INDImag – Contemporary fiction | Motivational short stories | Social stories | Short story criticism

The past week being the Earth Week & specifically 22^nd April being Earth Day – channels on the television seemed to very responsibly do their bit towards it…by airing programs on “Earth-friendly tips” and promptly wearing green and earthy colored clothes (Oprah looked like a bright daffodil in her lemon yellow attire).

 It caught my attention too and set me on a “how do I contribute” spree. (The first thing I did was jumped and switched off all the extra lights that were glowing around the house.)

 Coming to think of it, most of the tips that were suggested were infact just our old habits. For example, usage of scrap cloth for domestic cleaning instead of wasting rolls of paper towels! Or for that matter using a reusable tote bag for grocery instead of carrying home bunches of plastic bags!

 I realized that in India, these so called “eco-friendly” tips have always been in vogue.

Since years, most Indians are used to seeing the “Recycle Guys” – locally addressed as “Raddhi-wallahs” (Old paper collectors) or “Hale Paper Kaali Sheesha” (old paper/empty bottles collectors). These collectors have walked the streets yelling out to homes in their distinct tone that they are around to collect any scrap that the homes may have.  Well, they were practically mobile –recycle-units! And they continue to throng the streets with their unique shouting.

Our previous generation (especially the mothers) always prefers to carry an old huge cloth-bag when they go grocery shopping. They load the bags with vegetables & other things they buy and have the patience to bring it home and manually sort out stuff. Well, that’s something we need to start doing ourselves to bring down usage of plastic bags.

In today’s world where the word ‘organic’ seems to be the in-thing, also things made of natural materials are recommended as they are more eco-friendly.  Lemons have been age-old cleaning aids in our homes –right from removing stains off cloth to cutlery and refreshing the air with their fresh-scent.

In the southern parts of India, bright green plantain leaves are still used to serve festive meals at most celebrations & weddings. It is the most bio-degradable disposable plate you could ever get!

 Normally, even extra food does not go waste as its usually donated to someone needy or you atleast have the local street dog which faithfully waits at your gate for a morsel.

 Nowadays, an interesting innovation is the “disposable cutlery” made of potato starch or sugar cane. It looks like plastic but is made of starch & melts away after prolonged usage.

 All this made me come to a resolution that I would revive these age-old habits to the extent I can (of course, I cannot get plantain leaves in USA) and be more eco-friendly.

 While trying to go completely natural is practically difficult, as a starter we could switch off the extra lights, use more CFL bulbs and shut the tap instead of letting water run as we brush or maybe even just pause and think before we excessively pull off a huge roll of paper towels!

 Happy Earth Day!

 For further reading…here are a few interesting links

 National Geographic-Green Guide: http://www.thegreenguide.com/

 Earth Friendly tips given by a common man:

 http://hubpages.com/hub/Eco-Tips-To-Practice-In-Everyday-Life

 Potato-starch –Cutlery: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/biodegradable_d_2.php

 From Junk to Fashion: http://www.conserveindia.org/main.php

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