Terracotta diyas? Check ✔️
Fresh floral arrangements for the house? Check ✔️
Lots and LOTS of mithai? Double-check ✔️✔️
Navratri is officially here and Durga Puja, Dussehra, and Diwali aren’t far behind. Which is why I am checking things off my festive shopping list. Amidst all the preparations, I chanced upon the new Amazon film that beautifully reminded me of the hard work put in by small sellers to ensure my festivities go off without a hitch. While tapping my smartphone to buy stuff, I forgot the behind-the-scenes effort that goes into every single order. Whether it is rural artisans carrying forward their traditions through generations or women starting a business for the first time from home, the care and love included in each package is priceless.
It made me realize that shawl weavers, potters, bakers, small shop owners, karigars, and budding entrepreneurs are in fact the backbone that enable our celebrations, our gifts, our lights, and in turn our happiness.
The film showed me how Amazon sellers from across the country are reopening their shops after a brief hiatus (during the lockdown) with renewed passion. The size of their businesses may be small but their determination definitely isn’t. Each and every one of them is burning the midnight oil, creating high-quality handcrafted goods, ensuring a wide selection, and dealing with logistics and shipping partners so that I can receive little boxes of joy at my doorstep.
What I loved most about the film was that it introduced me to some of these people and puts faces to the brand names I was looking at online. Like entrepreneur Ahana Gautam who sells wholesome cookies and Sunita Sonthalia who came up with the innovative idea of fabric books for toddlers who tend to tear pages made of paper.
The seller’s point of view depicted in the film made me aware of exactly how products were made, what it took to transport them safely, and also made me more mindful of what I wanted to buy for myself and my family. Because it is not just about a product’s aesthetics or functional value that is important but also the magic imbibed inside of it by real, talented, hardworking people.
And it did so in the most touching way possible – through a moving poem! ❤️
Nanhe se hai, par sapne chote nahi
Mitti ke hai, par irade toote nahi.
Hawa ayi, thoda sa hil gaye
Sahara mila hai, toh ab jugnoo se phir chamak gaye!✨
I watched the film a second time to take in the stirring background score and appreciate the film production which is as affecting as the message it conveys. The shot angles give the sellers the importance they deserve and uniquely string together stories from many different regions.
Watch the heartwarming film here:
Knowing the story of the products themselves and the journey of the people who made them has certainly enriched my shopping experience. I am grateful to all local sellers who are not only spreading happiness in my home but also generating employment and boosting the economy. I will continue to support them this festive season and the next. Will you?