Deepavali countdown: an address for mindful festive shopping in Chennai

Next-door neighbour to Valluvar Kottam, the Mathi Experience Store situated in the Anna Teresa Women’s Complex on Valluvarkottam High Road in Nungambakkam, carries swank. It is something of a “fishbowl shop”, its glass walls literally showcasing the products stacked on the shelves to someone lingering outside and yet to step into the outlet. And it is also a showcase for things unseen: women whose work is creating livelihoods and whose skills are finding markets, otherwise elusive. The store brings to the fore the creative skills of women from all the districts of Tamil Nadu, women who lack a privileged background but have the will to rise above that situation. It is a marketplace with a cause, bringing visibility to the products made by women self-help groups (SHGs) from the districts. 

Started by the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women (TNCDW) under the Mahalir Thittam, this outlet offers an assortment of products, and when the calendar moves closer to Deepavali, one can shop for festival-related sweets and savoury packs made by SHGs. 

Inside, the shelves “replicate” the map of Tamil Nadu. Traditional printed table runners from Udhagamandalam sit beside mudpots and tea cups from Viluppuram. Traditional music instruments from Thiruvallur, bamboo combs and toothbrushes from Kancheepuram, paintings from Thanjavur and exquisite showpieces from Nagapattinam: the “seats” are all taken.

The variety of products is staggering. Handloom textiles, handicrafts, spices, soaps, body care products, millet-based foods and a range of other food items, sanitary napkins and eco-friendly products complete the assortment. Buying the products here would help SHGs stay in business. 

Five women currently manage the store in shifts, most of them from SHGs themselves. There is an endearing manifestation of inclusivity: a woman with hearing and speech disabilities is on the store’s rolls. Established in 2023, the store has kept a record of its progress from the very beginning. M. Mahalakshmi, an employee, smiles as she opens the register to show the very first entry, made by Member of Legislative Assembly for the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency, Udhayanidhi Stalin on the day he inaugurated the outlet.

“Everything in the store is organic and comes after quality checks,” she says. 

The process of onboarding for SHGs begins with these groups approaching district officials for registering under Mahalir Thittam. According to the employees in the store, officials visit production sites to assess the products and their quality before they are selected for display. Products are reordered on the basis of demand. But Mathi is not just a place to shop. For those who would rather slow down and savour a cup of tea or coffee or perhaps a cappuccino, an adjoining cafe attached to the store offers that much-needed pause.

The menu also includes varieties of milkshakes and snacks to enjoy in the calm of its outdoor seating area, where one can sit back and enjoy the passing bustle of the city. As Deepavali approaches, the shelves make room for traditional festive delicacies prepared by SHGs. These delicacies are generally on demand, adds Mahalakshmi. The festival specials usually arrive a few days before Deepavali.

Ponder over this, on Deepavali Eve: every purchase one makes at this store can do more than bring something home. It can help an underprivileged woman somewhere in Tamil Nadu progress towards building one of her own.

A success story called Thangam

Thangam Chellam, from a village, a little beyond Marthandam, in Kanniyakumari district, is well into her seventies but has retained the spirit of a 17-year-old, probably the reason why members of her self-help group would not allow her to relinquish the SHG’s headship. The Self-Help Group (SHG) was established in 2001 (and this is its silver jubilee year) with 20 women on board. Thangam points out that she started working after her husband’s demise. She joined the SHG which she has been heading since the beginning. 

The SHG now consists of 14 members, and the group makes food items, juices, snacks, sweets, honey and pickles. Thangam is known for making a variety of juices, some of them unusual, such as hibiscus juice, gooseberry juice and nannari juice. Each member has a designated role, and the group has received formal training to strengthen its work. Out of the 14, five are adept at kitchen work. 

Thangam’s voice carries the weariness of years spent earning a livelihood, but her spirit masks the age, as she continues to lead the enterprise. Her group participates in government organised exhibitions, which she says are its primary platform for reaching customers. The products have found demand among buyers, giving the group opportunities to showcase its work beyond its home district. 

For women like Thangam and her group, every exhibition opens a door to new customers and possibilities. Thangam notes that her SHG was earlier making sweets for Deepavali but not any more. But there are those other food products that make her SHG’s presence felt at government-initiated food festivals and also at Mathi from time to time.