RASTAFARI.. A PURE WAY OF LIFE!

Humans are mentally and socially hard wired to believe in
a religious/ cultural/ economical model and become a member of one, or many, of such groups. Through out the course of humanity, many cultures and religions have flourished, each preaching its own doctrine and attracting like minded individuals into its fold. One very interesting way of life happens to be the Rastafari Movement.

Rastafari Movement is a spiritual movement that
originated in Jamaica in the 1930's. Monotheists by virtue,they follow the doctrine that Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930-1974 is the original incarnate of Jesus and call him the "god of gods".
The Rastas, as they call themselves reject western society and its principles and way of life. They also consider Zion (Africa, particularly Ethiopia) to be the true birth place of God and deeply criticize Babylon for being corrupt and greedy.

The Movement also believes in the spiritual use of cannabis (ganja) and use it for their religious ceremonies as they feel it cleanses the body and opens the mind to truth. However, they condemn the use of alcohol since it destroys the mind.

Rastas are divided into three main sects, though various sub sects also exist. These are Bobo Ashanti, Twelve Houses of Israel and Nyahbinghi Order.

BOBO ASHANTI: 

"Bobo" means Black and Ashanti is the Asanthe sect in Ghana, which the adherents belong to. They wear long robes and tie their dreadlocks in a tight turban. Their beliefs are very similar to Jewish law and they grow their own produce, making a living of selling straw hats or brooms.

NYAHBINGI ORDER

The sect was named after Queen Nyahbinghi of Uganda, who fought against colonialists in the 19th century. They hold fast to old biblical values such as refraining from pork, drugs as they believe the human body is a temple and should not be made impure. This sect has a very strong history of music and their religious chants, drums and instruments and visuals have been incorporated by many world famous reggae artists all over the world.

TWELVE HOUSES OF ISRAEL

This sect is the most liberal of all sects and the members of this sect believe that they belong to one of the 12 houses, each being a month in a year.






MOST NOTABLE INFLUENCES OF THE RASTAFARI MOVEMENT

The most important influences and characteristics of the Rastas are the dominant colors, the hair and the spiritual use of cannabis.

DOMINANT COLORS:




The dominant colors in the Rastafari culture are green, gold and red which are the colors used in the Ethiopian flag to show their loyalty to the state of Africa. Red denotes the blood of martyrs, green the vegetation and gold the wealth of Africa.




HAIR:

Rastas have dreadlocks, they are against shaving, chopping hair or making any cuttings in the flesh. They grow their dreadlocks with great patience. They are had by not cutting their hair, not combing them and simply washing them with pure water. The Dreadlocks are a symbol of their wisdom, maturity and knowledge.







SPIRITUAL USE OF CANNABIS:

The Rastas believe that cannabis is sacred, and use it for their religious practices. The lighting of ganja is an important ceremony and is carried out with the person lighting saying a prayer and passing the joint in a clockwise direction. The spiritual use of
cannabis has met with great opposition from the west, which has
further angered the Rastas regarding Babylonian principles of allowing alcohol, which is impure,as against ganja which opens peoples mind towards the truth.


The two very famous rastas that lived were Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, both reggae artists. Reggae itself is said to be originated from the poor provinces of Jamaica, where the young Jamaicans listened to the radio and combined Jazz and western music influences with the traditional drums, lyrics and chants associated with the Rastafari Movement.


Clearly this is a movement that daringly stood up against western dominance and continues to do so....

Shitty stationery

We usually call bad things shitty and want to stay as far away from them as possible. But do you know that a lot of people have willingly turned to products that are made using animal poop?  No they are not skunks; they are as clean as you and me! These products are 100 % eco friendly, which is why they are becoming increasingly popular these days.

 Living in an alarmingly polluted city of New Delhi, my guts and intestines have also started craving for eco friendly products! Fortunately there are people less lazy than me who actually chose to do something about it rather than sit back and crib! So there have been a couple of innovative organizations who are manufacturing paper in a completely organic manner. No cutting of trees, no ugly natural consequences.. Just simple ingenuity at work and beautiful paper as a consequence!

One such organization that makes products using elephant poo is called “ Haathi Chaap”. The process is fairly simple and the products funky! The products include bags, frames, photo albums, notebooks, stationery, cards and tags, knick knacks and other quirky stuff.

These stores are retailed at the following stores in Delhi.

Design Studio,
Shop No.1, Mansarovar Bldg, 90 Nehru Place, New Delhi Ph. +91 11 4161 8630

People Tree,
8 Regal Building, Parliament Street,  New Delhi Ph. +91 11 2334 0699
Web: www.peopletreeonline.com

Tatsat,
E-50, Shop No.3, Hauz Khas Market, New Delhi Ph. +91 11 4165 5792 

Another interesting Indian brand working with rhino poo is “ Elrhino” , which makes exquisite hand crafted paper from rhino and elephant poo. Their products are retailed online at www.shopo.in . You can also “ like” their page on facebook to stay updated on their new collection. Their facebook link is https://www.facebook.com/Elrhinopaper?ref=ts

Once you see the products that these two companies retail, rest assured you will not call their collections “shitty”!!

South Indian Frenzy

Naivedyam is one of the very few Indian restaurants at a budget, that make you go " wah"   
after the dining experience!

I went to the Naivedyam restaurant at Hauz Khas Village, a couple of days back.It is situated right in front of the village, inside a small alley.

Honestly,the first thing that I had made the restaurant out to be was a shani mandir, a place where my mum used to take me forcibly every saturday!Thats courtesy the black cow sculpture that sits at the entrance surrounded by lots of small diyas. If you have ever been to a temple on a Saturday, you will know what I am talking about.

So as I went inside, I found the interiors to be reminiscent of traditional South Indian architecture. And the lovely incense and the carnatic music in the background set tone for the evening. Soon enough,I began to feel relaxed in the whole atmosphere.

But you know the thing that completely stood out for me? It was the hospitality and the food. As soon as me and my friend sat down, within a minute the waiter came with the water and greeted us with a big smile. As soon as we got settled in our seats, we were brought "rassam" the traditional South Indian drink and papadam. The rassam has become my favourite drink after that!

We ordered a masala dosa and lemon rice, and both were simply fantastic! I honestly hadn't had such good South Indian food before! 

Such good food, great authentic decor, marvelous service..and the price? Just 290 Rs. for the both of us!

You must try Naivedyam at Hauz Khas Village! You will automatically WANT to leave a tip rather than be OBLIGATED to do it!