An Earthly Perspective
All the planets had gathered for a discussion and Earth spoke up of a new idea.
“I want to celebrate 22 April as ‘Human Day’.”
“And what do you plan to do that day?,” asked the others.
“I will honour humans, promising to do my best to protect and nurture them.”
“But is that not what you do everyday?”
“Oh Yes! But I wish to use that day to just reinforce that idea.”
Along the same lines, Aranyani firmly believes that ‘Earth Day’ is not just an annual event celebrated on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It is a token day selected to reinforce the idea to make every day of the year into an ‘Earth Day’. This is in line with the philosophy of ‘Inspired By Nature’, one of the three pillars of Aranyani.
When Aranyani defines luxury as being able to create a positive impact at every touchpoint, the environment is definitely a vital touchpoint. Therefore, sustainability, zero-waste and ethical production are default starting points which are considered for all activities at Aranyani’s state-of-the-art atelier.
Connecting with Nature
Nestled in the lap of nature, all we need to do at our beautiful Aranyani atelier in Bangalore (India’s garden city coincidentally) is to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open and nature fills us with her goodness and bounty. Our efforts to remain connected with nature started with a small initiative to name all the trees that surround the atelier. What better introduction to them than a full name? As we got to know them better, we realized what an exceptionally loving and forgiving companion nature is. As an expression of gratitude, we cleaned up the entire area (2.18 lakh sq ft), demarcated separate organic waste pits to generate compost and made the whole zone plastic-free.
Nature responded with her own special thank you note with a bouquet of flowers across multiple plants in the campus. Then came in the birds, bees and butterflies. Out went the flies and forest mosquitoes. As a natural paradise kept getting developed, we were inspired to further connect with nature through the age-old practice of farming. Thus was born the Aranyani orchard for which every member of the company contributed in some way or the other. Teams that were formed to grow different patches of vegetables also helped build camaraderie and a feeling of brotherhood among everyone. Productivity in the orchard directly translated into productivity in the atelier.
We continue to harvest the fruits (or shall I say, vegetables) of our efforts as brinjals, cucumbers and squashes by the dozens regularly make their way from the orchard to the households of the Aranyani employees. Gardens with varieties of flowering plants are also an essential feature of the atelier.
Helping nature, one tree at a time
To extend this philosophy of connecting with nature with Aranyani’s esteemed customers also, the initiative to donate/plant a tree for every bag sold has been adopted since inception. Aranyani is thus a proud owner of hundreds of tree certificates. We didn’t miss the irony of having paper certificates for planting trees! Thus, while the trees are real, these certificates are all digital only.
The Arayani atelier is an oasis of luxury in the urban jungle that has fast grown all around. On Earth Day 2021, we commit to remain this oasis of luxury as intensely as we commit to be an oasis for luxury.
Written by Haresh Mirpuri
