Covid Lockdown and the Rainstorm

An article in Times of India ‘Lockdown leaves 30,000 silk weavers jobless in Tamil Nadu’, made me think of the “circle of life & Survival of the fittest”. How vital this phenomenon of having the right balance is to humankind. While we all have experienced the hardships of the recent pandemic in some way or the other, heavy rains in Tamil Nadu has only worsened the situation for these artisans and weavers. It is an awakening for each one of us to ponder over small yet essential things in life. While it may be “small” for us, however, the modern lifestyle we have adapted to have made us forget the basic necessities of life.

What we always thought as “small” is actually the essential essence of life that we left behind somewhere in all the madness and mad rush.

At times I ponder to myself, where is all this going to and where will all this madness end? We already have the answer in front of us right now, which the pandemic has shown us. All that matters in life is clean air to breathe, simple food on the table each day and an effortless lifestyle to survive.

We can achieve all the above by just going back to our roots, culture, and tradition. Our forefathers have been following in the past; living a simple life. To achieve this, we need to support our farmers and our artisans who help us get healthy food and simple clothing for our daily need. By following these basics, we will also promote cultivation, planting more trees and in return, make this world a better and beautiful place for the coming generations.

A wedding in India is a million-dollar business. It also takes care of thousands of small business, be it flower cultivators and vendors, traditional sweets making business, Food caterers, wedding planners and most importantly, the textile business. A wedding brings in big orders for textile and more importantly, the wedding sari and trousseau. In return, the weavers get their daily work and daily wages through the textile agents. The Covid lockdown and natural calamities disrupted this industry. While the merchants and agents survive the turmoil, it is ultimately the workers/artisans and weavers who suffer the most during these crises.

We as responsible citizens of India have to look at the bigger picture and ensure to save and support these small business/workers/artisans and weaver community during these difficult times to ensure they earn their daily livelihood respectfully and continuously without a break. It will only help them to sustain their family and avoid them moving out of small villages to the nearby towns and cities hunting for a livelihood.

While most white-collar employees continue to get their monthly salary even during such a crisis, sadly enough, the daily wages of these poor artisans and weavers are entirely stopped if there is no work.

Hence, it’s time we re-think and re-look at the way we have been functioning. Even if there is no work due to natural calamity, our farmers/ weavers and artisans should be protected and paid a nominal amount just so that they can sustain through these difficult times.

As Mahatma Gandhi rightly said, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”

Rita Sunil