Page 178 - SocialHarmony

182 Social Harmony

a major revolution in this field. We have brought the village
market to the city, which has made a remarkable difference. We
could have made a small building in any remote corner in the
name of ‘Gram Haat’. But since this market is meant for the
poor artists who earn their entire living from these arts, we have
made the market in posh and attractive places. The basic idea is
that the building in itself should be so attractive that it should
draw the customers inside. Many times people of higher classes
hesitate from visiting these markets that do not have air-
conditioning or any security. It is not possible to change their
mindset, but it is certainly possible to make the market an
attractive place even for these people. It is for the first time in
India that such markets are made where city-bred, aristocrat
people would take pride in visiting the ‘Gram Haat’. This village
market would set an example for other village markets in India.
This is an experiment, but we have made the first model so
perfect that no one can reject it. This is our foundation.

A few days back I met someone on my visit to the village
market. He told me that he has made Gujarat famous in Hong
Kong and Moscow by selling goods from Gujarat there. And
now he wanted to have the same kind of sales in Ahmedabad. I
told him that you only have to inform people that you have
been to Hong Kong and Moscow and people will rush to your
shop. We wish to manage this business of the poor, keeping in
mind the psyche of the people. We have merged groups of 512
artists and workers in the village markets. But I intend to
increase this number to 5000. I want every worker from the
remotest part of Gujarat to know that there exists a market where
he can sell his products. We need to encourage them to join
these markets. If there are people who have the skill and the art
to create something, they should know that the government
has created opportunities for them. There is a possibility that
they do not know about the market; that they have never
registered with the government; that the NGOs have not let
them register, because there are many sadists who do not like
the idea of such markets. This is a major barrier. It is like a
disease. There are many NGOs that virtually rule the rural