from these communities that the Appliqué handicraft under the “Okhai” brand name has been created with the support and guidance of TCSRD (Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development).

The Self Help Groups in Okhamandal Taluka mainly comprise of the Rabaris, Vagher and Ahirs. The most prominent tribe here, the Rabaris, are a semi-nomadic tribe known for their survival and adaptation in arid regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan – pursuing a pre-agrarian, pastoral lifestyle – found mainly in the Kutch and Saurashtra regions of Gujarat. The Rabaris today lead a quaint, colourful and rugged life which finds a manifestation in the embroidery and crafts made by them.

The TCSRD centre employs the skills of about 200 Rabari women from the various Okhamanda villages and a team of trained tailors. The various products made in Okhai include apparels, accessories and handicrafts. The handicrafts workforce is guided by a full time designer to translate the traditional products into those that are in consonance with the current fashion trends. These products are sold at retail showrooms in Mithapur and Ahemdabad. The products are an amalgamation of the traditional art form of the Tribal Women and the designs of the designer.

As their website puts its, “The Okhai brand has become a powerful statement by the women of Okhamandal villages over the years. A statement that empowers them, a statement that gives them and the region an identity, a statement that make people notice this beautiful form of art and patronize it.”

What we’ve found particularly interesting is the impact that these self-help groups are creating on the community members. Do read the following tales of empowerment at the Okhai website:
Laxmi Bhara – Chief designer. She has been associated with the project for over 8 years and now is a proud owner of a home.
Rami Dula Nangesh – Empowerment personified. Her day with Okhai starts at 5 in the morning and she has been instrumental in bringing about innovative changes to the various products.

More about Okhai here: http://www.okhai.org/
To read about Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD) click here: http://www.tcsrd.org/

Located at Shri Kshetra Siddhagiri Math near Kolhapur city on the Bangalore-Pune highway, Siddhagiri Museum is indeed a unique project. Spanning over 7 acres with almost 80 main scenes and 300 statues, the Museum does a wonderful job of depicting a self-sufficient Indian village of the pre-Mughal era. Painstakingly carved with exquisite attention to detail, the museum is a must-see for its artistic beauty as well as the message it holds for one and all – a call to return to nature and restore equilibrium in our lives and environment.

The write-up on the website better surmises the purpose:

Each sculpture has a multi dimensional effect and lifestyle theme which Swamiji very keenly arranged each and every scene to make a proper visual story. In the total cluster the village demonstrate a self sufficient machinery within village. Barter economy, Interpersonal healthy happy relationship among villagers is reflected. The Museum projects the entire village as a single family, and as single family members in a joint family. No adulteration, no cut thought practice, no mad Rat Race, No pollution, but Caring, and delightful atmosphere, no bitter feeling, but fertile land, clean water, clean air, quality food, maximum use of natural resources, cattle field, livestock, job satisfaction. All these things are reflecting the beauty, Joy, satisfaction of human race and oneness with nature. It advises us to get back to nature, without disturbing the equilibrium of nature and many other things which are beyond our imagination.

Set in pristine surroundings, with an abundance of flora and fauna in its vicinity, the museum truly inspires simple living. Here you see the benefits of an unspoiled and clean atmosphere, the bonding between the people of a village who live as a single large family, and the joys of an uncomplicated family life. The scenes in fact seem so far from our ordinary lives that we might find it difficult to believe that people, including many of our forefathers, once lived in such conditions.

Even if you cannot make it to the physical site of the museum at present, they have made available an online tour on their website, which transports you and gives you a feel of the actual place. Here, they describe in detail the various aspects and characters of a typical model village in the days gone by. For example, the following picture depicts the abode of the ‘Joshi’ or village priest, along with a passage describing his functions and duties.

On your right, the first house is of the village priest. Being a highly educated person in the entire village, he performs the following duties, rites and rituals like weddings, thread ceremony, to find out auspicious day and moments for house building and house warming activities, digging of new wells, sowing seeds, punching of noses and ears etc. He meets his livelihood on ‘Dakshina’ (money offered to him by the villagers). He consults and then refers to the ‘Panchaang’ (almanac) for finding auspicious occasions. The priest also suggests instant remedies for ordinary ailments. He studies and also teaches the spiritual literature and books, inculcates culture in the people and acts as such etc. These persons are good councilors, preceptors and philosophers.
Lastly, the priest performs all rites and rituals from cradle to grave. They serve like a lighthouse for the villagers in evolution and preservation of rural culture.

Do visit this amazing village, and tell everyone about it. You never know how it might change your life!

Take their online tour at their website: http://www.siddhagirimuseum.org/
Link Courtesy: Pramod. Thanks a ton for this gem!

India boasts of a huge variety of languages and dialects. Many of these languages do not have scripts of their own. In fact many of them are on the brink of fading away into oblivion owing to the trend of people migrating to modern cities and hence newer cultures. However, a small academy in Gujarat is standing tall to save these languages from dying.

Anand Giridharadas writes in this article at The Mint on how the Adivasi Academy, based in Tejgadh, Gujarat, is working towards chronicling elements of rural culture.

It is not only obscure languages that these students are trying to chronicle and preserve, but also cuisines, sartorial habits and other significant elements of rural culture. Like drivers heading downtown at rush hour, the students see everyone else going the other way. A swelling class of Indian aspirants from small towns and villages such as Tejgadh sees urban life and the English language as pathways to affluence, security and respect. 

The academy was founded by Ganesh Devy, who is a former professor of English literature.

He created the school, known as the Adivasi Academy, with a burning question on his mind: Why do we wait for cultures to die to memorialize them? 

The article further reports:

In recent years some people in Tejgadh have become professional artists, one example of a deeper transformation. Modernity has been creeping into the villages, and young people have been pouring out. But they are unprepared. They grew up speaking a language no one recognizes beyond their village, and they are inexpert in Gujarati, Hindi and English, the languages of urban employment. In the cities, they find it difficult to escape the most menial jobs.
Devy wanted to combat this gravitational force. Could Adivasis be persuaded to study their culture rather than shed it, and to stay in the villages rather than flee? 

To know more on how young people like Kantilal Mahala, 21, and Vikesh Rathwa, 27, are working hard to preserve their language and culture, read this wonderful article at The Mint.

Image courtesy: www.livemint.com

We all know that tourism provides employment and income to millions in India. But have you heard of an entire village being trained to become a tourist hot-spot? This is the story of a small hamlet in Assam, mainly populated by impoverished families displaced by floods. These people have been trained for four years to play the perfect hosts to tourists, and come November, they will get the opportunity to display their new-found skills.

Durgapur, the little village on the fringes of the Kaziranga National Park, has about 70-odd families and has been jointly adopted by the ministry of tourism and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). These families have borne the brunt of the worst floods, and most live below the poverty line. They do not have much to call their own, and there are not many avenues for making a living in this place. The skills being imparted to them via this initiative, with the help of several help-groups and NGOs like North East Social Trust (NEST) and Indian Institute of Hotel Management, aims to provide a regular source of income for these families.

Pullock Datta reports in The Telegraph about this interesting project:

Most of the families living in the village are below the poverty line and only a few own small plots of agricultural land.

“The villagers were provided training by the Indian Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Services at Guwahati and handicraft experts from Bangalore,” the NEST official said.

A troupe of dancers from the village even took classes at Uttar Kamalabari Satra in Majuli.

“Six youths were also provided training as tourist guides,” he said.

All the houses in the two square km village are Assam-style dwellings with thatched roof and bamboo walls.

It may sound a bit like a large-scale drama production where all the inhabitants have a role to play, and the entire village is a stage. However, if the production helps these unfortunate people earn a decent and honest living, it is an innovative solution to combat India’s enormous poverty.

Read the complete article here.

Image Courtesy: The Telegraph