“Such is the time now,
when we are trying to imitate the West, while the West is actually getting
inspired from our culture.”
When I was staying in
the Central Europe a few years back, I got to know a lot about people, economy,
traditions and life, in general. I was able to see the impact of the industrial
revolution, which had occurred centuries back, still lingering in the people.
The people had turned into Pan
European, causing a severe drop in traditional wood based-products made
with the artisan’s own hands along with an increased dependency on metals and
machines, favoring the mass production of products. But, after the recession in
the year 2008, people became more conscious of what they were buying and
consuming, thus stepping out of their socialistic and economically secure life,
and trying to lead a simple life concentrating on authentic products.
The situation is similar
in our country as well. People are being caught in the consumerism mania,
thereby purchasing products based only on style and design, without
acknowledging the main factors like product quality and the actual materials.
India is a country boasting of diverse varieties of wood available in abundance
in our forests, yet people prefer the purchase of rubber wood and compressed
wood imported from countries like China and Malaysia for a higher price.
Here, I would like to
talk about two conscious consumers, introduced to me by my friends..
Conscious consumer 1:
Mr. Jirka Mucha is a professional Veena player and composer as well. He lives
with his family in the city of Mladá Boleslav, in the
Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. He has been inspired by the
Indian way of living and leads his life in the same way, using only Indian
products for his day-to-day activities. Using Vicco Turmeric toothpaste,
wearing cotton dress are some examples. He believes
that the traditional Indian way of living makes us a better human being and
provides scope for more creativity, His house and its surroundings ooze with
Indian spirituality.
Mr. Jirka is currently waiting for a break in
his career in the Indian Music industry.
Conscious consumer
2:
I had a chance to know
about another family from Czech Republic, who lead a self-sustaining lifestyle.
They work and strive together to lead a healthy life. They grow their own
vegetables and rear their livestock for their family’s needs. Their reason for
this simple: they do not want to be a part of the chronic consumerism that is
slowly engulfing the entire world.
The kind of lifestyle
that this family is currently leading was the same lifestyle that most of the
Indians were following before consumerism captured the markets in the name of
liberalization.
Let us get inspired
from these people and start being conscious about any products that we
purchase, including furniture, since it would be a part of our families for a
long period of time.
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