Starting afresh...

A big salute to the auto driver who drove people for free, the good samaritan at the pharmacy who let an old woman buy medicines even when her credit card failed to work and the droves of young volunteers who are relentlessly helping thousands of flood victims at relief camps and makeshift shelters in the city of Chennai, which was ravaged by nature's fury last week.

With neighbours helping each other, employers reaching out to its employees, people opening up their homes to strangers and getting together to clean the streets, the humane side of the so-called 'conservative' city has come to the fore. In fact, a child was reduced to tears thinking of the plight of the animals in the zoo. There is nothing 'conservative' about the way people of the city have reached out to its fellow citizens in kind and spirit.

It is also heartening to see social media being put to good use, with useful information, contacts and hopeful messages being passed on. This has overpowered the usual rants and blame-games. A big 'Like' here.

May the spirit of the people continue to pour. Yes, there have been reports of chaos and commotion during distribution of relief materials and people making a quick buck or two and exploiting the situation, but let us choose not to dwell on that. Also, the politics and whys-and-wherefores behind the floods can wait for now.

For some of us who didn't have to wade through dirty water or be rescued in boats, even being without internet and power for 3-4 days may have seemed like living in the Dark Ages. Look on the bright side: the rains gave a lot of us a chance to live like 'normal' human beings.

The floods didn't spare anyone. Water became a great leveller as everyone - the rich and famous, the economically backward and the middle-class - got hit. The intensity of the losses may vary, but the pain and agony are the same. For those whose life's savings and valuable belongings got washed away, words of encouragement and assurances will go a long way in their road to recovery. Yes, we need to hit the road, and fast.

With last week's nightmare behind, the people of Chennai start a new week with hope and courage. The city is keen to pick up the pieces and start afresh.

While some are still on an extended holiday with companies continuing to reel under knee-deep water, Monday saw many people put on big smiles and march to work. Their smiles may hide many a tears, but they won't let the world know that. Hopefully, as the week rolls by more people will join the workforce and move on... for life does go on, rain or shine.

'Limping back to normalcy' is what the newspapers and TV channels like to call it. But let us skip the 'limping' and try the 'leaping'.

Come on, Chennai. There can be no better way to recover and heal our wounds than working our way through it. Let us scrub, clean up and get ready to face the world again. It is not going to be easy. But we have seen the worst already.

When the neighbourhood shop knows you well...

Trips to the neighbourhood toy shop are always so eventful with me trying hard to dissuade my six year-old from wanting to buy everything he sees. My son knows the shop too well and before I know it, he is in the store basement where all his favourite cars and trains are tucked in. The sales girls know him well and they are only too happy to show him the 'latest'. Dragging him out of the shop is not an easy task. But this is not why I will remember this particular trip to the shop.

I recall it because the shop-keeper remembered that I do not take the plastic bags the shop hands out to its customers. So, when the girl at the bill desk tried to stuff my son's loot in the red-and-white shopping bag, the owner intervened and said, "Madam doesn't like plastic bags." I don't know if that was meant as a compliment, but I sure took it as one. Full marks to the shop for remembering its customers and her shopping habits.

There are a few things that irk a nature lover and one such is the ubiquitous plastic bag. Yes, it is still ubiquitous, despite efforts by retailers to prevent customers from demanding one. And there are other things that make a green lover see red... 

My story in the Alternative forum that appeared early this year. Still holds true...

http://www.thealternative.in/lifestyle/5-things-that-can-make-a-green-lover-see-red/

Being a green lover can be frustrating, especially when you’re starting off and trying to get family and friends to think the same way. Here’s how.

Swetha Kannan   Jan 8, 2015

 

I believe in being green. At first I thought this was a simple lifestyle to follow. But I was wrong. Here is why; often, simple rules are easily forgotten, taken for granted, or tweaked to suit personal objectives.

1. Plastic bags

Pic – Zainub Razvi | Flickr

Take for instance, the case of the ubiquitous plastic bags. A couple of years ago, I tried hard to get rid of them from my life completely. But I soon realised I was alone in this battle. Even as I followed a strict ‘no polythene bag’ policy at home, it always somehow found its way into my house, through my father who thought vegetables would rot otherwise, or my husband who sheepishly said he had forgotten to carry a cloth bag.

After months of tireless explaining, pleading, yelling, and sometimes even threatening, I managed to persuade my husband to do the right thing. He has now placed cloth bags everywhere—in the bike, car, and near the house entryway too. The battle with my father’s generation continues but I will not give up.

2. Zip-lock bags

Pic – Jack Kennard | Flickr

Zip-lock bags are another invasion I detest completely. Sure, they are handy to pack pickles and podis (edible powders) when you travel, but they are a menace at the end of the day. My mother-in-law is often upset that I don’t have enough plastic bags at home for her to pack the home-made pickles for distribution among relatives. I am suffering needlessly, she seems to think. Well, I would rather ‘suffer’ without plastics, than suffer with them.

3. Paper bags

Pic – [puamelia] | Flickr

If use of plastic bags gets my antennae up, so does the excessive use of paper bags. Many of us think we can reuse them while gifting. But how many do we really need? I only I see scores of paper bags lying around crumpled at homes. The frustration deepens when I see toilet rolls, tissue papers, air-conditioners, and hand sanitisers being used indiscriminately.  (My cleanliness freak husband can never have enough of the sanitiser!)

4. Commuting

Pic – Ramesh NG | Flickr

I am far from being perfect in the green world. For instance, my husband loves to take the public transport whenever, wherever possible. My older son too loves a good bus ride. But this is yet to rub off on me completely for reasons of comfort and laziness. But I do realise the serious need to inculcate a sense of pride in using public transport, especially among children who have become the victims of needless pampering.

Huge chauffeur-driven cars dropping off one child at the school is a common sight today. This achieves precious little except traffic snarls near school gates. World over, people are switching to greener fuels and smaller cars or using the cars only on weekends. But in India we still feel the need to flaunt. Or convenience always seems to score over consciousness.

5. Energy resources

Pic – romana klee | Flickr

Conscious use of resources is a value we need to instil in our children. And I am thankful to my husband for being quite the nag when it comes to saving electricity. He has taken it upon himself to teach my children simple things like switching off fans and lights when not in use, or turning on the tap only as and when required.

Of course, we still have a long way to go before we can call ourselves truly green. We are green in some respects and not-so-green in others. We haven’t completely turned to organic living and that is work in progress. I have also just started exploring options for recycling or upcycling things. This is an attempt that has met with resistance or disbelief from friends and family.

“Why are you still hanging on to broken mugs and pails? Can’t you afford a nice pot for your plants?” someone asked me the other day. Should I bother explaining? Or should I just shrug my shoulders and walk away?