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I have this “list” that I live by. Here goes…
1. THE SIMPLE LIFE:
NO: Television, mobile phone, air conditioning at home, car, credit card, cola, candy, keeping up with the Joneses.
MINIMUM: Jewellery, eating out, processed and non-veg food.
YES: Cotton handloom clothes, oats, fruit, water, early to bed and early to rise.
3. READING: Prefer hard bound second hand books. Not just fiction – I read on diverse topics (except real technical stuff) from architecture to philosophy, world history (especially 20th century) to developing economies (keenly watching the BRIC countries).
4. MUSIC MANIA: An eclectic mix. Genre wise, The Blues. Also Soft Rock, Country, Zydeco, Cajun, Latina, Soft Pop; Hindi film music of the 1960s and 1970s; semi-classical Tamil and Malayalam film music.
5. MOTHER EARTH: I have been passionate about the environment and reducing my carbon footprint long before the terms became fashionable.
6. MY PUBLIC PERSONA: Calm, reserved, very different from my inner self – racing thoughts and bubbling laughter. I don’t particularly enjoy crowds. More of a loner and observer.
Reading back I think I sound pretty eccentric – but I’m comfy with myself and I sleep well at night!
© Sosha Srinivasan
Last Sunday instead of sleeping in until 7, I was up as usual at 5 am. So was my son, without a murmur of protest for a change! Why? Because we had registered with Nizhal (Shade) for a “Tree Walk” as part of the Madras Week celebrating the founding of the city of Chennai in 1639. This was held at Guindy National Park, one of the handful of parks around the world that is situated within a city. It was an absolute treat. Resource person, Mr Kamaraj, who has worked at the park for long years, led us, stopping at intervals to explain the salient features of a variety of trees. I learned, for instance, that the tree I (and many others) believed to be the Flame of the Forest is in fact the flame tree (Delonix regia or Royal Poinciana). The real Flame of the Forest is Butea monosperma (also called the parrot tree due to the shape of its flowers. As it resembles the teak, it as also known as the bastard teak. Unfortunately we missed it in full bloom as flowering gets over in June.
The shrub that stood out was mother-in-law’s tongue,
ostensibly because the edges of its leaves are razor sharp! Though it is widely grown as an ornamental, purists call it a weed!
Then there was the Prosopis juliflora (belonging to the same genus as the North American mesquite) , a very hardy, drought resistant tree, which does not, however, allow other trees and shrubs to take root nearby. Another variant the Prosopis cineraria is very common to Rajasthan.
Lovely “extras” were the fauna we spotted – macaques (Rhesus monkeys), squirrels, kites, butterflies, and bugs…
We also saw a small group of deer, one at a distance of 2 feet! What gorgeous animals they are! Why anyone in their right minds would want to hunt the gentle creatures is beyond me.
So why did I go? Have you read the 2-page (not kidding!) short story, The Distinguished Stranger by R. L. Stevenson? I, too, love “the people with the green heads”!
Also I saw it as a chance to pass on some of my passion for the environment to my son. He already has caught the reading bug from me. It is really amazing – and sometimes disquieting – to consider how often we influence our children’s likes/dislikes. Other benefits – we spent time together but his attention was elsewhere and he didn’t get in my hair! It also clubbed exercise with learning. As we left the cicadas were just getting their act together – a farewell in their humming crescendo.
Then on Monday morning we climbed up and down St Thomas Mount (a hillock) twice by two different routes. It took about 2 hours but didn’t seem like it. I thought i’d pay for it the next day with sundry aching muscles but my fears were unfounded. I must be in better shape than I imagined! Hmmmm….
© Sosha Srinivasan
Chennai stll has a few last bastions of nature – shrinking green spaces – a few of which I’ve had the pleasure of passing by on my way to work. While hubby’s attention is fixed firmly ahead as he weaves in and out of the insane traffic, I feast my eyes on a couple of stretches. The one between Ramapuram and the Chennai Trade Center is rapidly being “developed” for office/ commercial space, but still bears vestiges of its former green glory.
Happily the stretch between the Saidapet Court at Little Mount and Raj Bhavan remains untouched. There is no dividing wall, just a low crenellated cement railing separating the pavement from the wooded grove beyond. It looks so inviting – more like a park – not the government property methinks it is – that I often imagine stopping and strolling through, listening for birdcalls and observing the flora with a keen eye.
I lightly vault over the railing with a nonchalant air, spoiling the effect when I land with a loud thud, lose my balance and nearly go sprawling on the grassy verge. Never mind, nobody’s paying any attention, except my slightly bewildered husband. I give him a backward glance and trot down a rough path. He shrugs his shoulders and gives me a faint, embarrassed smile as realization (he thinks) dawns. Yes, I am anwering the “call of nature”, but not in the way he assumes…
He waits by the scooter lost in thought and a cloud of cigarette smoke until – Hark! – he hears what seems to be an elephant crashing through the dense brush. He’s heard of deer in the vicinity – Guindy National Park is contiguous with Raj Bhavan – but a pachyderm? The sounds grow alarmingly closer now and my poor man stands poised, undecided. Fight for his wife or flight for his life? Oh, the quandaries men face post marriage…
The decision is taken for him as a creature emerges from the undergrowth, covered with leaves and broken twigs. No, it is not Elephas maximus on the rampage, but Wifeis enormus, who proceeds to take the barrier like a record-breaking hurdler in flight and runs full tilt toward him, pursued by a couple of annoyed custodians of the property.
Perhaps I should have changed the ending to “pursued by a swarm of angry bees” I think, shaking with silent laughter as we pass the leafy environs of Anna University. Hubby senses the vibes and looks over his shoulder questioningly, unaware of the stellar role he plays in my oh, so wild imagination!
© Sosha Srinivasan
A former colleague, who also happens to be a good friend, has been diagnosed with end stage renal disease and is currently undergoing dialysis. Arul is quiet, thoughtful and kind. A postgraduate in Social Work, he is passionate about the environment, especially issues pertaining to wildlife. He is only 38 years old. He is also very brave. Whatever may be his inner doubts, he does not indulge in self-pity. He faces the situation with a matter-of-fact-attitude which is simply admirable. He has never asked, “Why me?” and, in fact, tries to comfort colleagues who get upset seeing his plight.
Situations like this – I have faced something similar before when a niece passed away at age three after being treated for leukemia for a year – threaten to tip me off the fence right into the atheist camp. And the Chaos Theory leaves the realm of abstract thought and begins to look very real: It truly seems like the random rules the world. The existence of an all-knowing, benevolent God is just not compatible with the suffering and cruelty I see in the world around me.
If there is indeed a power greater than us pitiful humans, it is not “God” but Mother Nature – we will never be able to control her manifestations, wind or wave, earthquake or tsunami. The older forms of religion – nature worship which Western religious dogma (read Christian) labels “heathen” or “pagan”, seem to have had the right idea all along – treat Mother Earth with respect. Modern man has not been doing that and now we pay the price in terms of global warming and high levels of pollution in every form. We are poisoning Earth, our home, and ourselves…
© Sosha Srinivasan
Just as we were gearing up for another long hot summer, the rain gods smiled. Chennai has been seeing overcast skies and light showers for a whole week now. The city enjoys a much needed respite no doubt, but I wonder if the unseasonal showers we are experiencing are a direct effect of global warming…
Looking back, I began this blog on a reminiscent note, but it has now taken on a socio-economic/ environmental tone. Perhaps it is because subconsciously I realize that issues pertaining to the present and future are more pressing.
Carl Sandburg once said, “The past is a bucket of ashes.” I’m not sure I subscribe to that rather extreme view, are you? I wouldn’t have changed my childhood (until age 16) for anything, and enjoy going back now and then…
As late as the mid ’80s I couldn’t have even remotely imagined what the future would bring in terms of technology. Now that the Internet is in place, we can at least dream of the possibilities. It has changed the way we look at the future.
© Sosha Srinivasan
I’ve been going on about the shrinking patches of green in the city in the face of progress. What have I done about it? Nothing much I’m afraid, except perhaps take time off to “smell the flowers”, “stand and stare”, enjoy the moment and, of course, vent on my blog. I don’t think much can be done but retreat along with the green… Pessimistic, huh? Realistic, I think would be a better adjective. You see, I think I know my fellow countrymen quite well. As I mentioned earlier, the motto of the majority is “me, mine, and money”.
First, we must realize there is a vast difference between the developed West with their relatively low populations and India with her her sheer numbers pouring into the metros on a daily basis in search of jobs. Over 50% of India’s population is under 25. This is a vast resource manpower wise. At the same time, it puts massive pressure on our cities’ infrastructure. Public transportation is bursting at its seams, potable water is hard to come by and often has to be paid for. However, youth in this age group grab the opportunities that come their way with both hands and the majority couldn’t care less about the environment and sustainable practices, even if they were made aware – their first concern is earning, their second, enjoying themselves.
What I do see, however is that school-age kids in their teens and even younger, especially those that are city based, are more environmentally conscious, and this translates into hope for the future.
So what am I doing in the city, you may ask. The answer is common to all of us working age individuals – jobs are easier to come by in the cities. Of course, I plan to head for the hills and work online from there as soon as I can – but that looks like at least 10 years down the line until my son is done with his education.
© Sosha Srinivasan
Morten, who is very active in the sustainable transportation arena in Europe, asked what percentage of the population uses bicycles in Chennai. I don’t have the figures off hand but good old Google got me this interesting link at www.peopleandplanet.net
I quote a paragraph from this page, of which the last line is absolutely mind boggling:
“The Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) now covers an area of 1177 sq. kilometres. The number of motor vehicles in the city has grown from 144,282 in 1984 to 1,674,185 in 2005. Between year 1992 and 2005 the number of motorised two wheelers increased from 433,046 to 1,266,114 and the number of cars has increased from 122,531 to 301,128. About 450 vehicles are registered every day in Chennai. That means 13,000 vehicles in a month and 160,000 a year.”
I have yet to see an adult from the middle or wealthier classes on a bicycle in Chennai. It’s mostly school-age kids who use bicycles, along with the economically weakest sections.
Chennai is dotted with BPO firms employing youth in the age group 18-25. They are mostly from the rural areas, working their first jobs in data entry. Initially they commute by either public transport or bicycle. A year later they buy themselves cellular phones. Next on their list is a 100 cc motorbike.
A number of school-age kids from the middle income group use bicycles to commute to and from school between 5th or 6th grade until about the 9th or 10th. Following that they start to cajole their parents into buying them 90 cc scooterettes. Most parents give in to pester power, resulting in a group of underage, license-less teens driving on the roads. The police turn a blind eye as their palms are greased manifold.
My son, 16 and about to enter 11th grade, is no exception. He did begin to bug/beg me last year but I put my foot down – not until he gets an adult license at 18 and emphatically no vehicle dedicated for his use. He cycles within a 6-8 km radius but somehow prefers to hoof shorter distances, literally following in my footsteps.
I was an enthusiastic cyclist in my college days in the Chennai of the mid 1980s, regularly pedaling 10-20 km a day. But riding was a pleasure then. At that time Chennai was a quiet, laidback city of broad, tree-lined avenues, that were invariably deserted after 8 pm - very different from the chaotic traffic and awful air pollution of today. Respiratory, eye and skin allergies are documented to be on the rise among our city dwellers.
© Sosha Srinivasan
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