Did You Switch Off Your Lights Today?

Ever since the year 1972, the world has been 'marking' June 5 as the World Environment Day (as declared by the United Nations). One wonders why it took such a long time to reach a general consensus on the criticality of global warming and environmental degradation - and get the skeptics to at least acknowledge that global warming exists.

It's been over 30 years since the setting aside of a day for the environment - but it's only very recently, less than five years, that some serious concerted effort is beginning to happen (energy-saving bulbs, for instance). In all those years we missed, it's possible that we already reached a point-of-no-return from where the ill-effects of greenhouse gas emissions WHILE continuing to pursue a globalized growth model espoused by the US of A (imitating might be a better word here than pursuing) cannot be reversed. Still, we must keep trying...

As a consumer in a developing nation, I try to switch off the lights when possible, avoid polythene bags and do other little tricks to reduce my carbon footprint - but listening to politicians or celebs mouthing green promises without any backing of policy decisions makes me go sick in the stomach. To cite an example, it's one thing to ask people to "say no to polythene carrybags" - and quite another for the politicos to resist the lobby (and quite possibly, palm-greasing) of those who stand to gain from making and selling these toxic things. (Regarding the question of rehabilitating those whose livelihoods depend on the polythene business, it must be the government's responsibility - aided by tax money from you and me - to wean them away to some alternative businesses or work.)

Left to their own devices, consumers will not compromise the convenience that a lazy non-green lifestyle entails.

Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away!

Unlike the poem most of us read in the childhood, in which little Johnny asks Rain to go away because he wants to play, I wish that rain would rather stay a bit longer - and splash us all with cool droplets. At least for the parched denizens of Delhi, that would seem to be a pretty desirable thing in the middle of May. Besides, each time it rains, it reminds me of my daughter Saundhi (the name means 'the sweet smell the earth gives off when touched by the first few drops of rain').

But then, it hardly rains in Delhi now. I remember how 10 or 12 years back (another age?), Delhi used to get a decent drenching every monsoon. But for the past few years, the rainy season is just touch-and-go -- it teases more than it eases (the heat). Fortunately, there was some intermittent rain last summer, which made it more bearable than most years.

How I wish for those long spells of rain, when you could enjoy and appreciate the lush green beauty of the city! Just sitting in the balcony and seeing nature's regenerative wet miracle all around you was so refreshing...made even better by an endless supply of pakoras (spicy fried snacks).

Alas...Who stole our rain?

Nano? Na, No!

More than 2 lakh bookings and counting: Tata Motors’ cheapest car, Nano, which will ‘hit’ Indian roads in July, is being awaited alarmingly eagerly by an ever-increasing and impatient breed of wannabe motorists. As an owner and driver of a Santro car, why should I get worked up?

Simply because, my dear fellow-motorist, with more and more cars fighting for scarcer and scarcer road space, I’ll get to wait longer in my car as I drive around the city (Tip for carmakers: instead of offering free fuel or service, give a few kilometers of unclogged road space to each new buyer). And as I wait longer inside the car, I’ll consume more fuel, cooling myself and warming the planet in the bargain.

But then, it’s better to be inside an AC car than venture outside in this heat. The other day I happened to pass by a largish car and got a shock from the heated fumes emanating from its body. No wonder I cursed under my breath and vowed to return to the cool confines of my own fuel-guzzler!

Sitting inside, I peer out at the fellow car-toons trying to honk their cars ahead in a sea of automobiles (looking at their faces, you can tell how desperately they want their honks to yield an extra inch of road space ahead – especially at toll gates and busy intersections). Some of them frown at me for not sharing their honking traits or urgency tactics.

My thoughts invariably turn to the Metro rail network. When fully operational, will it reduce the number of cars on the road at any time? I doubt it. Rather, it might add more commuters in Delhi – with thousands and thousands more flooding the trains from within the city as well as the neighboring regions. What Metro might do is mitigate the impact of more Nanos on the road – even if only to a nano extent!

As I pointed out in an earlier post, I’m eager to either get rid of my car or use it less frequently (that’s why Nano-like developments get me in knots). But in addition to the Metro, Delhiites would also need a better bus and taxi network to fill the gaps not served by train. The government has already made a mess of BRT (bus rapid transport, in which buses ply in demarcated lanes). With Commonwealth Games fast approaching and the election process in the country over, one can only hope that better sense will prevail – both among the government and the car-owning public.

Elec-shun? Please Don’t!

Now that a lot more people in the intelligentsia and youth communities (isn’t it fascinating that the two are years apart?) know that they must vote – courtesy kyunki agar aap vote nahi kar rahe ho to aap so rahe ho (if you don’t vote, you are sleeping) and sundry other campaigns initiated by corporates and media alike – I don’t need to repeat the same spiel.

So, what have I got to say? I want to talk about the dilemma that most voters in India, especially the youth, face. Should it be the party or the particular candidate in their constituency that we should vote for? Even if our chosen candidate comes to power, his actions are likely to be dictated by the party he belongs to (and we may not like the party per se), so there’ll be little good he’ll be able to do on his own. And if we vote for a party, the person from our constituency may turn out to be a shlook (I don’t know if that’s a word, but you get the idea). In any case, there are more chances of a coalition government or a hung parliament, so all the policies of a party that look good on their manifesto may not materialize in reality.

Unfortunately, most of the people who have clean records, a cleaner conscience and are youthful and intelligent as well never ‘run’ for elections – they’d rather run away from it. So we end up wracking our brains about choosing the lesser of several evils.

I wish it were possible for the people of India to vote in a ballot asking them whom they want to elect for certain roles (prime ministership, key ministries, national security adviser, etc.)…

So, What If We ARE Slumdogs?

Why should I write about Slumdog now, when the whole world has already known about it, debated the movie, sang songs of victory for India and the cast, and what not?

Because there are some things I felt strongly about and must get out of my mind.

No doubt the movie is an excellent cinematic achievement – with superb direction, great acting, amazing sound and other aspects of movie-making.

But…

For one, I strongly believe that Rahman should have got an Oscar long back and am glad that he got it for Slumdog. But it grates a little somewhere in my mind to know that Jai Ho is by no measure Rahman’s best composition. So the question: isn’t it like doing the right thing for the wrong reason (song)? Rahman has given much, much better music for so many films, including (in no particular order) Gentleman, Roja, Bombay, Lagaan, Swades, Taal, Saathiya…all in all, a long list with many, many Oscar worthies than Jai Ho. Okay, Jai Ho is good, very good in fact. But not that good. Not Oscar good.

As for the raging debate about how India has been ‘projected’ in the movie, I’ll say, Why create so much fuss about India’s image just on the basis of a movie? India’s image is not something that’s anyone’s fiefdom. Nor can it be ‘damaged’ by showing realistic scenes – however ‘shitful’ they might be – on the silver screen.

Let’s get it straight: Danny Boyle and team have done a commendable job in showing many of the ills plaguing ‘third-world’ India through an amazing (even if pretty contrived) narrative.

But, again…

Neither is Danny Boyle the first one to be enchanted by the crazy place that India is, nor will he be the last one. But multiple awards and the West’s growing interest in India (because of our vast, increasingly consumerist population that can keep their companies growing, and not out of any fatherly love – make no mishtake!) have meant that the contradictions and agonies depicted in the movie will be discussed for a long time.

So? So, how should a typical Indian feel about the whole thing, you know? To become a part of the ‘it’ crowd – which goes to multiplexes munching mountains of popcorn and guzzling gallons of carbonated sugar drinks.

Well, well, well…my suggestion is, dear, why do you want to be a part of this crowd in the first place?

If the movie has really shaken you up by showing a mirror to the kind of place you live in, why don’t you do something about it? From refusing to pay bribes to demanding your rights (from the political mafia) to helping out street and slum children, I’m sure you’ll find a whole lot of ideas. Why leave everything to the NGOs?

Boyle has done his job as a film-maker and gotten acclaim. But what about you? What about me? What about us Indians?