Facing the burden on the planet
Yesterday gave me an opportunity to look at my footprint on the planet. No, footprint isn't the right word. Yesterday, I came face to face with the burden of my yesterdays, yester-weeks, yester-months and all those yester-years I have lived on this planet.
We happened to visit the Gazipur Landfill, one of the biggest garbage dumps in the city. And like Suraj (one of the friends & ONUS co-traveller) had put, talking, thinking discussing the moon is different and walking on it is quite different. Similarly, it was quite something to have closely watched the huge mountain of garbage. To walk on the every subtle details of all that constitutes garbage. It was overwhelming. Simply put.
From Anand Vihar metro station, we made our way to the landfill, taking a shared auto, passing the murga mandi, chicken market and walking some rounds to find the path to reach closer. Up close, any people we met on the way, showed immense amazement on the fact that we chose this place to visit. Its a no tourist place. As one of us, clicked a picture of the giant mountain that fed a lot of eagles, vultures, dogs and other birds & animals, one of the security guards from a nearby factories said its forbidden to click its pictures. Because it is an MCD site. From then on, I kept wondering why is clicking a picture forbidden. Nevertheless, we did click pictures because we felt it was a way to share the impact of our lifestyle.
Looking for a way to go closer and up the mountain, we ended up taking half a round of the 4-5 square km giant. On the way we met, few people who live in the vicinity area. The foul smell is usual there. Ground water has foam. We met Rakesh, a boy of 9 years of age may be. He was a paryavaran-mitr. Often mistakenly called a rag-picker. I myself did that mistake quite a few times. But if look at it, they are friends of the environment. They pick up things that are discarded by us but is of some use and value, saving our environment of deadly gases that burning them would produce. Rakesh earned about Rs. 3000 per month and did not study. Although he supported his family to send his two younger siblings to school. :) Jushya all the paryavaran-mitr are invisible hands saving our world.
(A view of the city from the mountain)
On the other side, how adaptive life is. The huge landfill, helped thousands of scavengers and animals survive. Secondly, under a project the mountain is being covered with a layer of grass and beautified. People around have become used to the continuous foul smell.
All over the way, we kept having random discussions about how does stories like the one about Gazipur Landfill be shared in the media or not. About what will happen even if I chose not to use plastic bottles, millions of people are still using it, about how economy is actually a small part of ecology but these days we consider ecology a small part of economy.
Some of the possible answers were there with us. Like one of us, shared the landfill and the mountain itself was a testimony to what small acts brought together can do. Suraj said I was relating it to the wrapper of the chewing gum that I eat several times in the day. Small acts then, become powerful.
Nevertheless, the visit was a powerful way to face what this lifestyle of wanting more and more, means. Of facing the burden that my life creates, on life itself.
- A film that I love on rethinking economics, as practiced today: Sacred Economics
- We visited the Gazipur Landfill as part of Collective Service Day, we have humbly begun in Youth Alliance and ONUS.
We happened to visit the Gazipur Landfill, one of the biggest garbage dumps in the city. And like Suraj (one of the friends & ONUS co-traveller) had put, talking, thinking discussing the moon is different and walking on it is quite different. Similarly, it was quite something to have closely watched the huge mountain of garbage. To walk on the every subtle details of all that constitutes garbage. It was overwhelming. Simply put.
From Anand Vihar metro station, we made our way to the landfill, taking a shared auto, passing the murga mandi, chicken market and walking some rounds to find the path to reach closer. Up close, any people we met on the way, showed immense amazement on the fact that we chose this place to visit. Its a no tourist place. As one of us, clicked a picture of the giant mountain that fed a lot of eagles, vultures, dogs and other birds & animals, one of the security guards from a nearby factories said its forbidden to click its pictures. Because it is an MCD site. From then on, I kept wondering why is clicking a picture forbidden. Nevertheless, we did click pictures because we felt it was a way to share the impact of our lifestyle.
Looking for a way to go closer and up the mountain, we ended up taking half a round of the 4-5 square km giant. On the way we met, few people who live in the vicinity area. The foul smell is usual there. Ground water has foam. We met Rakesh, a boy of 9 years of age may be. He was a paryavaran-mitr. Often mistakenly called a rag-picker. I myself did that mistake quite a few times. But if look at it, they are friends of the environment. They pick up things that are discarded by us but is of some use and value, saving our environment of deadly gases that burning them would produce. Rakesh earned about Rs. 3000 per month and did not study. Although he supported his family to send his two younger siblings to school. :) Jushya all the paryavaran-mitr are invisible hands saving our world.
(A view of the city from the mountain)
On the other side, how adaptive life is. The huge landfill, helped thousands of scavengers and animals survive. Secondly, under a project the mountain is being covered with a layer of grass and beautified. People around have become used to the continuous foul smell.
All over the way, we kept having random discussions about how does stories like the one about Gazipur Landfill be shared in the media or not. About what will happen even if I chose not to use plastic bottles, millions of people are still using it, about how economy is actually a small part of ecology but these days we consider ecology a small part of economy.
Some of the possible answers were there with us. Like one of us, shared the landfill and the mountain itself was a testimony to what small acts brought together can do. Suraj said I was relating it to the wrapper of the chewing gum that I eat several times in the day. Small acts then, become powerful.
Nevertheless, the visit was a powerful way to face what this lifestyle of wanting more and more, means. Of facing the burden that my life creates, on life itself.
- A film that I love on rethinking economics, as practiced today: Sacred Economics
- We visited the Gazipur Landfill as part of Collective Service Day, we have humbly begun in Youth Alliance and ONUS.
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