“What on Earth are you guys doing?” says Earth, every time one cuts some trees, pollutes our water bodies, uses or rather misuses plastic or trips on “Aaj blue hai paani paani paani, aur din bhi sunny sunny sunny”.
22nd April is when we celebrate “Earth Day”. It also happens to be the day when Kumbha Mela- the biggest party on earth- commences at Ujjain. This is what I read in one of the articles – “The Kumbh reminds us of our place in the order of things in the creation and our duty to take care of our rivers, mountains, soil and land.” Really? The last time I checked Kumbh Mela put an entire state in the worst drought we have seen in over a decade, and costed farmers their life, to say the least!
We have violated our duty to protect our soil and water. Now the violence committed on nature is translating into an emergency for humans. And nowhere is this more evident than in Marathwada. And yet, the responses are nowhere close to addressing the root causes.
There are a few topics that I think aren’t spoken about as much. This Earth Day, I would like to put them forth for us to ponder, and take some actions in their correction:
- Ever-growing Mountain of electronic waste. There already are more devices than people on this planet! Our mantra seems to be – “I don’t care if it’s the same, but if it’s a new apple product, I want it!” If only they were talking about the apple tree.
- Slow down fast fashion. Need I say more? Fashion is changing, and at what rate! Even before we can reuse what we just bought, it’s not “in” anymore! We are not only wasting resources and money, but also adding to the exhaustion of our planet. (And here goes my weekend shopping plan!)
- If it goes the way it is going right now, soon we will hear ourselves wishing – Happy Earth’s Day to all the remaining species! Man has single-handedly managed to endanger every other species’ existence, and there is nothing to be proud of.
- “Jungle Jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai..Arre chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai phool khila hai” Oops, no Jungle left! I fear of the day when we will take our children to a museum to show them how our planet looked like, what other creatures inhabited it – though it may all be fiction for them. So unfortunate!
I know that beautiful acts of compassion happen every day. I know that good abounds. But, today, as I look at our stunning Blue Marble planet, there are just too many issues that bother me. Deeply.
I know I can’t save the whole world. Neither can you. But, each of us can have influence in our circle. Each of us can make a change, no matter how small. We can speak up for those who have no voice. We can come alongside those who are fallen. We can stand up for those who have no platform. We can join together and with each contribution, large or small, we can change this planet we call home.
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