New Delhi, October 2: He is not merely a favourite with politicians. The Mahatma's simple living, high thinking messages are fast making inroads to the marketing space as entrepreneurs coin catchy names to sell everything from organic rice to woolen stoles. But non-violent honey?

Violence-free pencils? Planet-friendly chilli powder? Call it a necessity to stand out on supermarket shelves, or the need to assert authenticity. But the onus of promoting organic food is left to the small fringe groups located few and far between.

As organic food becomes a fad with the health-conscious city folks, Ganesh Eashwar, who runs the organic store Dubden in Shahpur Jat, elaborates on the art of leading an organic lifestyle. ''The irony is that the person who wants to promote healthier living has to undergo the rigours of getting a certification. Nobody asks the commercial producer what kind of chemicals and pesticides he is feeding us,'' says the former advertising professional who gave up his corporate life to set up the store. Dubden sells everything from chemical-free massage oil to stoles made out of sheep wool sheared by non-cruel means. In fact, Eashwar says he stocks everything that a housewife will need to cook an organic meal. He spent more than a year sourcing the products for his store, which became operational in January this year.

Non-violent honey, he says, is another term for cold processed honey where the harvesting practises do not involve burning or smoking the hives to kill the bees. Instead, cold processing allows the bees to return to the hive.

Eashwar, however, differs from the approach adopted by NGOs, which focus only on the farmer's interest. ''We focus on what the consumer wants, only then can we ensure good returns to our farmers,'' he says. Gandhiji would have surely nodded in approval.