Hey all,

It took me awhile to try it, but I love shoping the Co-op! We don't have all that many booths in there, but the variety is actually very good already, the products are all top-notch, and the service is so nice and personable.

I did almost all my Christmas shopping in one fell swoop the other day! And I feel good. Apologies to those boothkeepers offering mostly readings, because I was mostly looking for goods rather than services on this shopping spree, although I did get some astro reports to give as gifts as well.

I was amazed when I really settled in to shop the co-op that I did indeed find something great for all my sisters and sisters-in-law, brother and brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, daughters, husband, mom, dad -- the whole range of ages and tastes.

And I didn't have to drive to the mall and lug bags around from store to store. And I didn't have to "bid" and wonder if I'd win the bidding, like I would on Ebay. And I didn't have to worry whether there would be some unscrupulous seller on the other end offering something that looked great but ended up to be a piece of crap.

And I heard within 24 hours from half the boothkeepers I ordered from, and when I got a little anxious about the other half and whether they'd had a chance to notice new orders, I e-mailed them, either directly or through the co-op address, and got immediate pleasant and even heart-warming responses!

It's also cool to check on the "my orders" page and watch as more and more items pop up as "sent" or "filled." So much better than struggling around the mall carrying my coat and purse and shopping bags and keeping an eye on the little one and wondering if I've left my gloves or a package at that last store and trying to imagine where my husband has wandered off to now.

I'm just plain tickled pink and so proud of what we've got going on. Our little co-op is bound to catch on as the word spreads. I'm going to go tell a few more folks about it now.

Great job, Gregory and boothkeepers!

Love,
Maria

Maria can we use that as a testimonial?

It's great to hear such good feedback! Especially about the fulfillment follow-through, tracking, and the responsiveness of the boothkeepers ... this is just what we've been aiming for to set us apart: the friendliness, uniqueness and personal interaction that you'd expect from something as informal as a back-lot flea market but without sacrificing the convenience and efficiency of a mass market outlet.

Yep, I agree the Co-op is something that will grow by word of mouth as customers have good experiences and the word gets around. There are still lots of improvements to be made, and new booths and products to come online, but I think we've got the right stuff and the right energy behind it to be a real success!

So glad you had such a positive experience.

Love,
Greg

Yes, you can use it as a testimonial, heh. Hey, I got one too! Rena said the smudge sticks she ordered smell "heavenly."

I'm a little wiser now about the Paypal e-checks. I thought they'd go through instantaneously like other Paypal transactions do, but that didn't happen. And then when my bank told me the money was debited from my account Monday, I expected it to be in your hands immediately, but that didn't happen either! Oh well, at least the transaction, authorized Friday morning, did get completed by late Wednesday night -- in four banking days, so I guess that's still pretty good. And now I know that's the typical routine for e-checks.

I have my prototype smudge burning tray just about ready to add to my booth, so I'll have a big two products! I'm going to take it to a shipping place today for a packing and shipping estimate.

Ani, your new shop is cool. And Rena, your new kokopellis look great!

Maria

I need to gush a little more. Everything I ordered from the Co-op -- jewelry and adornments, sofa pillow, cuddly toys, astro reports, soaps -- is terrific and beautiful.

But today I want to add a special rave about the greeting cards I got from Ani's "Corner Shop." These are high-quality, glossy photo prints (for my sets, for teens in the family, I got orange tigers, white tigers, peacocks, puppies and some cool temple). The photos are large and clear, 4x6 inches, and mounted on nice bi-fold card stock (blank inside so you can write in them). The envelopes are nice too, with an added touch of decoration on each. I'm stunned that you can sell these so inexpensively, Ani. They're a great deal, and my only suggestion is that you put a "Copyright 2003 Anindita Basu" on the back because your photos deserve it!

The package took about three weeks to come from India to the Rockies, airmail, but it was worth the wait. And the postage stamps, including butterflies, birds and landmark buildings, are keepers. What can you tell me about the temple?

Love,
Maria

aww thanks maria. I am smiling from ear to ear. actually, was a bit apprehensive whether people would like them or not since i do not know the quality of photoprints you get there, or the quality of paper etc. Thanks for the gushing

i think you do have a point regarding copyright 2003 AB. is it okay if i put just 2003? coz the photos were taken over a period of time, not merely in 2003.

about the temples, i'll get back later. have 15 minutes now before i start rushing around getting ready for office, so..

are the cards too inexpensive? *scratching me head* i had not factored the money-transfer fees from USA to India, so I may do that now. plus, if I raise the prices a bit, maybe i'll have enough left over to afford buying something from the other booths. There are so many absolute gems out there, but expensive when I convert the dollars into rupees mentally so i just browse around.......let me think a bit

You're welcome. And yes, frankly, they probably are underpriced. I actually felt a bit guilty when I received them and remembered what I'd paid for them. Honestly, I really did.

I just finished wrapping them in gift paper and boxing them for posting. My little one chose the gift tag for each package from those you sent. That was also so sweet. I've never had such pretty handmade gift tags to use, and they really added a lovely touch ... and I do love lovely touches with my wrappings.

She wants a set of her own now, as she's getting a kick out of sending her own mail these days. I'll let her choose the pictures for her set because she's too little to like tigers! So go ahead and raise the price so I won't feel guilty. Give yourself something for your time and talent. And after you do, we'll order again.

Maria

Fine. done. I've gone and increased prices across board. It also occured to me that if they appear underpriced, people might think that they are sub-standard, which definitely they aren't, so...

The tags well, you see, I had this paper strip left over from the card-paper after I had cut out the cards, so I sat there twiddling it (since I hate throwing anything away just like that) and it occured to me that they were the right width for bookmarks and Maria must be erading a lot of books anyways, so I cut it up into long pieces and then it occured to me that, nope, this being the holiday season, gift tags would be handier than bookmarks, so that's how they turned out into tags I wonder if you noticed that they are not of the same size ........ It's because they started being a bookmark but changed into tags

about the pics, I have got 4 more that I want to post in the catelogue but somehow I am not quite getting it right. I mean, the resizing and all is coming out idiotic in the booth page.
So, am posting the pics here. And these dont have teeth (like tigers) . Am numbering them A, B, C and D. If anyone wants, they can use these alphabets (for the time being) for ordering.

Here's picture A

Picture B

Picture C

Photo D

Wow! Did you go on vacation recently or something? There weren't any beer bottles or very nearly nude foreigners in it, so I guess, it's not Goa Orissa? Or somewhere down South?

Goa. October 2003, Puja vacations

lol. Which beach is that? I'll faint if you say it's the one at Fort Aguada.

At fort aguada, I hadnt shot the beach, only my sis and mom oh wait, no, I did take a beach shot but it wasnt all that good.
The photo with the shimmering light on water, and the picture postacrd house, is at Dona Paula. The other two are at a beach whose name I have forgotten - does it start with a C or something? There are so many beaches that one keeps forgetting the names

Beautiful pix, Ani. Do you want me to resize and put them into your booth gallery for you?

Love,
Greg

Ah, could you please? That would be great.
Last time it was Cristina who helped with that and she's made a great catalogue, with each box having a clickable link that opens to a bigger picture. This time, thinking that it's time I became self sufficient I asked her to send me the background files and all, which she has but somehow I am not quite getting the hang of it I was intending to put in these pictures as nos. 28, 29, 30 and 31

Oh Fort Aguada is the worst when it comes to Tourist clutter. But, it also has the bluest water and the best waves.

Ah, Dona Paula was one of my favourites. I guess, because of the love story and the lovely windy spot where she and her lover jumped into the sea. Such a bad place to commit suicide. I'd rather just stand there and let the wind ruffle my hair or push against me, while I take in the view.

Starts with a C, huh? Calingute or something? Covalam is in Kerala not Goa, right? hmm....The only other one I remember is Miramar. The beach I liked the most in Goa was the one near the inn where we were staying. It wasn't so popular with the tourists and there were no creepy-crawlies in the water, so we could play to our heart's content. (I was 8 or 9 back then and terribly scared of crabs! Still am. I bruised my knee at the very first beach we visited, as I walked backwards trying to escape a crab floating towards me. ) I don't remember the name of that beach, but it was lovely to have it so close to the inn. We'd go there every evening and rush back home all sandy and ready for a quick bath before the grown-ups called us to dinner. Which always tasted better after all that running around on the sand. Ah! To be a child again!

Ah to be a child again

Yes, it is calingute. you have a good memory

Actually, I dont much like seas. I am crazy about mountains, though. And rivers.

Hi girls! Beautiful new photos, Ani. I want to come and see your ocean beaches and rivers, or meet up with you whenever you two manage to, and then bring you both to see my mountains.

Hey, I remembered I didn't say more about copyright. Copyright begins as soon as you create the image, so technically you could have the copyright notice on each reflect the year that you took each. On the other hand, copyright protection doesn't really become necessary until the work is being circulated publicly, so if you can't remember the exact year you took a picture you could just mark it with the year you begin making it available publicly. In either case, the legal protection begins that year and lasts throughout your whole life and for some length of time afterward. There are differences by country, but in the U.S., copyright protection lasts 75 years after the death of the person who created the work, and there are also some provisions for heirs renewing copyright ... like rights to Robert Frost's poems belong now to his heirs. But lots of old art is now copyright-free and in the public domain. That's about the extent of my knowledge on copyright.

Maria

Thanks for the copyright info Maria . In that case, i think I can put "december 2003" in the pictures because that's whne the co-op opened.

in this country, I think copyright runs for 60 years after the author's death but that is in case of books, I dont know about other creative forms. the government can, at any time, increase this copyright period for a particular author if it feels the necessity - thus Tagore's works (he died, I think in 1941) recetly became free domain though the Shantiniketan people had tried really hard to impress upon the govt to increase his copyright period. Suchi , sharat chadra chatterji's work passed into public domain a long time ago, that's how you see the monstrously twisted and totally unrecognisable "Devdas" on the screen these days. i havent seen Chokher Bali yet (that's a tagore work) but if preliminary reports are to be believed, the film bears about 10% resemblance to Tagore's story.

Yes, I went to Crossword recently and found the Indian literature section flooded with copies of Choker Bali. One set had a sketch of Aishwarya from the movie, on their covers. That kind of made me decide against buying one. Don't ask me why. It just somehow seemed all commercialised. I don't remember seeing so many copies of the book at Crossword before. But, I'm still curious about the story after reading a brief outline in the newspaper. Sounds a bit revolutionary for that time period. So, I'll probably get a copy someday. May be after the hype has died down.

Suchi, the story is slightly bold for the time it was written, since it actually speaks about things that were always kept under wraps. It is one of Tagore's bolder works. But an author who was rather too frank for the times was Sarat Chatterji. If you find his transalations, do please read them He wrote cocking a snook at caste system, widow remarriages, education of little girls....In one of the stories, he actually wrote about living-in, can you believe that? in 19th century bengal? The female characters of both tagore and sarat chatterji tend to be stronger than their male counterparts. Including paro of devdas

Yes, Devdas was a terribly weak character when compared to Paro, whose problems were infinetely greater than his and yet she rose to meet the challenge without losing her sanity. Devdas must have been an escapist Piscean. Drowning himself in drinks just because he couldn't marry the girl he loved.

Hmm...it's strange that I haven't heard or read much about Sarat Chatterji. Tagore is a lot more well-known. I haven't read any of their novels, though. But, I've heard the storyline for some of Tagore's novels. Seen a couple of movies here and there. Like Kabuliwallah. Haven't seen the entire movie and only remember the story vaguely. But, I do remember the emotion I felt when I first heard about it. Heart-wrenchingly sad. Wasn't the Kabuliwallah sent off to prison in the story? I can't remember what for. But, I do remember it was unfair and something to do with prejudice people felt against a foreigner. Kind of parallels what seems to be happening to people who are or look like they are of Middle-east origin, in the US. Really sad how innocent people get dragged into the mire of mistrust.

Anyways, thanks for telling me a bit about Sarat Chatterji. You know, I seem to be having trouble lately with books. I never can get myself to finish any. Most books I have now, don't hold my interest. Besides, I'm short on time. I've come to accept that I'm more of a fiction-person and should stop forcing myself to read more non-fiction. I badly need a good story that I can relate to. Currently, I have only a couple of digests of novels by Virginia Woolf and Dostoevsky respectively, and frankly they aren't really holding my interest long enough for me to finish them. Crime and Punishment was probably the best of the lot, considering that I actually finished reading it. Though I wouldn't say I understood the protagonist's motivations all that well.

Talking about that, have you ever read Ayn Rand's Fountainhead? Went right over my head and left me totally confused. What kind of people were those arrogant creatures? The love story part was especially puzzling. Why did they treat each other like that? Sounded like a glorification of Ego and nothing else. Or maybe I'm missing the message there.

To a cut a long story short, an Indian author with a strong message is probably what I need right now. I wish you'd told me about Sarat Chatterji before I went book-shopping. I don't know when I'll get another chance to go shopping for them again. But, next time I do, I'll definitely look it up.

Goodness, I haven't said so much in a long, long time. lol. Looks like I'm coming out of my trance.

You know, Ani, I love talking to you. Especially about books and stories I missed you, my friend!{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}