The week of 17th - 21st of November 2003 saw me help conduct a GNU/Linux Appreciation Program at the Indian Institute of Port Management. The IIPM is the premier body conducting courses for the maritime fraternity and this was the first time that they had ventured into GNU/Linux. Aimed at inculcation of a 'Linux awareness' among the 1st class officers of the various bodies, the program was well attended. Inspite of some niggling deficiences in hardware support and an in-house vendor who tried to dual boot the machine with a non-existent SCO Unix, the program was a success with the participants being provided a short synopsis of the benefits of OS migration. One of the most important lessons of the program was to liase more closely with the international forums like Gnome and KDE to include their latest presentation materials and up-to-date news as part of the slideshows. All said it was an engrossing affair with both sides learning from each other and learning together.

Today had dropped by the Small Scale Industries and Cottage Industries & Handicrafts fair ? again. Did so just like that, but a curious anomaly came to the forefront. While the district emporia did put for show their entire stock of goodies, there was a profusion of stuffed toys (in the Korean mould). Per se, stuffed toys are a part of the cultural heritage of Bengal. Lots of different kinds of stuffed toys are available which involve in their creation the womenfolk. Yet these were different. Made of synthetic materials with an attempt to copy the commercial ones, they represent a rural face that is at variance with the one propagated. Had thus indulged in a lengthy conversation with the participants at the Bankura stall and a startling fact emerged. These dolls are a craze with sometimes demand far outstripping supply. Whether this be caused by an aspiration to move up the social ladder by possessing one ? Or be caused by the uniqueness of the dolls themselves, the one fact that is sure is this sudden rush is killing off a lot of artisans dyed in the traditional way. Reminded me of a movie I had seen sometime back (forget the name but it starred Anjan Dutta as the main protagonist) about how the changing tastes leave a master weaver without hope of revival of fortunes.


- posted by sankarshan @ 11/24/2003 05:33:00 AM