Letter to the Environment

'Apni uljhan aap baraata hota khud hairaan, khilona maati ke' (line from a song - human being creates his own problems and then wonders about them)

Dear Environment,

Forgive us. We have messed you up.

Focus is on you nowadays. Each and every person in some or the other way is doing something for you. But is that enough? Or is it the right way to go about it? Because with so much being done we are still not able to get much results.

'Aage se cheenti na jaaye peechhe se haathi nikaltay jaayen.' (concentrate on one small aspect and not bothering about the rest) is the attitude taken by most of us.

Sharing an incident from my life around 80s when I started ironing clothes at home to economise. When my husband saw me ironing he just asked me to check the electricity bill because I had not only switched on the light in the afternoon but fan and ac were also running to cool the room. Never seen the bill. Electricity was on the company.

There were times when you were taken care of by the lifestyle of the people. There was no need to study you. You were worshipped. But now with population explosion, financial independence and freedom you have started getting exploited.

Now is felt the need to teach you like a subject whose question papers are set and answer sheets are corrected. While correcting any answer sheet only the core subject and key words are taken into consideration. Eg. language will be tested in the language paper only. Not in other papers. And so on. If we corrected each subject error in each paper the students will fail.

Though you become a question paper with questions on how to correct it, you are not to be corrected like just another answer sheet. We have to take care of you 24/7/12 for life to make you sustainable. Anything that makes you up has to be taken into consideration simultaneously by considering the pros and cons or the balance will not be maintained.

We have to keep thinking how our activities will impact you. At no point of life we can afford to give you a second priority. Alas, it happens ninety nine percent of the time. Any celebration and you have to take a back seat. 'Today is not the day to talk or think about you.' And that time never comes because ours is a country of endless festivals and celebrations and merrymaking.

The irony is that the affluent and people in positions are setting precedents of pomp and show.

Does that mean we stop living?

No. All that is required is to impose self discipline on activities that one can do without. Desire has no limit but the resources are limited. Keep asking 'Was there any need?' or 'Can I reduce it?' 'No more', 'I have had enough' are the need of the hour but no one seems to say so.

If we fast to give digestive system some rest, we can allow our desires to lie fallow for some time to give earth breathing time. It still has a lot for our needs but not enough for our entertainment.

We invest in insurance policies for old age but no investment for earth on which our next generation will live.

At times I am told that I can afford to think so because of my age. It's not the question of age. If what I studied in high school can be taught to students before they go to school then what I am thinking or doing can be practiced by anyone regardless of age.

In the movie Raazi for Alia Bhatt nothing mattered more than the country. She said 'Watan ke aage koyee nahin' (country is most important). We can say 'Environment se aage kutchch/koyee nahin.' (nothing/no one matters more than environment)

Unfortunately for us 'Environment ke aage society hai.' (society is more important than you.)

The way we recklessly move about without giving you a thought makes one wonder whether the issue is as serious as it is made to be.