Change the World

This post is a part of Blog Action Day- "The Power of We"

Nestled high up in the Himalayas, Ladakh was an unspoilt paradise till tourists discovered the charms of its barren landscapes and Buddhist monasteries. They brought with them the polythene bag revolution; everyone wanted them. Like in every other part of India, garbage dumps were soon overflowing with polythene bags. Cows starting eating them, and falling sick; many even dying.

They could have waited for government to ban polythene bags, but the locals chose to do something about it themselves. They banded together and convinced the local community to boycott polythene bags.

Ladakh is now back to being an unspoilt paradise.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead

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This is the fourth year that I am going to be a part of NaBloWriM. The Plan is to elaborate (in 100 words) on a quote that touched my heart- let's see how far this takes me. If I can tie it in with the writing prompt, so much the better!

Bombay is a city where.....

[This post is a part of Blog Action Day 2010- Water. 
Blog Action Day is an annual event held on October 15, that unites bloggers from around the world in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking a global discussing and driving collective action. This is the third year that I have been been participating in this movement.]

Bombay is a city where.....

...the rich don't pay for running water, while the poor spend a fifth of their income buying water from tankers....

...lakes run dry every summer, even as the city gets waterlogged after the slightest rainfall....

...sewer lines often burst near water lines, and the poshest localities get 'drinking' water unfit even for washing cars...

...practically every house has a built in storage tank, but few invest in rainwater harvesting facilities...

...rainwater is allowed to drain into the sea, while pipes bring water from hundreds of miles away.

If there is a solution, it eludes me.


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A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

Water leaking from tankers transporting water to drought prone localities 

Lack of access to hygienic water takes lives- through wars fought over water, and through water-borne diseases. Make a difference- blog about it, sign a petition, and consider making a donation- even $10 can save a life.

Transportation woes no more?

Living in India, as I do, climate change is a politically charged subject. The position of my country is clear – we were not responsible for creating this mess, you were. So do not now turn around and tell me not to add to the mess, because I will do so unless you either compensate me for the mess you have created, or you enable me to get to where I want to get without the attendant mess.

Fundamentally, I do not disapprove of the stand. Some nations have got to a point where they can afford greener technology by largely ignoring the environmental impact of their actions. They do, now, have a moral obligation to help other nations get to that point too. But for nations like mine to downplay their responsibility is downright shortsighted.

Just because some nations have taken a particular (environmentally destructive) route to development doesn’t mean there is no other. Two decades back, it was the aspiration of every middle class Indian to own a family car. Today, income levels have gone up to an extent where the same individuals have a car each- and no roads to drive them in.

As a nation, we should be looking at improving public transportation, so people are encouraged to keep their cars at home. Instead, we create the world’s cheapest car, so more people can afford to purchase four wheels and an exhaust pipe that further adds to the carbon emission levels.

Pedestrian walkways, an integrated transportation system, telecommuting, shifting business districts to reduce travel time. You don’t have to be an urban planner to know the solution to the woes that assail the larger Indian cities. Implementing them would require political will, but would also substantially improve the quality of life of every citizen of urban India. And reduce carbon emission in the bargain.

Wouldn’t it be more productive for the Powers that Are to start working on some of these issues, rather than just haranguing the ‘richer’ nations to pay a debt which they barely acknowledge?

Will anything change for her, can it?

Some years back, my mother had known this young lady as a carefree girl in a half-sari running around the market selling leafy vegetables. My mother loved the girl’s cheerful smile and ready wit, and whenever she needed greens, she made it a point to buy it from this particular girl.

Then, my mother got busy with other things, and when she returned to the market several months later, the girl had disappeared. If at all her absence registered, it must have been momentarily – after all, girls that age get married and move away all the time.

Then, my mother found the girl again- rather she found a sad young woman, who looked not unlike the cheerful girl that my mother had known. The girl had got married, got pregnant, had a child, and when she just couldn’t make ends meet, she was forced to go back to doing the only thing she knew – sell green vegetables.

Post marriage, nothing had really changed for her – she still had to sit on the hard stone pavement selling greens, she was still subject to the same business risks as she was before marriage, she still had to deal with the same irate customers that she had to earlier. The only thing that had really changed was that she had a baby to look after, and a cranky husband to manage.

Her smile had vanished. She no longer had anything to dream about.

Would anything really make a difference to her life? If someone lent her money, would she even want to expand her business, knowing she would have to repay the loan even if something went wrong? If someone sent her to trade school, would she even want to go knowing she may have to drop out anytime if she got pregnant or her child fell ill? Is there a way out for this girl? Would she ever be able to go to sleep at night secure in the knowledge that she and her family would eat the following week? Would she ever be able to put enough aside to know that when her family falls ill, they can afford to consult a doctor?

Is there really a way out for this young lady?

Education, yes.
With education, her daughter can learn a trade, get a job and rise above poverty.
With education, she may learn how not to have more children, so she can give her child a better shot at happiness.

But a real change for her, in her generation? I would love to believe it is possible, but I am not sure how.

But then, she is one of the luckier ones. She has the capacity to earn money – for most of my nation’s poor, even that is but a dream.