Gurugram residents go green for a conscious Diwali

In yet another great morning of fun, frolic and laughter comes loads of Diwali shopping at the Sustainable Living Market, where every little purchase count. The shoppers’ hub was the brainchild of Iamgurgaon, a city-based NGO.

It was held to send out the message of a conscious Diwali. The Sustainable Living Market was a big draw for shoppers from across the city, along with eco-warriors from different communities, bloggers, environmentalists among others. They all came together to make a difference by adopting sustainable lifestyle.

"Our idea was to empower Gurgaon residents with an array of choices to celebrate a conscious Diwali this year at one place. Making an impact with every single purchase made at the market and showing to the world the power of one,” said Smita Ahuja, one of the organisers.

The market provided a rare opportunity to ladies from the Repurpose Corner, a self-help group which showcased their ability to create personalised bags, potlis (band) and wine bags from fabric and trims lying abandoned and cluttering the closets. Their simple easy-to-do ideas to redecorate homes and wrap gifts were an instant hit with the visitors.

It also showcased several products including flowers made of corn leaves and orange peel and tea lights, gift wraps made of cloth etc. to name a few. The aim is to reduce waste and carbon footprint.

Children from Saksham school performed an elegant dance with an anti-plastic message and Gurukul Kalpaturu Aravindam held everyone present in awe of the yoga pyramid made by children. Young and adults joined in for a treasure hunt around the installations and the Bundh.

The highlight of the day was a talk given by fashion designer Anu PD wherein she stressed the rising appeal of slow fashion and the need to repurpose and add on versatile garments on old clothes to create a new look and buy less.

In her session, Anu beautifully explained everything through live models. The enthusiastic audience tried on versatile garments, showing off their modelling skills with style and verve and were busy taking photographs and selfies.

Dozens of keen shoppers bought traditional kandeels (lanterns) accentuated with Indian motifs and soy wax diyas adorn their homes with a difference.

Several other stalls offered a variety of sustainable products and gifts that allowed everyone to make an impact with every purchase they made.

At each stall, a volunteer was there to explain about the products and how they were manufactured and encouraged the visitors to empower themselves further. Evening bags made of wrappers of chips, Ubtan soaps, bead jewellery, Iktara Bees wax wraps, beautiful dry flower articles from gulmeher, healthy dry snacks, freshly cold pressed juice, millet and raagi idlis were again a big hit with the denizens.

Namrita Choudhary, another organizer, said, “We can collectively make a huge difference in the society by simply adopting the lifestyle which is environment friendly considering the rising pollution level. Through this market, we wanted to create an awareness while providing sustainable solution to the residents who wanted to contribute more but don’t know the ways to do it.”