Miser! Who me?

My sons call me a miser because I ask them to open the gift packets carefully so that the gift wrappers can be reused. They call me a magpie when I keep the envelopes received in the post neatly so that they can be used again for some purpose at home. They hate it when I ask them not to throw old note books which still have a few pages blank so that they can be made into a rough note books to be used at home. They laugh at me when they see me collecting flyers from newspapers with one side blank and cutting them into four as these come in handy for making grocery list and can be used as post its. My kids find it very amusing when I stuff one polythene bag in my hand bag when going to work as I might stop to buy some mangoes on the way. They feel embarrassed when I refuse a sleek polythene bag from the vendor and quickly offer him my own cloth ‘thella’. They also make a long face when I discourage them from buying expensive gifts for me.

Master Key

Last week I was invited to a play enacted by children in the age group of 9 - 13 years. The children did a fantastic job in accentuating the importance of preserving our environment. The story was about a young boy of 10 who cares a damn about his surroundings. Ipods , cell phones are his closest pals. He survives on junk food like the new breed of generation. He hates to walk and wants chauffeur driven car to take him even to the house next door. The play was about his transformation into a caring individual and how he pledges to save environment.
After the glittering performance during an interaction with the audience, the anchor asked if there are any experts in their chosen fields amongst the audience. I still don’t know why she asked that but in spite of her repeated announcements forget about raising a pretty hand none would even flutter an eyelid. Though there were doctors, lawyers, educationists amongst the group but no one would get up for the fear of being labeled conceited. Most of us are brought up on the modest diet of ‘let others call you expert’ instead of you blowing your own trumpet. Suddenly, all heads turned when a small girl barely 8 or 9 yrs from amongst the audience chirped ‘I am an expert in every thing I do, what ever I do is perfect’. The anchor’s comments could not be heard due to thunderous applause by the audience.
Isn’t it true that confidence is the master key to be called an expert in everything and anything? You can have the world literally at your feet if you are confident or at least divulge that you are confident. Don’t know whether success follows confidence or the other way round!

Your Time Starts Now

Mysore summers have been exceedingly long this year; the salubrious and moderate climate of this royal city is no more its USP for residents and tourists alike. Mysore is not the exception. The heat has caught on the entire globe. The world is getting hotter year after year. Global warming is not a science fiction any more but a looming reality. The United Nations inter–governmental panel on climate change has predicted that temperatures will rise by 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Developing countries like India will be the worst affected by the climate change. Water scarcity, infertile lands, land slides, floods, droughts would become a lingo of the weather report. With all these problems to tackle where is the time and energy to chase our dreams and ambitions.
Reversing or controlling the trend is the real challenge for scientists. If we can reverse the trend or even slow it down, this will be the most precious gift we will be leaving for future generations.
This is the time to act and not ponder and play around. The time is not to indulge in blame game but find a solution together. The count down has begun.
Many may shun this as a piece of crap as what has individuals got to do with the global phenomenon and what can they do. Yes, individual acts can make a difference.
Prof Wangari Muta Maathai , the Nobel Peace Prize 2004 Winner is a living proof of it. It all started with the seven trees that she planted in her backyard on World Environment Day 30 years ago. Over the years , that single act of hers has grown into a world wide movement with 30 million trees in over 30 countries that earned her the Nobel Peace Prize for her ‘contribution to sustainable development , democracy and peace’.
After all it is the effort by every individual counts. Let’s all do what is within our reach. Planting trees, conserving power, using fuel efficient vehicles, shunning plastic bags are few things which do not even require much effort from us. Spreading awareness and educating others especially our children on saving our environment is of prime significance. Dedicating just a day for this every year wouldn’t be enough for celebrating Environment Day, let’s celebrate it every day.