Feast for Thought

A real 'story' as told by a close friend: "Vani was in her early thirties when I first met her in a Mumbai local sometime in the late ‘70’s. She never talked much but her helping tendency was obvious. She boarded the train at the starting point and always found a seat. Instead of sitting through the hour-long journey, she would offer her seat – a luxury - to another lady. My acquaintance too began this way – a few pleasantries exchanged over the train’s din. After a couple of months, she was not at her usual seat. Everyone presumed that she was on leave. In the busy buzz of the Mumbai life, no one thought twice about her till she came back after nearly 4 months. None of us could recognize her. She had lost weight, her cheeks were sunken, eyes lifeless, and to top it all, she had an almost bald head. Out came the rude shock that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo radiation therapy. She hoped that she had won over the disease, but even before ...

CSR Some of the current commercials appear to be efforts at quieting (not stifling thankfully) company conscience (if I sound cynical, I apologise). A tea brand's wake up call is certainly quite refreshing. Another brand's message 'This greeting card has been made using pulp from sustainably managed forests' is also heartening. Nearly all notebooks that my son buys from the local stationer carry a short passage about how the book has been made from ' bagasse , not trees'. But back to the tea commercial. [For those who have not seen it - a youth 'interviews' a vote-seeking neta : Are you educated, qualified and experienced for this job - the job of running the country? The neta is discomfited; the commercial's message is for the citizen to not only arise every morn, but also be(come) aware.] ISR There it is: Being aware is half the battle won, and you'll soon be a practitioner of Individual social responsibilty. In the context of environmental iss...

I used to despair that not enough of us educated literati of urban India are concerned about the environment and effects of our local actions that, put together have a global effect. But recent messages in personal and group mail show that more people have woken up, and are gently tapping others awake. In one group, members encouraged happy Diwali celebrations sans crackers. In another, nearly all the members are vociferously protesting tree-felling in their beloved alma-mater. Of course all this is like a drop in the ocean - one green whiff among millions of tonnes of CO2 emmissions and equivalents. The neighbourhood grocer continues to tell me ' Madam you are the only person to refuse a carrybag - I will lose business if I don't stock them. I know that I can save a couple of 1000 rupees a month and pass the savings to my clients if everyone brought their own bags." In my campus I see quite a few shops that say 'No carry bags'. I step into the shop to find rows an...