India
SHIKSHANTAR
FROM TRANSACTING TO GIFTING
The transactional culture of today promotes self-interest and scarcity; people strive to take as much as they can and accumulate more than they need. In a gift culture—common in many traditional societies—generosity prevails and money loses its power. Shikshantar is experimenting with gift culture, replacing mindless growth with the confidence that we have what we need.
[Click below to watch the Cycle Yatra video]
Twenty-five bicycles are parked outside Shikshantar, bedecked with ribbons and balloons, papier-mâché masks and puppetry, hand-held drums and flutes and whistles. Twenty-five riders are bustling around, strapping sleeping bags to rear racks and affixing signs to the handlebars. They are preparing for a weeklong cycle yatra, a journey out of the city and into the arms of whomever they might meet along the way.
In 2008, Manish and Shilpa Jain of Shikshantar invited friends and colleagues to reflect on the meaning and significance of gift culture. The result was Reclaiming the Gift Culture, an anthology of 26 essays. The following is adapted from their introductory letter.
