Positioning India

The Broken Development

As so rightly said by Mahatma Gandhi, that we don't inherit the earth and it's resources from our ancestors, but we borrow them from our children. Which means that, we are on a lease period where we are bound to use our resources judiciously. The whole issue of climate change would not have emerged had there been any attention given to this ideology by any one of us before. While we always just “believe” that there is a lopsided development, where we see the urban rural divide in many aspects, we can actually see it existing even today in many parts of India. Infact to be more precise, in many parts of even the so called "progressive states" of the nation.

While I was on travel working to understand the impacts of climate change on water availability and quality in Pune last week, i could manage to discover a new concept of 'Broken Development'. Very unusual facts are revealed sometimes, when we visit some of the unexplored places of our state, which are unfortunately a part of the same piece of land, where we easily earn our living from.

In some interiors of Pune district, the IT hub of the state, where money and education are the inseparable better halves of each other, one may not believe that some few kilometers away from such a hub are areas, which are merely surviving and are highly vulnerable to collapse at any point of time. 

Especially at this juncture when climate change is the biggest challenge for countries to tackle, India is still struggling hard to set right some basic algorithms pertaining to development.

One of the villages which I visited, did not have drinking water facilities at all and the communities were compelled to survive on the waste water released by the Pune City, which is further released in to the nearby river.  The same water, after some basic treatment was consumed by one entire village.

The most disturbing fact is not that someone's waste water is someone's life, but it’s indeed disheartening to know, that the communities are well versed about this fact and resort to this option "by choice of having no choice", despite being aware of all the forthcoming ill-effects. What kind of development do we think we are aiming at, if deep somewhere we are so poor and helpless that we cannot even address some of the most visible issues ?? 

On one side, people have modern amenities like television and refrigerators, and on the other they are devoid of some basic necessities. Isn't this a broken development?? Or rather a virtual development? Or may be a selective development? Where only few sections of the societies are becoming the drivers as well as the beneficiaries of the development.

Thus, the new government should attempt to join these broken pieces to see the whole picture in first place and then try to take up the massive challenge of national development. The "perceived development" cannot be ambivalent with it's fruits absorbed by only one strata of the nation but should be widespread and based on the principles of equity and generality.

Cherry picking of the climate facts

Though  cherry picking could be sometimes at one’s advantage, it may not be always.  While climate  scientists all over the world are leaving no stone unturned  in disseminating climate science and stories of our future, there are some story tellers, in the disguise of scientific communities, who are just  cherry  picking  the  climate  facts. While there is this selective picking of the facts about the climate catastrophes, what we often tend to demote, are the implications, such actions may impart at varied levels. We, as ‘the learned educated class’ need to understand and assimilate one thing  that,  though  climate  change  is  a proven science, it is also an evolving  science.  It’s a definitive science, but we need to delve much deeper.

Recent  catastrophes, like Hurricane Sandy (New York, USA), Cyclone Phailin (Odisha, India) and cyclone Wipha (Japan) are invariably linked to climate change.  Yes, we are on a right path when we attempt to make such derived claims, but these derivatives are often misleading, if we are basing them on shaky grounds. State and central governments are letting the money flow like water to fund any and every research related to climate change today. Is anyone even thinking, what is this research all about? Who are the people carrying out this research?  What are they pumping in the scientific world? Is there mere cherry picking of results from  IPCC  (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and putting in some other basket of research or its actually evaluated? If that is the case, then, it’s a grave concern for all those who are involved in such  research and also for those who are accepting these results.

If  the  vegetation  is  well  trimmed and pruned, it’s a garden and can be cherished  by  all, but if it grows wild and uncontrolled, the same garden can  turn into a jungle, which can be no good and only create a scare. Same is  the  case  with  the  Climate  Science. We,  as 'climate scientists' or policy  makers',  need  to  very critically assess, what we think, what we write and what we claim about climate change. We must make ourselves capable enough  to  invest our insights to into the right kind of a research, which rightfully explores our capacities as scientists to peep  into the future and have some guesstimates about the impacts  changing climate can have. 

Some recent instances have proved that, preparedness and planning can reduce the force with which climate disasters can strike.  Mitigation  and preparedness actions undertaken by the Andhra government  towards  Phailin  is an excellent example of how early warnings and preparedness can help mitigate, though not entirely prevent, the impact of  natural disasters. Had  there  not been warning systems in place, the coastal   Andhra,   which   is  already sinking  under  the  pressures of bifurcation,  would  have been completely blown away under the winds of the cyclone.  An  established and grounded science can make wonders and has the power  to  safeguard communities and prevent them from collapse, but at the same   time,   cherry  picking  of  the  climate  facts  and  pasting them inappropriately, can also lead to damages, which could be as irreversible.

Thus  as policymakers and climate scientists, we need to cross validate and retrospect our own research to give back grounded results to the scientific community.  Our research should help elevate the quality of climate science and  tame  the  speculations  on the same. For all the climate skeptics out there,  I would like to repeat that, climate change is an evolving science and is relatively in its infancy,  but at the same time it is equally real and unequivocal. It leaves us  with  no choice but mitigate and adapt if at all we wish to prolong our survival on this planet..!!

Power of the "powerFOOLS"

1987 was the year of whole new beginning where a new era of  Sustainable Development was conceived. Yes it was the Brundtland commission’s report titled “ our common future” which was the first of its  kind to bring into existence the concept of sustainable development.  NO one then knew what precisely the SUSTAINABLE development contained..surprisingly no one does that even today. We have international summits, where the much hyped and self proclaimed think tanks of environment and sustainable development gather just to ponder upon issues which are draped in new avatars, but loaded with same old attitudes in mind, with no aggression to change.

A classic example of this is the world biggest ever blackout that happened last week in our country. Today when science & technology have touched the sky and reached the space,  did anyone ever imagined , one day human driven crisis can be so overpowering that it would leave half of the nation BLACK and DARK..!!! To add to this national shame, the very next day our power minister was promoted as union minister. A true “Powerfool”. On  one side we have human driven climate change, where like fools we have been trying to pretend the governance on nature. Today we are trying to prove our victory on humankind as a whole. Behind the pepperazzi of the word “Sustainable development”, incidences like these leave us with a question in mind, what does development mean to us? May be we are just moving ahead with a blindfold , with absolute lack of vision required to actually “DEVELOP “.

Then what is development? Is it the increased rate of resource crunch that cities are  facing and our governing bodies turning a blind eye to it?? Or is it the increasing vulnerabilities to global issue like climate change where plethora of research and issues are in hand but with a bleak solution to tackle it. Or is it exponentially increasing urban population with no power, no water and no appropriate infrastructure to sustain. Are we really SUSTAIN – able? Can we really? 

Groping into answers for these would require a transformation. The fact that our development is lopsided, we need to think from a point of view, where humans are at the centre of decision making and not just development. Well i wish it was as simple as the picture below... !!!

When you know where you are....TERI

As i write this, i also ponder upon a silly question, is this really a “BLOG”? Or maybe just i am too used to writing whatever comes to my MIND. The answer is maybe, i don’t know. May be i am trying to say something that has no meaning for anyone who is reading this, but  at this risk too...i wish to continue writing. 

In this “virtually developing” country, where development is no less than money making business, where policies are malformed and officials are lying on the bed of greed, makes me grope for an answer to a question that “ IS there anybody really working wise and hard , that will help the world navigate through this unruly activities? “ What happens to our environment in this due course of so called developmental journey. Is environment or Sustainability anywhere in picture?

I always thought, the answer is no. There is none. But as they say, “Hard work paves its way through, when talent stops working”. There are knowledge pools around us which are pre-assumed to be the best saviours of environment and “US” per say. But there are few organisations, which have evolved over a period of time with passion to succeed, let me correct my self, not just succeed but make it a habit to succeed...successfully...!!! And i am proud to be a part of one such organisation- TERI, The Energy and Resources Institute.  With Dr Pachauri’s Vision, the world is not only provided with quality research on myriad of issues and aspects but also, interventions that are really capable of a change. As very aptly said, “ We need to be the change which we want to see in this world” , TERI lives with it.

Not many organisations do what they preach and very few never preach but  just do,  which makes no sense either, as it never reach the masses. But TERI is one organisation which has hit the right chord and is able to manage both. Anybody who doubts this, for them i not just have the plethora of intellectual and pioneering work that TERI has been disseminating at various levels, but another marvel of its experiments would be Gual Pahari, Gurgaon, where TERI has not only translated the philosophies of Solar Passive Architecture on Ground but also stands tall as an epitome of Sustainability in itself. With innovative techniques and sustainable solutions executed, makes us believe that  if there is a strong will, change will follow.

Thats when i realised i better know where i am. Because knowing where you are makes you realise what you ought to be & generates a passion to perform better every day.

Reverse Interaction.

It’s always known more than said, that  Change is the only permanent thing in life. With the technological research cutting the market at a lightning speed, knowingly or unknowingly it’s laying impacts on various elements on its way. Technology is killing technology. The gravity of this statement was realized when I had recently been to the states. Simply I wanted to buy a new wrist watch. But to my surprise I was confronted with the fact that wrist watches have almost become obsolete in most parts of the states just because there is a digital watch in every one’s  Iphone. I was also surprised to know, that wrist watches were hence sold at much cheaper rates than what we buy in India. Its actually intangible yet measurable difference.

Moreover, companies like Nikon , Canon which are major  digital camera manufacturers, popularly known as Digi Cams, are becoming a past as the higher resolution cameras in the phone itself are encroaching the camera market gradually. Iphone’s market is In a tough competition by Samsung, to the extent that the US is planning to ban the same.

This reverse interaction today and the sharp technological demands are creating very short lived businesses with a constant threats of dissolution. The interaction between technologies is becoming reverse. Hence it becomes essential to identify prudent business solutions to combat the heat of ever changing  uncertain market.

The Trailblazers of Corruption

There are three types of approaches generally found around us...

1 . We have determination, hard work, Education and talent working together; we call it Success...

2. When Hardwork and Determination only working together with no money we call it Hard luck...........

3 when we have nothing and still have money, we have to call it Corruption................

 What a paradox. But yes, unfortunately true. This inconvenient truth is the most believed and followed truth of today’s times. From government to chai walaas, from politicians to a common man, corruption is spreading like a wild fire. I am certainly not trying to make statements to sell my BLOG and make it sound like a social activist’s voice. But the agony is this.

Just a small incidence to back what i just said. The impression of this incidence continues to remain on my mind as i write this BLOG. While i was on my way to catch a train for Mumbai, on Ahmadabad station, i stopped to pick up a bottle of water for myself to quench my thirst. The guy on the stall must be in his late 20’s or Mid 20’s may be...basically very young and smart! Before you start getting me wrong, let me proceed further.... 

I asked him a BISLERY. He fetched me with one costing rupees 12. But he charged me Rs 15. Now i was in no mood to fight with him for those three rupees. But the fact that he did so, i thought i should.  I asked him an explanation for those 3 rupees he charged me extra. He very confidently, making no bones over it replied...” Behenji yeh toh ice ke liye hai, thanda pani chahiye ha garmi mein” So i asked him to fetch me a warm bottle of water, He said” woh hum nahi rakhte” before i lock my horns with him further, he replied..” Jaane do na madam, yeh politicians log karodon ka ghotala karate hai, tab koi kuch nahi bolta...hum pooch ke lete hai toh hamein hi sunaate hai” 

I was speechless. I was so much filled with answers to backfire him, that i actually couldn’t speak anything. I just kept wondering,. What is being internalised in the minds of tomorrow. Aren’t we acting like morons by making these corruption lobbyists our Role Models. These politicians are true trailblazers of corruption. With all the scams and scandals of don’t know how many crores, and how many “ Zeros” in those crores, they are actually setting a trail behind their scams which will one day set on fire every one of us. With HUGE mammoth scams, small level corruptions or say may be illegitimacy, is appearing so miniscule that its no more remaining one. So with this kind of an attitude that is developing in today’s young minds i wonder where we will be standing 20- 30 years down the line. I wont be surprised if, a day will come, when corruption would be so much a part of our system, that the government would take its pleasure in legalising it...i can’t stop laughing at this. Certainly not because its funny, but i am mesmerised with the helplessness of our System to save itself from being a BIG FAILURE.

So whats the answer to this?? I am still thinking...post your comments if  you have come up with any...

Smart Shopping!!!

Gone are the days when our parents used to plan an evening to buy stuff from the markets. With the multiple revolutions surrounding us, like the internet and the mobile revolution, it has completely changed the way we live our lives today. This change has been so rapid, and it has been so much a part of our lives now, that we hardly realise that something is actually changing.

It has not only changed the way we live, but also the way we CONSUME. Internet revolution has helped trigger this change more. If you wish to sit at home and shop...we have FASHION and YOU the largest online shopping store. Wish to add something to the library? We have FLIPKART or AMAZON, another largest online stores...i mean why just books it almost has everything at its stock. Bored with your old camera & wish to sell it off?  Even that’s just a click away. QUICKR allows you to do so ...and all this in just few hours..!!! Now that’s mesmerising!! Its at your disposal, just one click away. How much better can one define comfort today? But the success of these online stores lies in its demand too. We, the urbanites, are so much stuck with out routines and hop ons that something like this essentially aims to target our weaknesses and win the battle.

Consumerism has undergone a metamorphosis, thanks to the, i revolution. It has redefined SHOPPPING. Kishore Biyani, the FUTURE GROUP CEO, once stated,  if you want to make a business successful, don’t concentrate on the products, concentrate on the context which surrounds your product...”EK CUP CHAI” sells more than “CAPPUCCINO”...!!! Similarly these online shopping giants know where they have their maximum consumers from and by doing what..!!! 

Behind the success stories the selling mantra is “CASH ON DELIVERY”. This revolution had not been one for its cash on order. Only because, Indians largely don’t still prefer paying online, its this CASH ON DELIVERY concept that is factoring in , the sense of security as an additional attachment with Comfort...and it sells.....

Sometimes, the revolution takes over us, before we even realise it’s a revolution. Wether good or bad, time is the best judge..!!

TIRUPATHI and CLIMATE CHANGE: Strange but true

WOW, now thats called a BREAKKING news !! Recently i read in the BBC news stating, now India’s richest shrine TIRUPATHI, is also GOING GREEN. Going green is not just the mantra for multinationals and professionals today, but goes way beyond the boundaries, surpassing all the conventional means of reducing the catastrophe of climate change. It’s inexorable to know this. In the country of 2 Billion people , where our culture, religion and beliefs form the foundation of all crucial moves and decisions , can a move like this serve the potential to make a difference???

As the news mentioned the Shrine has registered itself for carbon credits and thus by saving tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, the shrine plans to earn credits and then sell them..!! Now isn’t that a WOW...!!! The shrine manages to cater to 50-1, 00,000 devotees per day. To serve plethora of devotes daily, the shrine has used its roof for huge SOLAR PANELS which help them cook independent of diesel use. An initiative like this not only will make the world think on non conventional ways of combating climate change , vis a vis mere negotiations and paper blotting policies , but will also change the way we look at things. Sometimes solutions to few problems are beyond our reach and sometimes they are so close that we often fail to identify them. Religious places have always played an essential role in changing the dynamics of our country. Now who ever imagined, it might also prove its influence on Global issues like climate change.

When socially powerful institutions like these realise their power and strengths, they can create a metamorphosis. A transformation, to bring a revolution. Now we have for the world to say, rather state, that we are not just rich in culture and population, but culture with a difference and population with an attitude to make a difference. 


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“The One-SMART Revolution”

Its more said than believed by us today ,”Life was much simpler when Apple and Blackberry were just fruits”  The phones are no more the same old hefty boxes which somehow help you connect to your near,  and dear ones today.  They do much more than that...just beyond what we would have imagined in our dreams few years ago.  Nevertheless, the "i"- revolution,  that shook the market few years back, by introducing the very concept of SMART Phones, still continues to do so , rather has spread like a wild fire. Infact to put it this way, this will continue, with or wihout Steve Jobs. At the risk of sounding too statistical, it was proved,  in a survey done by an UK Communication Organisation, that more than a third of adults and 60% of teens admitted to being 'highly addicted' to their SMARTPHONES. Especially the under 25’s???????  In this case what distinguishes addiction from revolution? Why is this thin line so conveniently ignored? Where is this revolution leading us...rather...are we really heading somewhere? To put it straight , has it just become an " all group" style statement?

An 'always on' phone status also enables you to do many of the things you used to do from a normal OLD PC. From socialising to banking, all is in your pocket today. Life seems so easy this way. As i recently read somewhere, these smart phones today, have an application, popularly known as "APP" to monitor your health parameters like sugar etc. What else you can ask from a simple phone now.  What is astonishing here is , to look into the pace at which it has managed to pierce into the hearts and pockets of the societies. We were taken over by the technology in all sense before we could even realise what happened to us.

This is one way of looking at it. Another way could be, this clearly indicates how vulnerable are we and the society at large to “change”. Is this our strength or our weakness? If this is a weakness, then its an alarming situation indeed. And strengths like these can be used to turn the world upside down. Can global issues like Corruption, climate change, terrorism be fought with these kinds of revolutionary movements?  I guess, the success of the technology does not lie merely, in its effectiveness, but also   depends on its popularity, glam associated and the scale at which it is managed.        I leave it to you to take a stand on this.

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The Facebook University

Recently i got an update on face book, stating the Chinese taking over solar markets in U.S creating job issues. I was stunned with the news, and immediately switched on to the Down to Earth fortnightly magazine site to view the full story. It wasn’t even a second more, and there flashed another update by my friend prachi.....

Oh.....i missed Rockstar movie’s first scene .....  

It’s a baby girl for bachchans........ and many more....

Updates are very updated these days. The world of education and knowledge-seeking has undergone a paradigm shift. Education, with the slight touch of entertainment is what is liked, loved and accepted by all the societies today at large.

The fact of the matter is Education/knowledge is no more confined to the boundaries of four school walls or class rooms per say, it has broken all the conventional modes of expression and have induced itself in all possible forms. All the forms which people believe in, enjoy staying connected with.... and love being a part of. Not just networking sites like face book does it all, it has Twitter, Linked In and many more to say, do this job of so called EDUTAINMENT. This newly coined word is the truth of today’s times. Be it environmental organisations, reporters, journalists ,politicians or hard core academicians, learning has become so accessible to most of us today. The recent revolution on lokpal bill was certainly exacerbated more and reached the masses, especially the youths, across the country, through all these networking sites more than the news channel could actually do.

There are youth networks running their chapters across the universities/colleges just through emails/face book, connecting the academicians, researchers and students. This phenomenon has even crossed the mobile age. The institutes or universities find no guilt today in displaying their curriculums online and share the link on face books just because they very much now how to get to the right targets with the right mediums. World bank today has a plethora of information updated on climate change on twitter. The news of passing of Steve Jobs, was first flashed on Twitter . Many more like these to quantify the fact that networking sites have all that we need today.

Face book and twitter are no more a medium to just connect yourself to the world known by you; it also means to know the world, known by others, having treasure of opportunities hidden for you. It’s just using the right medium for tight purpose.

These Social networking sites are all inclusive sites of times today. Education + Entertainment is what sells. Edutainment stays the paramount mantra for many today. With the times changing and the revolutions changing the images of multiple things in fraction of seconds, it won’t be wrong to say that, we would no more need physical learning institutions to mainstream education. 

We are probably entering a world where, Google and face book will suffice the needs for education, there is getting created an parallel virtual world, that is slowly taking over the physical forms of learning. Its no more a forced change, but a change that is gradual...yet so revolutionary....virtual yet so real.....and fits in only an 14 inch laptop...but is capable of changing the world around you. So are we ready for this change? Or maybe the change is so fast that probably it is leaving us with no time to actually think...???? Can Google/face book/teacher ever be able to give us the right education, we might want out children to undergo?

I open this debate here; let me know your comments .

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Climate change? Are you Serious?

                                      

Climate change? And what’s that? Yes,  to every one’s surprise, that’s what even most of the Americans ponder upon ,when asked, a recent BBC study revealed? Despite the U.S being the largest contributor to this whole issue, and all the problems which have emerged today as a biggest threat and challenge to the humanity as whole, they still somehow manage to ask this. For a while even i was surprised at their this kind of a cavalier attitude, but then i gave  a thought over it and realised its not just people in the west doing it, but most of us in all parts of the world are doing it. Not knowing a problem and hence no action.... can be excused!!!  But, knowing a problem and still continue ignoring the issue,  i guess invites more trouble.

Climate change is a serious business and not just a matter of making business. Today more than an issue it has become a sophisticated lobby of sophisticated scientists, trying to solve a problem in their own sophisticated pace. Climate is changing today at much faster rate than ever. The warmest years since 1850 have been experienced in the last 12-13 years. So now what do we do with that? Either we continue living with the changing climate and think of adapting it and spend trillions , or alter it ...i repeat  “alter”  not change our lifestyles from an EXPENSIVE to EFFICIENT  one to mitigate the emissions.

 

Last week i was in Bangkok for our study, we stayed there for over 8 days, and could observe the lifestyles of the people living there. The emissions made by the each individual ( what we call as per capita ) is ,much much higher than those of the Londoners and equivalent to the New yokers. High use of plastic,  high use of vehicular mode, high electricity consumption by industries....together is making Bangkok a worst city ...even worse than cities like Mumbai, Manhattan as far as the emissions are concerned. Despite knowing the fact , that their emissions will be solely responsible to the rise in the level of the very sea which they have their economy dependant on....they are not serious....................??????

 So our thoughts need to be in tandem with our actions, eliminating the gap between the two.

So then what are these climate conventions meant for? Are they just another long holiday for parties, to relax, enjoy and get over with the issues so casually. Can we really get in to the crux of the global issue like climate change and try to solve the same by sitting in an air conditioned conference somewhere on a romantic island, making tonnes of emissions by flying for the emission reduction conventions per say? Its a total oxymoron? What are we doing then? I mean issue like this, that will be having devastating impacts the entire of Asia, including other parts f the world, needs an urgent attention as we can loose the resources  even before we thinking  about saving them.

If the climate emissions are not fastened and the pace to cap them is not geared up then probably we would no more see, Mumbai in 2100 as the risen sea level would have crossed its limits already. Millions of people are expected to be displaced. We won’t be there by that time, but then what about our children why should they pay for our deeds and ignorance,

Think over it...climate change is a serious business and i repeat not just a serious money making buisness. Unbridled exploitation of the natural resources for years and years, today have made us confront this terrible situation, so to get this climate back to its normalcy is a tough task, yet if we act now,  the magnitude of the forthcoming impacts can atleast be redeemed ,if not stopped completely....!!!

Law of the FEW

In the country of 1,2 billion people, how far it makes sense when we talk of  bringing about a change by handful number of people. Seems to be an oxymoron in the Indian context.But then to support the statement we have these over hyped instances like, the hunger strike by anna hazaare, the Posco project , that is taking the government for a ride and many more like these, sometimes really  make us ponder, does there  still exists in the world of billions the      " law of the few". Most of the revolutionary changes in the world have been brought  by these handful number of elements in the society who, drove the world crazy, leading the society to tip & then watched out for twists leading to an exponentially unbelievable climax.

World  wide the economists believe the revolutionary movements in society work on the Law of the Few.........mass revolutions have always been triggered by few.....there has always been a 80/20 theory in most of the things we encounter ...say for instance 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people, 80% of the beer in the world is consumed by just 20% of the people.....to add to the fact.. The theory applies itself aptly, when we zero in on the most talked about issue of the town...Sustainable development, though again sounds like an oxymoron, might tip after a point, when law of the few comes into the picture....

India’s position in climate discourse have always been the topic of debate, being the developing economy.  Corruption, over and ever exploding population,poverty , fluctuating economy, dynamic GDP and not to forget the targets we need to adhere to , to remain in tandem with the other developing economies ...and many more..actually highlights the ultra urgent need to work on the issues like climate change and Sustainable development. 

                                                                       

Historically many incidences state that the law of the few has worked only when the issues have been raised, fought to be worked out and have neared the tipping point, and eventually made  it tip in such a  way that it redefined new theories all together.

The point here i am trying to make is, we often wait for revolutions to arrive, considering the societies at large, and seldom identify the power of few. A sensitive issue like Climate and Sustainability can no more remain subjective.It essentially has multiple dynamics associated with it & needs a bottom up approach, beginning with few masterminds, working on the issue and disseminating the approaches for the world to follow.But then the paradox of the situation is such that, there are too many masterminds and no one to follow, and thats exactly what brings the whole discourse to a stagnancy, and compels us to question,  will the rising issues,in india actually this time override the law of  few? Or will it still continue to lay the same impact in this whole climate discourse?

No costs attached....

I often wonder, do we really have to value only things which come with a price tag? Are priceless things less valued than one with those having them? The entire issue of global warming, climate change exists today ,probably just because there is no cost attached to the use of atmosphere, there is no cost attached to the extent to which our earth is exploited and also, there is no cost attached to the knowledge of traditional practices which are no more trickled down generations, which carry trillions of essentials along with them . We are incidentally allowing this treasure, simply vanish away from our hearts and minds.

                                            Natural Rainwater Harvesting Pond in Barmer

The unbridled neglect of resources, traditions and knowledge is one of the chief reasons, why we are falling short of all of them today and are craving for more. But still that doesn’t stop us from exploiting them. Again, just because there are no costs attached.

I recently happened to explore few villages of Thar desert. Climate has always been harsh in the western Rajasthan, Its just the close proximity of the poor farmers in the region with the environment, their faith in the same and extreme dependency on nature made them value it more and was thus, an inseparable part of their lives. Be it agriculture, be it the traditional rainwater harvesting structures or be it the common property resources, all had CLIMATE ,as the governing factor for their existence. People fostered them, just because they were conversant with the unpredictability of the climate and its resultant consequences.

Today, the tradition is dying. With the advent of technology, Rajasthan is entirely losing out on the base of its tradition. Tractors have taken over traditional animal power practice, the concrete water tanks and piped water supply is very much responsible for the defunctness of the traditional water harvesting systems, Accessibility and affordability is taking the community away from the environment, which some time back formed their identity.

Who is at fault for the same? Is it the Technology? Or our attitude towards it ? The answer to this lies in both. With the interventions in technologies, advances in practices, our traditional wisdom is demoted. There is a tremendous squabble between the modern technology and traditional practice with a total lack of balance. 

I personally feel, with the increase in the scales of  the systems, the pace at which we need to cater to the demand, technology is  a must , but then if it is in tandem with the traditional practice, then the combination of the two would create wonders. The deeper the roots are, taller the tree grows, the more the bow is stretched back, farther the arrow moves. So may be our modern approaches might take us way ahead of time, provided we parallely value what we have left behind. Development is not just burying the traditional wisdom, but approaching it with a novel perspective, and valuing it as it deserves.

Photo courtesy : 

Prachi Aswani   & Rucha Dande

The Social meanings of Climate Change-Rajasthan calling....

 

 

The colors of the PAGADIS, the flash of the shining deserts, the wonderful dahi kachauri and lots more precisely defines the “ Rajasthani culture”

"Padharo mare des:” is very aptly phrased. 

It essentially highlights the willingness of the rajasthanis to offer immense hospitality to their visitors. They flatter you with their offerings .

Recently as a part of our training we got an opportunity to understand the economically and socially backward community of rajasthan and their resilience to climate change. IN the pursuit of achieving our targets, i also unknowingly started seeing something that was intangible , hidden, yet very prominent. Something that forms an inseparable part of their lives. Something that we never thought we would study , but actually forms a core backbone of our study, and that’s the sense of contentment amongst the people to the situation , their ways of living. We had been to the villages of barmer meeting the people there..

Unbearably extreme weather conditions.........

seamless boundaries of deserts..............

no life services....

All that the community had , was a "a big curve that set things straight "  - thats their beautiful smile. Immense sense of contentment.

No food to eat, but dozens to offer...

Counting the drops of water, yet no regrets to put forward....

“Take life as it comes to you “ is what forms the baseline of their actions today. Adversity is something that they have learned to live with. Poverty, Ignorance and struggle governs their lives Happiness, contentment and hospitality shapes their lives.

They live the most sustainable way. All the buzz that we talk about sustainable living is, what can be seen reflecting in the ways of living of these people.

Global issues like climate change has shaken the world today. Green thinking, behavioural changes, integrity with the nature, climate responsive architecture....a live demonstration of all these can be seen in the villages of india...

Its our tradition...that we need to go back to....

Its our treasure that we must learn to value....

Climate change is unequivocal..also, the way we look at climate change differs as per the regions and states.Our different social contexts shape the way we look at things.

Rajasthan visit made me experience the social meanings of climate change..it made me realise more profoundly , that our answers to climate change are already been thought of, its just we need to go back an unfold them. It lies somewhere in these experiences that we often forget paying attention to......!!!


Photo courtesy:Prachi aswani
                       Rucha dande

Ahmedabad MIrror follows our study

Strange analogies

Riding the tsunami of popular public support against corruption, our Anna Hazare has sent a giant wave of warning across the country triggering the minds and hearts of every Indian...against CORRRUPTION....his hunger strike and immense determination to raise a voice against corruption, is what is imperative to development today. Invariably corruption is slowly eroding the system & the entities belonging to it. The poison is slow,  but is capable of having catastrophic effects if not addressed at the right time in the right way...by right people...

Slightly drifting from this issue, let’s take another buzz word/issue Climate change, global warming, which is not the concern of India alone, but of the whole world.  To stress the gravity little more....its the issue of the entire planet.....the only planet we have...!!!!! When i ponder upon these issues, there are few analogies which i can find with corruption and climate change...

Both climate change and corruption appear to be very slow & dormant but are very powerful in their impacts , and get disseminated across the sections. Both need a revolutionary approach in order to suppress their otherwise devastating aftermaths...addressing climate change issues is no more a choice but its an imperative. Millions of lives are at stake, with the approaching tsunami of destructions,  which we will be exposed to.

The rising emissions, our lifestyles, our modern society & our demands which have surpassed their benchmarks are all the endproducts of our bad practices and the absolute casual approach with which we are treating this issue  apparently...The rising mercury is an indication that our ignorance will make us pay heavily for our deeds..

Parallel to this is our development and its friend of all good times......corruption.....they hold  a very strong relation...

Both need each other for their survival & sustainance.

Instances like Adarsh scam, Mumbai, Environmental clearance for Nirma factory at Bhavnagar, despite its sensitive location, & violation of norms makes it clear that curtailing corruption is unequivocal also depicts its power to corrode the entire system..

So the bottom line is Climate change and corruption have already found their ways in.....the only way to  show them way out, is to bring about the change in oneself. Common to both is ,change in our behaviours, our attitudes...alterations in our ways of living.....The solutions to these problems are certainly not any rocket science, but if not addressed timely may appear more complicated than the same ....out attitudes, the way we look at things & our behaviours all together will make this change happen. But definitely the simplest of all is the toughest to internalise.....once that is done probably we will no more require great personalities like Anna Hazare &  many other activists like him to stress themselves with strikes, no violations wil head the news....its just,  it needs a beginning...it just needs a realisation....a realisation enough to bring about that change required.... !!!! The only common thing is to be the change one wants to be....