Wedding, an Industry

The grand opulence, décor and grandeur, woven with brands and makeover, followed by the traditional ‘band-baja’, the big fat Indian wedding is stylised business endeavour of a lifetime. Experts claim that there are about 10 million weddings in India every year, which makes it an opportune market.

The wedding industry is a contribution of several big and small businesses that include decorators, caterers, florists, trousseau and jewellery. Voila wedding is more than the nuptial ties and marriage of families.

In a year people spend an estimated total of anything between Rs 1,00,000 crore to 1,10,000 crore on weddings as per a study conducted by Technopak Advisors, a leading management consulting organisation.

Indeed the wedding shopping is an expensive affair. While 50 per cent of the estimated Rs 60,000 crore of the jewellery market goes in the exclusive wedding purchase, about Rs 10,000 crore is spent on apparel. This is mainly because, as experts point out, “Traditional Indian wedding clothing has undergone a makeover to catch up with the latest fashion trends. There are various accessories that make the traditional clothes even more spectacular.”

Similarly, the expense on furniture, durables and household items, though variable depending on the priority of items from refrigerators to iPods, comes to roughly Rs 30,000 crore. The remaining expenditure of about Rs 40,000 crore is spent on food, drink, and various arrangements for the special occasion.

Beating the recession blues and wishing to create a unique wedding that will turn talk of the town, the prospective brides, grooms and their families are exploring the best buy options. Even in the bleakest economic situation, the business in wedding has many national and international players creating trendy impressions of “simplicity and elegance” with their products.

Cherish Banarasi Saree

The Indian handloom and cottage industries have emerged stronger after every unwarranted crisis for years. The past has always sown seeds of hope. The Banarasi saree’s recent geographical indications (GI) status is an achievement worth mentioning.

With this the story of duplication comes under scrutiny as “the GI rights are the intellectual property rights that restrict others from marketing or processing a product in the same name.”

September saw the Banarasi silk product register as the ‘Banaras Brocades and Sarees’ under Geographical Indications (GI) Act.

According to experts “the GI status would benefit about 12 lakh people associated directly or indirectly with the handloom silk industry of the region because it would restrict the misuse of Banarasi saree brand. As per the GI certificate issued by the registrar of GI, the Banaras Brocades and Sarees fall in four classes (13-26) that include silk brocades, textile goods, silk saree, dress material and silk embroidery. The registration is for 10 years and it may be further renewed.”

It is easy to find skilled labour, but maintaining the tradition needs attention and care. Though at the policy level there is a need for protection from cheap silk and powerloom houses, the challenge to reintroduce Banarasi sarees as a brand is not anymore a dream in waiting. The sweat, blood and about eight years struggle of many weavers to restore the lost glory and grandeur of the Banarasi sarees is set to begin a new innings.

Living with Acne | HealthMad

Living with Acne | HealthMad

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Virtual India’s Bhuvan

Bhuvan, India’s mapping application website has been launched.

Working on similar grounds as Google Earth and Wikimapia, Bhuvan is a geoportal that provides medium to high resolution satellite imagery of virtually the entire India.

When compared to the rest, this web-based 3D mapping tool, which is a product of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is said to have better zooming properties.

“This would provide a user with images having resolution up to 10 metres. The degree of resolution showcased is based on the points of interest and popularity, but most of the Indian terrain is covered up to at least 5.8 metres of resolution with the least spatial resolution being 55 metres.”

It is also said that “the user can also navigate through 3D viewing environment. One can “fly” to destinations of choice and even draw 3D objects such as placing of expressive 3D models, 3D polygons and boxes. The site also offers tools to measure horizontal, vertical and aerial distances.”

The images on the site are a combination of satellite imagery from various IRS sensors taken “sometime within the last three years during different seasons.”

But to browse the website, one has to create an account and download “the Bhuvan Plug-in”.

A few days old into the World Wide Web, Bhuvan has a long way to go. As a common man we can hope that it would be a rich and useful source in addressing very local problems including water issues and infrastructure development.

Lifestyle Change Climate

Tackling climatic change has been an ongoing process world around; but who could have imagined that the rich and the wealthy can be one of the causes?

According to a study conducted by researchers at Princeton University, rich people and their lifestyles account for a major chunk of the carbon emissions globally.

“Instead of simply considering carbon emissions on a national or per capita level, the Princeton team proposes a more granular system of climate accounting that would examine the range of individual emissions within countries. Thanks to economic growth, there are well-off people in almost every nation in the world.”

The current data says that the world average for tons of carbon dioxide emitted a year per individual is about five tons. Here, while each European produces about 10 tons a year, Americans alone produce twice that amount.

A researcher noted that most of the emissions come from lifestyles that involve airplane flights, car use and the heating and cooling of large homes. “And the study doesn’t take into account the carbon that is embedded in imports and exports in global trade. But big developing nations like China – with its rising middle class – won’t be let off the hook either.” Writes Times.

It has been estimated that in 2008, half of the world’s emissions came from just 700 million people.

Wonder, what one will do, if pleasures and comfort are taken away from life.

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.”
Mother Teresa

Cows In Global Warming

“Cows are responsible for nearly three-quarters of total methane emissions, according to Environment Canada.” Said a news report.

In fact there is a need to reduce sources of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. And in case of bovine, if the reports are to be believed, most of the gas comes from its burps, which are 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.

The evolving science and technology has always had solutions to the unresolved problems. Little wonder then that scientists in Canada are working towards breeding a special type of cow “designed to burp less.” Indeed it is a breakthrough and holds the key to one of the main source of greenhouse gas.

But who is to be blamed? The poor bovines who are helplessly adjusting to the paths laid by us, or we humans who are interfering with the Nature?

“Climate change is life or death. It is the new global battlefield. It is being presented as if it is the problem of the developed world. But it’s the developed world that has precipitated global warming,” said Nobel peace prizewinner Wangari Maathai. Isn’t it so true? There is a need to think and act and not tamper with Nature further.