Creativity in everyday India

Creativity in everyday India

Creativity in everyday India is humble. It has a purpose, and remains invisible.

When a multinational bank decided to give Bombay Dyeing bedsheets to the homeless families that I volunteered with one Christmas, I was curious to see how people who slept in bus stops would use it. A few days later, I saw a toddler run around in a dress made out of a pillow cover.

In 2004 in Varanasi, an estimated 600,000 condoms were being utilized daily, the majority of which were distributed free of cost by the government. Family planning departments were busy congratulating themselves over the growing demand for condoms till it was discovered that Banarasi weavers were using it to lubricate the loom’s shuttle. The condom’s lubricant didn’t stain the silk threads yet increased the pace of production.

Recycling is a typically Indian tradition. Not every innovation bears the nobility of recycling, though.

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