In keeping with Bangalore's ongoing celebration of all things recycled, the Flea Market at Jaaga fit the bill.
The event was organised by Second to None, a group that encourages people to buy and sell used products.
“The idea behind the flea market was to provide a space for people to sell and buy secondhand material without going to the trouble of marketing or advertising. With different choices, customers buy items at a lower price than a new one, and which are in just as good a condition,” explains Anu Gummaraju, a founders of the organisation with Reena Chengappa and Shilpa Kamath.
The atmosphere was informal, yet the event created awareness among visitors about the simplicity of turning ‘waste to wealth'. Angad Gummaraju, a 14-year-old, took great pleasure in teaching kids — and grown-ups — how to make jewellery boxes and lamp holders in fifteen minutes through origami.
How did he learn to make these trendy accessories? “YouTube,” he quips, demonstrating just how easy it is to be ecofriendly and resourceful while having fun.
About thirty participants were seen exhibiting their wares at the stalls. Belaku, an NGO, had brought in bags, notebooks and trendy jewellery made out of recycled paper by disadvantaged village women.
Papier-mache artiste Rabi Ratnakar's lamps and vases were a crowd-puller. “These are completely safe and extremely kid friendly,” he says.
Taantra Cakes sold preservative-free cupcakes. “This makes them more durable. The taste of the cakes gets better and they are healthier even without refrigeration,” explains Taantra Cakes owner Chaitali Singh.
Old books, clothes, bags, even photographs, found space in shoppers' bags. Second to None is hoping to make every third Sunday ‘flea market Sunday' so that more people can participate in the “recyclathon”.
