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EDITORIAL

Come September and the festival season is upon us yet again.
With Rakshabandhan behind us and Janamashtami round the corner, festivals will come in thick, strong and regular in the coming months. The markets have already geared up to create and meet the demands so varied and multifaceted that the consumers will be left holding their breaths if not their purse-strings.

Dr.Roopa Vajpeyi
Hony.Editor

In this September edition of Consumer VOICE we are bringing you some off-beat days, even if they appear as regularly on our calendars as the festivals. The first is a preamble for the Mahatma's birthday which though falling in October will be so early on in October, that we decided to mark its arrival in advance, right now in September. With Gandhigiri much in the air, the first thing to celebrate is that the Gandhigiri guy Sanjay Dutt is out on interim bail, for whatever reasons. We at Consumer Voice toyed with the idea of introducing Gandhigiri into consumption and wondered what shapes it could possibly take. Should people be spending less on themselves and more for some deserving causes. Should the good cheer be spread amongst the have-nots by those who have what it takes. Or, should one expect everyone to be simply circumspect about purchase of any hue and reign in the splurging instinct? Should the manufacturing and buying of swadeshi have an edge over the bewildering global markets. Should we all pledge to buy some Khadi during the Khadi sales this October? Should we try to solve consumer complaints by satyagraha and ahimsa and offer roses instead of brick-bats? Should the markets really try to crown consumers kings?

Have you any bright thoughts on this front? Write to us to have your say in the October edition.
The second occasion is the 'Green Consumer Day' on the 28th of September.

With all shopping so besieged by ethical and environmental concerns, we bring you some thoughts and suggestions on how to be a 'Green consumer'. The concern engaging all our thoughts of course is of the impact of global warming on consumer health and well being, to say nothing of consumer responsibility towards turning the tide of impending disaster. There are indeed small, apparently inconsequential steps one can take towards conservation individually, which can construe a veritable flood if enough people take it upon themselves to participate in bringing about the change which will make a difference.

The last but not the least is the 'Teacher's Day'.

The education scenario is in the throes of turmoil and change with several challenges ahead on several fronts, what with quotas and anti-quota rallies, privatisation and the onus on the state, the corporeal punishment and rights of students versus those of teachers, we thought to focus on the much maligned teacher. There is also the formulation of ISO standards for ascertaining quality in education in the offing.

As our good fortune would have it, we happened upon a rare specimen amongst the hordes. He is from a remote district of Andhra and all set to bring glory to his profession. Though frustrated and bogged down by lack of support for his sensitive and creative approach to his chosen vocation, he said that he would not want to be doing anything else...ever, in any of his births...

He simply is the answer to all parental expectations from the teaching fraternity.

There is all this and more on health and legal issues, readers' concerns and all our usual columns in Consumer VOICE. Please log on to www.consumer-voice.org for up to date and interesting features, all for free for the first month. Or, choose to read our Hindi edition for some local flavour.

We look forward to lots of feedback from our member subscribers.

We salute the spirit that never says die...

'Sare jahan se achcha Hindustan hamara...'

Dr.Roopa Vajpeyi
Hony.Editor

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