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The first thing that strikes you when you speak to Rekha is her indomitable spirit. Not many of us would have the determination and courage to enrol in a PG course at 42, when fellow classmates say – oh! My mother is as old as you! Meet Rekha Raveendraraj Nadagoud, 48, whose store Navyatha Creations is themed on the Khun fabric, woven by the weavers of Guledagudda in Bagalkot district of Karnataka.  Rekha completed her BSc in Computer Science but her heart was always in fashion designing.  Raising and caring for her family kept her busy, but the passion to do something on her own, drove her to enrol for a Post-Graduate course in Fashion Designing at the age of 42.  She came out with flying colours, standing first in class.  Her designs were selected to be featured in Times Fashion Week after multiple audition rounds, where she got to interact with very well known fashion designers.  She found validation from many of them that the best place to look for great fabrics to bring her ideas to fruition lay hidden in our rich heritage.  That is when she zeroed in on the Guledgudda Khun fabric for her designs.    Just as she started putting her ideas to action, the pandemic struck, and weavers shut shop as factories closed, and cheap duplicates flooded the market.  She braved the pandemic to engage with weavers and convince them to weave the Khun fabric suitable for her designs.  Rekha creates not just exquisite designer sarees but also Indian and Western dresses for women using the Guledgudda Khun.  There are also number of selections for men as well.  Her creations have been worn by program anchors not just on Kannada television but also by shows hosted in the US by the Indian diaspora and have earned her accolades from many TV stars. Recently, a company chose to gift her kurtas to its employees for Diwali.  Rekha has come a long way in the last three years. Hers is an inspirational story that lives the adage – ‘age is just a number’.  She is constantly experimenting, creating new and interesting designs as she continues to add to her increasing base of happy customers.  You can visit Rekha’s store here. We are proud to have Rekha on IndyMandi.  We wish her continued success!!

Meet Esha and Mitesh Thakkar, whose NetZero Living took birth towards the end of 2020 – at the peak of the raging pandemic.  It all started with Mitesh having mouth ulcers and skin issues that were taking too long to resolve despite using several commercially available ‘natural’ products.  When nothing worked, the couple decided to try some innovative remedies themselves, and they worked! They made tooth powders and bath powders in small batches and gave it to friends and relatives.  They quickly realised that everything that was marketed as ‘natural’ was not, in fact, ‘natural’. One thing led to another, and encouraged by the responses their products were receiving, the avid nature lovers decided to formalise their efforts, and thus NetZero Living was born.  The name itself is suggestive of what the brand stands for.  Esha and Mitesh bat for ‘conscious consumerism’ and they now offer personal care and lifestyle products that reduce plastic and chemical waste.  They believe that its not only important to be conscious of what goes into our systems, but also be equally conscious of what goes down the drain, so to say.  Their Hemp Shaving Bar is worth a mention, as also their products made of cork.  Cork, Esha tells us, is one of the most sustainable products on the earth.  It is made from the bark of the cork oak tree.  The tree itself is not cut to harvest the bark, and only a portion is culled out.  The tree not only regenerates the bark, but in the process also takes in 5 times the carbon dioxide than it normally does!  NetZero Living has, in its product repertoire, cork yoga mats and wallets.   Micro plastics are used in foam yoga mats, whereas their cork yoga mats are not just completely plastic free, but also last longer.  Cork also displays properties very similar to genuine leather and is an animal cruelty free product.  It is a very good alternative to leather, the manufacture of which involves the highly polluting process of tanning.  Esha and Mitesh are in a constant search to find sustainable alternatives and their aim is to replace as many products as possible that we use in our daily lives, with plastic or chemical-free versions. IndyMandi is proud to count NetZero Living amongst our sellers.  Each one of us can make a difference. The next time we say, what difference is one plastic bottle going to make, lets pause and ask – what if everyone said the same thing?  Let us support people like Esha and Mitesh and commit ourselves to make this Earth a better place to live in.  We wish Esha and Mitesh Thakkar continued success! More power to them and may their tribe increase!

'Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have — life itself.'    Walter Anderson This quote sums up, in short, the life of Sanjay Guha Thakurta, who was diagnosed with a rare, potentially life threatening condition, at the peak of his well-paying IT career.  Shaken by the knowledge of his condition, he set out to find out his real calling.  Family responsibilities meant that he had to keep his day job, but during weekends he travelled the length and breadth of Bengal with bauls (wandering mendicants whose songs are rich with folklore) and fakirs, so that he could lead a meaningful life in whatever time he had left.  These sojourns took him through many villages replete with potters, weavers, wood carvers, villagers working with Dokra and so on and noticed one common thing - they had no takers for their art, they were starving and ruthless middlemen were exploiting them mercilessly.   A watershed moment in his career helped him make up his mind, and in 2013, he decided to bid goodbye to his IT career. Rangamaati was thus born - an ode to the rich, red soil that houses the craftsmen from Bankura, Birbhum, Bardhaman, Shanthiniketan and Purulia.  Sanjay embarked on a mission to get the artisans what is rightfully theirs - an adequate compensation for their skills and a life of dignity.  Years of exploitation by middlemen naturally made the artisans view Sanjay with suspiciion and he says that the biggest challenge he faced was earning their trust.  It was not an easy ride, with no access to capital, which meant he had to put all his savings into Rangamaati, and even sell off his wife's jewellery.  Today, he has steadily growing, dedicated customer base around the world. He regularly ships to USA, Russia, France and a handful of other countries as well as to regions across the nation.  Sanjay is extremely proud of his 'creators' as he calls them and what they produce.  There is no compromise on the materials that go into the creations, nor on the authenticity of the products.  Sanjay requests consumers to be conscientious shoppers, emphasising that the handicraft industry is one of India’s greatest assets.   We are proud to have Rangamaati and Sanjay on IndyMandi.  Let us contribute our mite to preserving the dying crafts of our beautiful motherland, before the artisans give up their crafts for want of patrons who support their art.  You can shop on Rangamaati here.