Nova Scotia Artist, Joy Laking, posts ramblings while she's travelling and painting in South America.

Friday, March 21, 2014

March 19, 2014, Jodhpur, India

The Spice Girls of India

We have made three visits to M V Spices, in Jodhpur.  This is a shop recommended in Lonely Planet. We were welcomed in by Neelam. In perfect English, she invited us to sit, brought us delicious masala tea, (which we will be serving at this October's Open House), and gave us a fascinating introduction to spices.  Luckily we hadn't purchased any spices and so we were able to stock up.  After we selected our spices, (and at my age how could I resist the brain boosting mixture), I asked Neelam about their inclusion in Lonely Planet.

Neelam in her M V Spice Shop.

the Spice Girls of India Is quite a story!   Neelam's Dad, M V, had wanted to be a doctor. When lack of money and financial responsibilities made this impossible, he decided to be the first person to market spices to tourists in Jodhpur.  He opened a tiny shop in the market, and every day he carried a big blanket filled with spices up the mountain to a space outside of the fort. When the tourists came out, he engaged them in conversation, explained passionately about his spices, and had good sales and happy customers. Reorders started coming from all over the world.  When one came from Germany directed for The Spice Man, outside of the Jodhpur fort, care of the king of Jodhpur, the maharaji was so impressed that he granted M V special permission to sell his spices outside of the fort.  At the same time that M V's business was growing, so was his family. M V had married a strong wonderful woman and then tried seven times to have a son.  They had seven daughters, which they loved and educated to speak English and to be strong in dependant women.  Even though their family and friends felt sorry for M V and his wife for having no son, M V referred to his daughter's as the Seven Wonders of the World.  Their family and friends were also envious of M V's business success.

Ten years ago, when the daughters were all between ten and twenty, M V died suddenly of a heart attack.  His wife knew that they had to keep the spice shop going in order to survive.  Family and friends  tried to take over the shop because they thought that women could not and should not run a business.  When M V 's wife wouldn't give in, they promised to run them out of business within six months. These family and friends opened competing shops with names like M Z Spices or N V spices and put up signs saying that they were the shop in all the guide books. M V 's wife stood firmly and said that she would open seven shops, one for each of her daughters. To date there are four shops but things have been very far from easy.  This is a country where one of their friends, a young bride, was put to death by the grooms family. The sisters faced lies, degradation, humiliation, intimidation, beatings with bamboo and even an acid attack.  But they are strong young independent women. With their mother, five sisters continue to work together to buy top quality spices and run the four shops.  By hand, they clean and prepare the spices and the blends. They all speak English and one sister Nikki not only has put the acid attack behind her, she is known as the Spice Lioness of the market for her fearlessness. Although her schooling was stopped to help the family business, Nikki taught herself four other languages in addition to Hindi and English in order to be able to talk to tourists. The world is now a small place, and when the BBC heard about M V Spices, they decided to do a story. This resulted in an Australian deciding to do a 50 minute documentary film on their story. The film was released at the Feminist Film Festival in London, England in November, and is currently on offer to other film festivals.  Jim and I will work to see if we can help to get it into Canadian film festivals.

These intelligent, strong young women are roll models for  women the world over and especially in India where there is still such inequality.  We need to keep the Spice Girls of India in business and to encourage their bravery and leadership.  Want to order some fantastic spices?  Or want to view the film "Spice Girls if India" when it appears as it eventually will on utube? Just email me and I will put you in touch. 

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