Do Our Part

This one is not directly a statement on our society. However, it does come under one of the issues concerning our life.

This is the seventh winter of my life in Calcutta (I still prefer it than Kolkata) and this one is the worst. I have never felt the need of having pullovers/ sweaters or jackets in this city but I used to enjoy the cool weather during December/ January. Not this time. It is 21st December and we are still waiting for our first tryst with the winter – Calcutta style. In the elevator today, my colleagues commented on the ‘unusual weather’ condition as I could only agree. So, is this the beginning of climate change?

Experts agree that the recent Copenhagen summit was a failure in almost all respects. However, it succeeded in creating a flurry of media activities at least in India. If the world had already not woken up to the imminent climatic hazards, these activities ensured that the people are sensitized about the difficult future we may face if we do not act fast. With the busy schedule at work, I was not able to follow much but was able to catch some stuff on the receding glaciers in Himalayas. A programme on CNN-IBN was tracing the retreat of Gangotri glacier: - to many people in India (especially in North India) it would be hard to imagine life without Ganga (River Ganges). But if the predictions are true then it is not very far off when we will face that day. While the world leaders debate over how the burden of climate change should be shared, I think it is time that common people start their own small steps in at least delaying the catastrophe (who knows that in the meantime, we will achieve the means to retain the natural balance). It would be great start if we stop taking our natural resources for granted. I have been following and participating in some discussions on urban/ infrastructure development in some social networking sites for quite some time. The discussions generally are euphoric on the development of physical infrastructure but seldom take into account the maintenance of balance with the nature. Take the case of my native place Patna. In the last 4 years the city has started to catch up with other similar sized city, however, at the expense of its greenery. The result is that summer season is becoming unbearably hot. My aunt has decided not to visit Patna again during summer vacation of her kids. Fortunately, the state government has recognized the need of greenery and is developing scores of parks across the city to maintain the natural balance. It is not enough but it is a good start. I think, it is time that common people start coming out and play important role by carrying out their responsibilities. It is not only about planting trees; small contributions like switching off electrical devices while leaving rooms, closing the tap if not using the water etc. can make much difference. Standalone these may look small things, but if done on a mass level, these would make big change in the longer run. Remember the old Ad on Doordarshan ‘Pani ka mol pahchaniye, yeh anmol hai’: Ask the significance of this 20 year old message to the residents of cities in Madhya Pradesh (like Bhopal, Indore etc.) where taps went dry this year. If we do not recognize the need to preserve our natural resources then we may soon face a life not so comfortable.

James Cameron in his latest cinematic extravaganza ‘Avatar’ tried to highlight this necessity of bonding with nature. The ‘indigenous’ of Pandora Na’vi have the connection with their nature and fought hard to save that from the greedy hands of humankind. They knew they cannot live without their nature and it is time for us to decide: - will we be able to live/ survive without our rivers, trees and wildlife? In my opinion, it is time to ‘Do Our Part’. Make small contributions (I know it is not always possible), advocate proper use of energy, demand for energy efficient Public Transport System, reduce our reliability on motorized vehicles for covering small distances (better walk or use bicycles – both options are good for health), have at least a small efforts for making the neighbourhood green and give the children space to play in fields so that they can connect to nature. It is too much of a task and cannot be done effectively at individual levels.

P.S: I recently came to know that one of my seniors of the postgraduate college is trying to develop an integrated approach for an efficient transport system. I will try to help in my capacity (to whatever extent I can) and hope he succeeds. I hope that many more people are working on such projects.

As I complete the post, the date has changed to 22nd day of December of 2009 and I could feel that ‘long forgotten’ cool weather in Calcutta (Kolkata) this morning. Maybe we can still save our race and this planet from disaster through our concerted efforts.