Marketing

Anil has been working at Sari Bari for a year and a half. He does our marketing, and he transports stuff between our production units. He’s a gentle man. He just has a sweet spirit. I love that every time I walk into SB if he is there he looks up, makes eye contact and says, “Joy Jisu Mousumi Di” with a big smile, as if you’re his best friend and he hasn’t seen you in a year. He’s a hard worker…and generally life is just a little better with him around…it’s like he takes the edge off a rough day, or a tense situation. The longer I know Anil the more I appreciate his presence in my life and at Sari Bari.

Last week I went to the market to pick out some saris for baby blankets. I’ve never been to the market with Anil before…and it was quite an experience. It was a bit disorienting…a bit stressful…and bit funny…and all in all had the feel of living a video game. There were the secret passageways that we found that I never would have walked into if I wasn’t following Anil. There was the bobbing and weaving around puddles and carts, bikes, busses, other people, food stands, and people carrying huge bundles of goods on their heads. There was the fear that I could not, under any circumstance, get separated from Anil. Walking up flights of stairs, down narrow hallways and squeezing between moving busses and carts. And don’t forget the honking, the music, the yelling or the colors and smells. It was a bit of sensory over-load…and it was also really fun. I was with Anil…who I trust and who watches out for me, and wants to make sure I’m okay and taken care of…so all the things that would normally be stressful about the market weren’t. Glad I got to go marketing with Anil.