Its been a long day today…..no it still was 24 hours as always but in terms of thoughts and moods a very very long day….I had an appointment at CSE, the same which gained a lot of publicity for its 'pesticide in coke report'…and it was an experience.
It was expected …a project on Social Marketing, A prearranged meeting with one of the top researchers in this field...our concern 'Yamuna'. The facts and figures are shocking..and that I think is a mild word..its unimaginable the amount of filth that is dumped in Yamuna in 22 km stretch in Delhi. I can go on with the facts and figures but that is not important..what is more important is the feeling, the uneasiness it brings to the cosmopolitan ME who has not spared a thought about the things so present around me yet are so invisible to my focussed eyes....Did I ever spare a thought about this river.....yes I did when in college..infact I think I was a more thinking and feeling person when in college then today when I simply think about my job posting, the wi-fi signal strength, the new book on the rack, the missed lecture, the complete indolent state (mind and body)......
And to add to the experience...since it was only a half day affair I decided to catchup on the movie RDB...and as has been a common reaction one is left with thoughts....and I was left with more than thoughts...I was also left with a Giant headache! It had something to do with the staccato sound effect in the latter portion, me craning and shifting in the uncomfortable front stall and having cried in some parts of the movie...all these effects but more than that I was reminded of my meeting at CSE.
I met this chap Bharat ,22 years, BA from London,........ cool guy,research assistant...and after talking about Yamuna and other important things (i had to glean as much as possible for my project) we just got chatting....... about things that are happening around us and the apathy we show and the consequence that we are facing and how it is only getting worse day by day....I have a cushy job offer, an MBA degree from a decent institute, have dreams and ambitions..will live and love life ...but i will spoil the environment and also care a damn about it.
No, I am pretty conscious about environment and other issues but yet I have done little about it..I can only hang my head in shame and restate that I have been a Comfortable exploiter of the resources..I fancy myself being socially aware, I see myself as a humanist and stand for equal right but have not spared even an hour when it came to volunteering work in the last two years.
Its just that these things strike our lifestyle-conditioned brains at random moments...and when it does ........I have a headache. I do not know wether I would be able to do justice to this feeling in me.......I know that I will not let this feeling die, its not just important to SAVE Yamuna...what is more important is to make a little difference to our own surroundings......there are people who are getting sensitised, getting aware, and we who have so much at our disposal only think about our disposable income....spare a thought while watching movies like RBD , Yuva etc..and some even spare little tears and when we come out of this popular media exhibition we spread the word... "nice one, do not miss it...." and then forget about it........
I have a good memory .......I will try and remember....
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
It was expected …a project on Social Marketing, A prearranged meeting with one of the top researchers in this field...our concern 'Yamuna'. The facts and figures are shocking..and that I think is a mild word..its unimaginable the amount of filth that is dumped in Yamuna in 22 km stretch in Delhi. I can go on with the facts and figures but that is not important..what is more important is the feeling, the uneasiness it brings to the cosmopolitan ME who has not spared a thought about the things so present around me yet are so invisible to my focussed eyes....Did I ever spare a thought about this river.....yes I did when in college..infact I think I was a more thinking and feeling person when in college then today when I simply think about my job posting, the wi-fi signal strength, the new book on the rack, the missed lecture, the complete indolent state (mind and body)......
And to add to the experience...since it was only a half day affair I decided to catchup on the movie RDB...and as has been a common reaction one is left with thoughts....and I was left with more than thoughts...I was also left with a Giant headache! It had something to do with the staccato sound effect in the latter portion, me craning and shifting in the uncomfortable front stall and having cried in some parts of the movie...all these effects but more than that I was reminded of my meeting at CSE.
I met this chap Bharat ,22 years, BA from London,........ cool guy,research assistant...and after talking about Yamuna and other important things (i had to glean as much as possible for my project) we just got chatting....... about things that are happening around us and the apathy we show and the consequence that we are facing and how it is only getting worse day by day....I have a cushy job offer, an MBA degree from a decent institute, have dreams and ambitions..will live and love life ...but i will spoil the environment and also care a damn about it.
No, I am pretty conscious about environment and other issues but yet I have done little about it..I can only hang my head in shame and restate that I have been a Comfortable exploiter of the resources..I fancy myself being socially aware, I see myself as a humanist and stand for equal right but have not spared even an hour when it came to volunteering work in the last two years.
Its just that these things strike our lifestyle-conditioned brains at random moments...and when it does ........I have a headache. I do not know wether I would be able to do justice to this feeling in me.......I know that I will not let this feeling die, its not just important to SAVE Yamuna...what is more important is to make a little difference to our own surroundings......there are people who are getting sensitised, getting aware, and we who have so much at our disposal only think about our disposable income....spare a thought while watching movies like RBD , Yuva etc..and some even spare little tears and when we come out of this popular media exhibition we spread the word... "nice one, do not miss it...." and then forget about it........
I have a good memory .......I will try and remember....
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
-- Bob Dylan
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Excellent Post!!
You told me about your meeting and report but it was nice to read in detail about it.
It's the little things we all can do that can make a difference. It doesn't have to be a gigantic effort like what Arundhati Roy does. Little things like, sharing the car or taking the transit or keeping the neighbourhood clean with joint effort etc.
It was so heart-wrenching to see in Mumbai that on one end people were voluneering to clean the Juhu beach, on the other end there were people throwing all kind of trash in it. Only social change and change in mindset can bring some change in the enviournment.
I remember there was this hoopla in Delhi when Shiela Dixit decided to convert all buses to CNG. Look at the positives that has come out of it now. Although, regular people can make change through small things like I mentioned, Government will also have to step up for a widespread change.
You watched the movie on quite an appropriate day. I am sure after the movie you must be thinking of going to Yamuna and cleaning it right there and then or shoot the Enviornment Minister...LOL
Bharat...**ahem ahem** {Am I witnessing a enviourment-friendly love story brewing up here...lol}
Nice lyrics by Bob Dylan, very relevant to the post and the thoughts...:-)
When we talked today, i felt our conversation was a lot different. Not exactly "our" but "yours". I brought up t topic of Bodhi Tree n how good t songs were and u wondered why such talent was wasting time in MBA. In t end u commented like "we indians.........". First of all i could not think of from where these words came !! It was totally out of the blue! coz we never used to have this sort of chat. ..... But now after readin this post i realize wht was going on in your mind.
It's true that in this materialized world people are losing their sensitivity towards the social issues. n even more worst thing is that educated ppl like us are the least interested ones in these things. As u rightly said whenever we think of this we start having things like giant headaches!! coz we simply didnt give a damn for it!
This blog is for ppl like me who have just given up of thinkin for t worldly matters.( Shaayad thoda jyadi hi senti likh diya....!. u c not used to this sort of stuff....ha ha ...)
I am sure u wil remember this feelin u talked about.
Nice thoughts. Believe me when I say this, I feel what you're feeling. Its important to do your little part in what you truly believe in. It takes one little step at a time. Hopefully, we'll all do our parts to make this world a better place. Thanks for such a nice post.
phew!!!!!
so much going thru' ur mind right now :| It must have been a long day indeed!
i really donno what to write after reading this post..
lots of thoughts echoed thro this post have occurred to me too.. but as u said, the action aftermath of such thoughts are which makes me feel bad... but, i do have taken some actions, though small, for things which i felt should be done..
nice blog :D
ONE OF YOUR.....BEST POSTS!!!!!
Nidhi jee....aap to "MAST" tareeke se express karte ho....Mera dil jaag gaya....
The way you were so invloved while talking to Bharat...n the intensity of your feelings "THAT WE ALL SHOULD ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING"...really means a lot...
N waise bhi its high time...that v all now start putting in effort to make a difference (If not large, atleast small)
I had already seen what were your thoughts about "save environment" theme.....but the way you have put it in words...appealing everyone's mind (Rather heart...if I am not wrong) is amazing!!!
Sachi..little angel...i loved this post of urs...sabse jyaada!!!!
Yes a lot of factors contrived for me to put up this post ;)
But seriously it just appalled me to see how carelessly we went about our daily work and life without sparing even a thought about the environment...
And then as you have said people are taking such nice and worthy steps..absolutely grass route which has an amazing effect on the environment..there will be hurdles but the spirit must not dampen..any cause we feel close to any way in which we can give some thing to the society and the environment, all of it will make a difference.
Each of us can make a difference.
Delhi is surely benefitted hugely, the landscape has changed..Shiela dixit had taken a tough stand but the after effect is much evident, she has started the "Bhagidari" system. And its a worthy effort too :)
Thankyou for the looong comments..its such a pleasure to read thoughts :)
Hey Vivek, you rarely put in a comment..saari baatein toh hum pehle hi kar lete hain..but i will keep pestering you for comments ..Hamesha :P :)
And i know, I was just too much into the groove, could not help it and even Sneha had a headache when she read my post.... Lolz. :))
I know the situation is such that the latent manner of the effects, though much more devastating than any societal ill in terms of the scale of effects and irrepariability, are reasons why we do not actually notice it around us.
I am sure that I will be around to keep reminding you agar tum bhool gaye toh :P ;)
I have already said this on your blog..your thoughts and my thoughts are very alike :P Doopleganger :)
And yes, the whole situation is such that we all have to chip in with efforts...The enormity ot the issue is simply amazing !!
I am sure you will and all of us will be putting in some effort, consciously or unconsciously.
Thankyou for appreciating my post.
:) :)
Haan ji Ashu jab overload hota hai toh aisa hi hota hai...I did not think about this for soo long that when i did it just took my breath away..the whole issue is just too BIG.
Lots of thoughts ..Yes .and I hope I am able to take some time off for some regular volunteering too.
Take care , and tumhare blog ko kya bimari ho gaye hai ???
Sab kuch gadbad ho gaya hai :-S
I know what you mean ..the afterefforts actually decides how effective the message is/was.
And good to know people who share similar concerns..I would be really happy to know what steps, however small ,you have taken and would like to join the efforts at my level too.
I know many of us have similar feelings..its just that when we reach the treshold of patience and limit of overlooking the obvious that one actually takes to actions.
Hope more people reach this stage quickly!!
Hey, thanks for liking the blog !
Keep dropping and have checked out your blog too :) :)
Seema you are the one who was with me through out that day.
And i know we BOTH had headaches..though you say that these things never occured , aapka dil abhi nahin..pehle se jaga hua tha bas lazy hai na hamari tarah :P ;)
Abhi bhi its a lifetime's effort that is needed..and i know you have felt the same feeling that i felt..Social Marketing ne hume kuch toh sikha hi diya :P
Hey Bhagu!! Toh kya 'Bharat'hamara faculty ban gaya lolz.. :)) =))
Love you seemu and will miss you when we finish the MBA :(
Concern for the child begging at the red light.Thoughts about environment.A plan to adopt a child.I know all these are noble thoughts , but I guess a lot of nice people harbor such feelings.The way you talk about all this , you are a good person.But yehi to maat kha gayi india.Its not about being good , its about spreading the goodness.And in that respect , your last statement carries the seeds of implementation and actually going out and making a difference, which is a pleasant thing to see.
yeah nidhi.. its nice to see someone with similar thoughts..
actually i feel verymuch whenever i see small kids working and not getting the right kind of attention tht any normal kid will get.. and primary thing being education...
I had written once abt this in my blog.. long back.. check this link
http://coolpras4u.blogspot.com/2004/11/if-i-were-god_29.html
we get proper education, so why not teach atleast a handful of children who r in need of it..
I thought its not fair jus writing these things here.. and am doing jus whatever small i can in this cause..
Regarding the preservation of nature, the first thing we can do is avoid the usage of plastic covers n bags and if we start avoiding it, it would help alot..
I try to bring tht to practice but its hard here.. may be i should do something for this too.. u've made me to think abt this too.. lets see...
the next thing.. spitting on the roadsides, throwing waste on the road.... even if its a small chocolate wrapper.. these things can be avoided.. if we take conscious efforts for this.. and make some of our friends to do so too, the message would slowly spread.. isn't it?
ok.. i should stop here.. :)
Hi..hav been here for the first time.
Good blog!!
Yeh..the initiative has to come from within to take the shape of a revolution.
I know your thoughts for i have read some of them in your blog too..the archives i mean...about adopting children and giving them all that they deserve , the love care and a home of their own..
And i know how difficult it can get ..a mental barrier if i may say so...and again its not too difficult either..if one is really passionate and believes in it.
The message is spreading and i hope the action also picks up.
Thankyou for the comment. :)
Its always a pleasure to read your comments..you put in a lot of thoughts. Thankyou for that!!
About the steps you have taken..they are very worthy and if each of us could do this little bit it would make a huge difference..I went shopping yesterday and when we were handed all the polybags for different items we simply put all of them in one bag and returnes the rest..simple! and yet we saved 5 polybags..the man was surprised..why the fuss..told him simply,it saves the environment..got a smile in return and it was NOT cynical.
:) :)
Joining hands were Seema, Manu and Nidhi..hope the chain continues...
Yeah I know ..it has to take the form of a revolution ..a situation where we would not have to make efforts consciously but as a daily habit..
Much has to be repaired and much effort is needed..all marathons begin with a step...
Thankyou for the appreciation and keep coming..BTW i liked the little rhyme on your post!!
Graffiti are always interesting :))
Thats Dylan There.. :) ;) Nice post.
Yaahaaaaaaaaaaay Thats Dylan there...I absolutely that song ..learnt it when i was in school :)
Keep coming da! :)
Hi Nidhi,
Thanks for your reflections. So good to think as you do, to really ponder how we live in light of what we believe and see around us.
We do long for the shalom, promised in my Christian faith tradition Scriptures.
Ted