Samarth Bharat Parva : Spirit Of Neighbourly Love – Providing Support To Burmese Refugees

Work for work's sake. There are some who are really the salt of the earth in every country and who work for work's sake, who do not care for name, or fame, or even to go to heaven. They work just because good will come of it. There are others who do good to the poor and help mankind from still higher motives, because they believe in doing good and love good. 

-   Swami Vivekananda

A group of students at IIT Delhi are showing us all the right way to treat guests, especially neighbours who are now homeless and in dire straits. They have done us proud by upholding the cultural values of our nation, and their dedication to the cause is admirable, as Palak Bhatia finds out on meeting them.

India is decidedly a country that is known for its hospitality all around the globe. ‘Atithi devoh bhavah’ (the guest is God) is a concept deeply rooted within our culture and for generations, we have strived to consider our guests as divine. This exquisite feeling shines through the efforts of the members of SIFE IIT Delhi, a student arm of the international organization SIFE, which is working towards creating sustainable economic opportunities for the needy.

Burma has been facing political and armed conflict between the military regime, political opponents, and ethnic groups that has resulted in the displacement of over 3.5 million people. Being an immediate neighbor, India has become home to a large portion of this displaced population. In fact, nearly 10,000 refugees reside in West Delhi today, something that a major portion of the citizens are unaware of. The uncountable challenges plaguing these people every day are quite overwhelming. Lack of legal protection, lack of work permits, discrimination, lack of education, abject living conditions, poor health conditions – unite this with the discomfort of being away from their homelands and familiar landscapes.

SIFE IIT Delhi, a student body of 26 members at IIT Delhi, has dedicated itself to the upliftment of these refugees and is helping them to gain a foothold in society. Their association with these people since November 2010 has enabled the students to appreciate the constant struggles they face and to develop a heartfelt relationship with them. Meeting a SIFE member is quite an eye-opener; their true commitment to the Burmese refugees’ cause is apparent immediately. They have brought forth Project Aarambh, a venture to initiate the refugees in the economic sphere and enable them to develop sustainable means of income using their current skills.

Weaving Hope is a venture that promotes the handicraft and weaving talents of the community. Due to a lack of knowledge of market scenarios, consumer demand, language barrier and societal exclusion, their skills have been unrecognized until now and SIFE IITD is striving hard to bring their talents to public light and create a market for the products. These goods, which boast of original Burmese culture, are created by women units within their community and marketed by the students. They organize corporate stalls to facilitate the sales of these handbags, laptop bags, purses, woolens, coats, and shawls. They have even sought professional support for improving skills, operations and scalability by collaborating with DASTKAR, a national organization, for the same.

Placement Cell is another arm that works towards providing a platform for the people looking for a job. The cell works as a two-way forum, an interface between the people and the factories and shops which have job vacancies. It ensures that the refugees get a just and sustainable pay for their services, while the employers get sincerity and hard work in return. They also conduct training sessions and workshops for them to improve their skills, find the right job and blend into the new work culture of today.

Food Project is yet another effort to provide them with a means of employment. Burmese dishes are unique in flavor and creation. Realizing that their only customers were the community members, SIFE realized that bringing their local cuisine into the open had a huge potential for creating sustainable enterprises. Through their food project, SIFE IITD has been organizing Burmese food stalls and catering opportunities in order to impart the essential exposure to their culinary skills, along with the much needed income to the cooks.

SIFE IITD also tries to forward their cause during Rendezvous, their annual college fest, when thousands of IITians and visitors get a chance to try out the Burmese dishes and handicrafts in an exclusive stall. Having tested some of their delicacies myself during the last year’s fest and witnessing the enormous success of their efforts, I could not help remarking upon the toils of the enthusiastic members, who happily invite visitors and treat the refugees with respect and love. Many college outreach programs such as the one in St. Stephen’s College and community initiatives such as Health Camps have also been organized.

But the most important objective of all is to enable the refugees to blend into the Indian society and sensitize the Indian community to welcome them with open arms. They are aware of the political, social and cultural dilemmas in helping a foreign refugee community – and their efforts are only meant to make the lives of these refugees a little more humane and meaningful. I salute the spirit of the SIFE IITD members, as well as the Burmese refugees, who are working hard to make their place in the world.

Palak Bhatia is a freelance writer with several mainstream publications and an online shopping website. She also acts as a travel guide for an online travel information website.

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This is daily Vivek Katha of 3rd  January 2013

Join the year long 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda : sv150.org 

Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari

3rd January in Swami Vivekananda Life

3 Jan 1886 : Narendra told the Master : Everyone has been blessed with realization. Let me, too, have something. When all have got it, why should I alone be left out?
 

'What to you want?', asked the Master.
 

'I wished to get immersed in samadhi for 3 or 4 day at a stretch, breaking it only for food.'
 

The Master said : You are a fool. There is a higher state than that even. Come here after making some provision for your family and you shall get a higher state than even Samadhi.

Samarth Bharat Parva : Sualkuchi – Weaving “Responsible” Dreams

Let new India arise out of peasants cottage, grasping the plough, out of huts, cobbler and sweeper. 

- Swami Vivekananda

As our hearts and prayers go out to the unfortunate people in Assam facing the brunt of turbulent times, we take a look at one of the state’s indigenous arts that is both beautiful and innovative. Meena Vaidyanathan visits Sualkuchi, a weavers’ village where silk is made differently and humanely, and discovers little-known facets of the Assamese way of life that leaves her with a new-found respect for the hardy and self-sufficient people.

What do you call silk that is made without boiling live silkworm pupae? Responsible silk? Non-violent (Ahimsa) silk? Whatever you want to name it – it is gorgeous and it is weaved in one small district of Assam called Sualkuchi. As I discover more of Assam, I get more intrigued and mesmerised. A state with 22 million population of which a large number of households have a loom where they weave their own cloth. But almost all of the silk weaving is done in Sualkuchi. When I set off one fine morning to spend a day with the weavers to understand their life a little better, I didn’t realise it would lead to this unending thirst to learn more.

Assam is the home of several types of silks, the most prominent being Muga, the gold-hued silk found exclusively in this state. Other silks include Pat and Eri or Endi, of which all silks except Pat is non-mulberry silk. The worms mainly feed on castor leaves and only the open ended cocoons are used for turning into silk.

As I walked into a traditional loom, I saw a mid-aged woman deftly moving her feet and hands in a coordinated manner to weave a beautiful design into the sari. The designs, determined by a very digital-looking cardboard rectangle, looked so obscure that it was hard to believe that the simple punched holes would give rise to the most amazing patterns in silk. Miri, as the lady was called, told me that she, like most other weavers in the region, came from a place called Mangaldoi and lived in rented huts in Sualkuchi. She took about 6-8 days, depending on the complexity of the design, to weave one sari, and earned about Rs. 100 a day! I also learnt that nearly 60% of the women weavers who brought to life the silks made in Assam lived outside of the district.

The owner of the loom told me that the weavers get a 2-hour break during the day where they feed their families lunch and also get time for a nap. I didn’t quite trust him, but most of the women I spoke to seemed to echo his lines, which made me believe that the lives of these weavers was perhaps a shade better than many contracted weavers in other parts of India. Perhaps the reason has been that the much of the weaving is done through a network of co-operatives.

To a large number of the weavers, not just in Sualkuchi but all over Assam, this cottage industry had been a way of life rather than mere source of living. Which perhaps explains the fact that weaving in Assam isn’t restricted to certain communities or tribes alone but spread across caste and class lines. I heard a wonderful story where Momai Tamuli Barbarua, a minister of king Pratap Singha, made it compulsory for every adult able bodied female in Assam to spin a certain quantity of yarn every evening! I was also told that in a marriage proposal, proficiency of the would-be bride in Bowa-kata,i.e.,skill in spinning and weaving is ranked way above her skills in cooking! It is still customary among the Assamese, that on the occasion of Bihu, a grown-up girl makes presents of self-woven Bihuan (Phulam Gamosa) to her near and dear ones as a token of love and respect. It was fascinating to learn that women not just dominated in weaving the silks but in districts of Goalpara, where a lot of silkworm rearing is done, it’s the Rabha women who take the lead.

Which Miri also did with fine finesse. The Muga silk she was weaving had a golden sheen that she told me grows more lustrous with each wash. This was used, together with zari, to weave fabrics for royalty. Today, the zari has been replaced by multicoloured cotton threads. The designs woven into these fabrics are drawn from the flora of Assam and, as in other parts of India, are symbolic of the different tribes and ethnic groups of the area. One speciality of this region is the bamboo weft designs, eight in number, which are used as variations in weaving patterns.

I learnt that as many as twelve types of looms are said to be in use in the state which may be broadly grouped into the Throw Shuttle Loom, Lion Loom, Pit Loom and Fly Shuttle Loom. The first one is found in almost every Assamese household while the second one is in common use among the hill tribes. Migrant weavers from Bangladesh mostly use Pit Loom. The Fly Shuttle loom which is a recent introduction is an improved type of frame which considerably increases the output of the weavers. Of the more than 17 lakh people in Assam involved in the handloom sector, silk production and weaving provides employment to over 54,000 families in Assam.

As demand and popularity rises, I also saw many looms using cheaper silk yarn sourced from states like Karnataka that are coloured to weave the designs into the muga and pat silks. This brings down the cost of production and therefore results in an increase in sales of relatively cheaper priced silk sarees and mekhalas. I tried to cloak my disappointment with this by acknowledging the fact that lower priced sarees, even if they weren’t all locally sourced, would increase the popularity of this fine piece of art, which in turn can only help the lovely women of Assam gain more employment.

As I walked towards the market from the village where I spent the day, I realized there were more than 80 stores in that narrow lane alone. And there were many such lanes in Sualkuchi, where the saree stores competed for space with the zillion Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh temples. I bought a silk saree, very similar to the one Miri was weaving and as I walked back to my car, I couldn’t help smiling at the thought of the many dreams she was weaving in the designs every day!

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Join the year long 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda : sv150.org 

Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari