Actually my topic is more about those who don't really care about conserving nature nor respect nature.
Nowadays I see a lot of concerned people gifting saplings at weddings and other events rather than give sweet. At one such occasion I attended in Bangalore , I noticed some people throwing away the carefully packed saplings just outside the hall. I was shocked to see this coming from educated , well placed people ..
That was a very mean thing to throw away the saplings. If the receiver were not in a position to look after the saplings, they could have given it away to someone else who could do so. Having said that, I feel that taking care of plants or animals is a very big responsibility and one should think properly before gifting saplings to others.
Sometimes i see people planting saplings to mark some occasion such as World environment day, anniversary of something or other and then forgetting about them. I feel that instead of making it a one day affair, people especially the children should be encouraged to love nature and care about it.
jabeen wrote:That was a very mean thing to throw away the saplings. If the receiver were not in a position to look after the saplings, they could have given it away to someone else who could do so. Having said that, I feel that taking care of plants or animals is a very big responsibility and one should think properly before gifting saplings to others.
Sometimes i see people planting saplings to mark some occasion such as World environment day, anniversary of something or other and then forgetting about them. I feel that instead of making it a one day affair, people especially the children should be encouraged to love nature and care about it.
I agree that not all people would want saplings nor care about growing plants and they cannot be forced to do so. Here we celebrate Vana Mahotsav during the beginning of monsoon and all schools make it a point to celebrate it by distributing saplings to others and planting them in certain areas approved by the corporation and the corporator.
Yes to protect our environment from pollution we have to grow plants. But with the coming of this apartment culture people are unable to grow plants at their place but throwing away a sapling given to you as gift is very wrong. They can give it to some park or temples near their place. Even at our place temples are giving sapling as Prasad to protect the environment and give our future generations a better place to live.
That was such a mean thing to do. If those people did not care about the saplings either because they did not like them much or probably didn't know where to plant them, They should either have refused politely to accept them or given them away to people who could and were willing to take care of them. It is lack of such apathy towards nature that is causing so many problems.
The reality is that life has become very materialistic so most of the people expect an expensive gift other than a sapling which does not cost much. What people forget is that saplings are the source of the most precious gift called life. Wasting it means wasting the life of the upcoming generation.
Shampa Sadhya wrote:The reality is that life has become very materialistic so most of the people expect an expensive gift other than a sapling which does not cost much. What people forget is that saplings are the source of the most precious gift called life. Wasting it means wasting the life of the upcoming generation.
True Shampa! Unless the gift costs a sizeable amount of money or comes from a branded shop or store, other gifts are seen as useless or meaningless by many. To be honest, nowadays most people are not even capable of 'thinking' with their brains or process information in a proper manner. Even though they might have been told why they are being gifted the saplings, most of the information have been lost in the air.
Sad incident!!
But I do agree that it can not be forced. Sapling should be a choice. We should give such precious gifts only to like minded people. Those who really value it. Also many a times I have realized that in many events such sapling gifts are an eye wash and a show off of pseudo concern.
It is sad but true that HUMAN, the most advanced and intellect species is the only one who does not contribute productively towards Nature in it's day to day activities. It only robs the Nature and gets concerned only when the alarm rises. Then it thinks of other alternative way to exploit it for it's own benefit.
usha manohar wrote:I fee that there should be a choice rather than forcing people to take the saplings. There are many people who do not like to grow plants even if they have the convenience to do so ..
That is true..many people have space, time everything but just don't like to grow plants. However, what I think is that, the time has now come that people are forcibly made to make their contribution to nature, whether they like it or not. All the people who own a car always want a tree to park their car underneath it, they feel it is their right, but they do not like to plant anything or contribute in way towards conserving nature. They are ones who happily take all benefits from nature, but not give back anything in return.
In my apartment, we have a few nice trees in our parking lot, some are in favor of cutting them down to make space for vehicles, some are opposing that move so the trees are still intact. But when it comes to taking care of them or watering them during hot months, it is done by just me and another 78-year-old gentleman in the building. So I think something on the lines of community service should be implemented strictly to help conserve nature.
Indeed a sad outcome from the people. Instead it would be good not to take it at all.
Even in Rama Krishna Math these kind of activities are being organised. Now with the lack of proper rain many places are getting deserted like Cape Town which is facing severe crisis of water.
Even in Bangalore most of the water is polluted.
It is very important to plant seeds & grow them. It will not only improve our air in home but also the environment. Flowers plants, fresh air giving plants can be grown at home.
@ Kalyani , that is really commendable ...Even here I see a group of ladies adopting a few plants in their neighborhood, watering them during summer, and what you say about each person having a duty towards nature and its conservation is absolutely right!
@ epraneeth I too wonder what impact the South African water crisis would have on its own economy and other countries that have trade with them
usha manohar wrote:@ Kalyani , that is really commendable ...Even here I see a group of ladies adopting a few plants in their neighborhood, watering them during summer, and what you say about each person having a duty towards nature and its conservation is absolutely right!
@ epraneeth I too wonder what impact the South African water crisis would have on its own economy and other countries that have trade with them
Usha, I think it is time for us to turn to wisdom of our ancestors. One of our family friends recently told me about Anupam Mishra, an activist who worked all his life towards conservation of water and into research of our ancestors used and conserved water, the methods they employed to build water tanks that were not only efficient but marvels of engineering and architecture. Those books are "Rajasthan ki Rajat Boonde' which translated literally means "Silver Droplets of Rajasthan'. Another book by him is "Aaj Bhi Khare Hai Talab". In this second book, he has written about how certain tribes- mostly nomadic were given the job of building water tanks and were employed by Rajahs and Maharajas solely to guard those tanks and maintain a constant vigil of the areas surrounding the water sources that no one else could harm them or pollute such places.When the British came, they realised how important these water sources were and how crucial they were to keeping the communities intact and integrated. So the first thing they did was to strike at the very roots, they declared the nomadic or as we know them now as SC and ST communities as being 'Criminal Communities' and took away the jobs they did for generations. The same manner as they struck at the weaver communities all over India so they could stuff their own textile down our throats and kill the Indian textile industry. I am waiting for my son's exams to get over to buy those books, every one should read them, they are so good.
Turning back to those time-tested methods could be an answer to the crisis that we are facing.
Here is more information on the great author and activist, Late Mr. Anupam Mishra that I mentioned above and his works -
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/aaj-bhi-khare-hain-talaab
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:Here is more information on the great author and activist, Late Mr. Anupam Mishra that I mentioned above and his works -
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/aaj-bhi-khare-hain-talaab
It is a nice read. So kind of him to not have a copyright of the book and it iss readily available for everyone.
if we look in depth, all the problems that we face in today's world is because of loosing touch with ancestral wisdom. Getting too arrogant with our modern technology and knowledge is the root cause of the problems.
It is so sad the way our lakes and ponds have been ill treated. I remember coming to Bangalore in 1998, the city looked green and had many lakes which were full of water. When we came back after 14 years in US, the city looked devastated. Lakes got dried up. Some were filled up to make lake view apartments.er Those which are left are full of filth, dirt and poisonous froths.
Look how the city is suffering with scarcity of water. And the rising mercury which was so unknown here. Green garden city is now full of concrete and garbage.
usha manohar wrote:I fee that there should be a choice rather than forcing people to take the saplings. There are many people who do not like to grow plants even if they have the convenience to do so ..
I agree with you. Most importantly, nothing can be forced upon anyone because everyone has their own reasoning. In spite of saying so, I would suggest that one should not throw away a sapling but hand it over to some one who would love to plant and grow it. That would have been a mature act.
In Mangalore the age old custom of the agriculturists was to have a we and a pond within their farmland and the water source would never dry up ...In fact rainwater harvesting was based on this since the pond was the water storage ..But now with the govt passing a bill which has given permission to convert all rural land , the fields, ponds and even the well has been filled up and sod to builders.What a tragedy and what a fools paradise we live in, not knowing that we are destroying ourselves in this process of urbanisation
Shampa Sadhya wrote:Really tragic. Such kind of a govt. simply breaks the backbone of a country.
I guess that is the difference between a developed country and a developing nation which has gone off track. In Europe the onus is on preserving nature and heritage . There are vast vegetable gardens and farms right in the center of the major cities and they do not permit more than what is environmentally safe number of gadgets to be used especially in densely populated areas and look at us...we choke our cities with every kind of pollutant possible and then look for ways to rectify the negative impact .
@kiran8