அகத்தீ - பிறந்தநாள் கொண்டாட்டமும் ஒரு குட்டி கதையும்....
On Feb 5th my son turned 9 .I wanted to celebrate his birthday in a more meaningful way by spending quality time with people I felt a sense of belonging.We no longer enjoyed mindless celebrations which involved hyper-consumerism, doing something for the sake of the peer pressure and to show off one's status in the society. I will talk about how we moved towards mindful and conscious celebrations in another post.
Having done celebrations at home all these years with family and neighbours, i wanted to celebrate my child's special day with a closer circle of people. More than calling it a celebration, we wanted to have a get together and spend quality time with our group of friends from Agaththi.
Now, it's time to write about my journey with Agaththi and how i got introduced to this community , the people I met here , the learnings from here that influenced our way of living. Also, how these connections have turned into an extended family.
Agaththi is the place where I found people who were in the quest to explore alternative education, medicine , lifestyle and thinking.
In 2017, i had just started my sustainable lifestyle journey and i wanted to explore places,people and events which aligned with sustainability.The universe heard me I must say.
One fine day in July 2017, I came to know that there is a zero waste farmer's market happening in Tambaram through Rajesh, from whom I used to buy A2 milk . He was also part of this group who was organising the event.I used to make Bioenzymes in bulk and I was thrilled to share this with them. I expressed my interest in spreading the awareness of this natural chemical cleaner in the event.
He informed me that the organising team wanted to have a meeting with me prior to the event. I got introduced to Bharathi and Ela in this meeting. I shared my journey with them as to why i started making Bioenzymes .I still remember this day so well. They both patiently listened to my story and were surprised to know about Bioenzymes and they agreed to give me a space to sell it as well.
After this meeting, I put my first stall for Bioenzymes and thereafter every month I looked forward to attending this event and was very happy that many people were very getting to know about this chemical -free alternative and my entrepreneurship journey had begun from here.
I met people from various backgrounds and from different walks of life in these events. I met many farmers for the first time and entrepreneurs who were selling sustainable and natural products.
It did not stop with selling Bioenzymes but I started facilitating workshops on chemical-free living.
On Feb 24th 2019 i conducted a workshop on Bioenzymes in Agaththi. It was a very successful workshop . We had a huge turn out of people who were interested to learn about chemical free living. For the first time , i conducted a workshop for such a huge crowd. The experience and memories are still afresh. It gave me confidence to go to various forums and talk about Bioenzymes.
That day Banu Chitra had also taken a workshop on sustainable menstruation. It was such an informative session by Banu. It was thought provoking and helped me question my beliefs around menstruation.A new journey was unfolding and I was getting connected to many interesting people. And , here I met Kanmani.
After the event , we used to have a team huddle with the volunteers where Bharathi would talk a lot about the vision and mission for Agaththi and the purpose of these events.I used to be in awe with his knowledge and still I am.
Trips arranged by Agaththi were eye-opening and we went to unique places.He introduced me to places like Cuckoo forest school, Puvidham , Marudham , Coop forest and many such places and met people who had taken an alternative and conscious path in their lives.Slowly, this community started to become a place where I could find support and resources for most of my needs.
I met wonderful people here.To name a few , Pannai Pandian anna , Paarivel anna, Nesavu Gopi , Tula group , Rekha , Nurpu Siva , Cuckoo group of friends, Kalam Revanth and many more. Till date, these connections add so much value in my life and have helped me in my sustainable journey. All these experiences and connections gave me new perspectives, it influenced our choices and decisions we made and a whole new direction to our life.
In short , when we were caught in the rat race of life this community acted like a circuit breaker. Just like how circuit breakers help to protect the electronic circuit from damages, this community protected us from being mobbed by the herd mentality.
In 2018, we moved out of Tambaram and we relocated to a new place . I couldn't meet them often , the interactions became limited but still i took part in the periodic trips they organised and we explored different places. Between 2019 and 2023, interactions became less with the group and many new people had joined.
Fast forward to 2023, a WhatsApp group was created by a few ladies from the group and this renewed my relationship with the Agaththi family. Special thanks to Kanchana who was the reason for me to rejoin with the Agaththi group. Kanchana and I met in Kalari(forest schooling community in Kodaikanal). During the pandemic , we attended a 3-day camp and our families met.Within a short time we both got connected. And , in the most unexpected time and place , when we both had gone to Kalari for a solo trip we met Bharathi there. I had already discussed this community with Kanchana and used to talk about the days I spent in Tambaram and with Agaththi. So, she was very inquisitive to know more about it and she got connected with Bharathi later. She took up many responsibilities in Agaththi and brought in new energy to the group. She introduced me to this ladies WhatsApp group மலரும் உறவுகள் such an apt name for the group.In this group except , Vaishnavi, Kanchana and Kanmani every one was new to me.
Cut to Feb 4th, i invited the ladies and their family from this group .The thought behind this gathering was to extend our meeting not just for community events but also for celebrations.One more important reason is , i wanted my child to have community from early childhood which will help him build healthy relationships and learn inter-dependence and mutual support. It takes a village to raise a child!
Though I look like an extrovert to many, i am an introvert in reality . Since childhood , i have not had a large group of friends.I am more comfortable just with one or two people as my friends. So, i wanted to come out of my comfort zone as well and have more people in my friends circle.
With many more thoughts in mind, I arranged the meeting in Chetpet Ecopark on Feb 4th. We had booked a place inside the park called Fit Rock arena.The idea behind choosing this place was to give children an adrenaline-filled celebration and a place where they can unleash their energy.
My son was not aware that his friends are also coming to the place.The moment he knew they had also come , his joy knew no bounds.The presence of dear ones is greater than presents.
All the kids and adults equally enjoyed this celebration. We celebrated with food, games and the children had a lot of free play. It was a day well spent and it will be a core memory to us.
I did not feel any pressure or challenge hosting the group because many from the group shared our responsibilities and made me comfortable. Special thanks to Vaishu and Dhivya who helped me to make the fruit cake on the spot.
I feel , the companionship which my son missed all these days he has found in this community. And , i can be content that I have given him a valuable gift for life-The gift of connections.
" Good friends are like stars, u can't see them but you know they are there for you ".
- Priya
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