One of the most interesting Diwali explorations was the Organic Mela at Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts. I was astonished at the sheer number of stalls and representation from all over India. I have struggled to find organic or conversations about organic in Delhi for the last six months. It was heartening to see that the organic growing and environment friendly living movement has caught up and spread considerably.

The focus was mainly on grains with a push for millets and indigenous legumes. Spices and herbs was another category. I bought some Turmeric from a farmer family from Amaravati, maharashtra. It was heart warming to have a leisurely conversation in Marathi. Found at least four more stalls of people from the general area. One of the farmers informed that he visits a farmer’s market in Mumbai every week. They were savy in dealing with non-marathi people. Unlike the Maharashtrian farmers, the couple from Tamilnadu manning an organic seeds stall was new to the Delhi crowds and managed to communicate mostly through gestures. In spite of the handicap, they were doing brisk business. After all it is planting season in Delhi finally. Sahaja seeds from Karnataka also had a stall with a pair of women, one farmer and one from the NGO. They sell organic, open pollinated, public domain seeds.

The stall I remember the most however was Bare Necessities by Harsha Patil. I was pleasantly surprised to see the mooncup displayed among the other eco friendly products. In a country like India where talking about menstruation is a taboo it was quite exciting to see the product out there in the open. I hope it peeked interest and started conversations about menstrual health and environmental friendly sanitary products. 

Some other interesting stalls and organizations that I will explore further:
Beejom from NOIDA. They have a dung farm and were selling related products like dung pots, natural liquid fertilizer and pesticide, compost. They also had farm produce – fresh veggies, grains, and daals.