The year when people ‘Just did it’

-

Group Captain PM Velankar was valiantly fighting. The enemies were adamant and gaining strength from the indifference of neighbours. But he fought and saved the Neem tree. Read more about his battles, on and off field here

This year I kept my eyes open for those who took things in their hands and I was blinded by the number. So I am only sharing some that I saw closely, mostly during our 'DelhibyMetro' walks:

1.       New Delhi Nature Society – The founder was tired of taking permissions to make Delhi greener and cleaner. So he became a guerilla tree planter and helped people love trees. He is not afraid to make noise (literally, he has a microphone!) to stop green crimes and has successfully, made many enemies. Check him out here

2.       Hill Stream Cottage- This cottage in Dharamshala owned by a Delhi couple, is not just a guest house, but more a means of livelihood for locals Joginder and his wife Nirmala. They recently used the government’s ‘Meri Sadak’ scheme to ensure a road was built, connecting the village to the town. The village children will now be able to reach home after school, in time for their meal. Stay with them here

3.        Khetify- The team is furiously khetifying terraces in Delhi (and elsewhere) to get you to stop eating poison and poisoning the earth. Check out their gorgeously minimalistic website and get yourself an organic khet @khetify.com

4.       School Leadership Trust- Instead of swish campus jobs, the team chose to work in slums of Delhi, helping school principals do their job well. They watch films in flea ridden halls and eat roadside parathas to save money, which they donate without batting an eyelid, to a deserving student. Our story here

5.       4 boys who clean up your s@#t- Utsav Talwar, Bhavye Sharma and friends pick up bottles, wrappers etc, that IQ deficient people throw around. While most of us cluck our tongues in disgust at the strewn garbage, these 4 pick it all up. They are cleaning up public spots in Delhi, one wrapper at a time. Listen to them here


I feel lucky that I had to struggle to zoom down to these, because there are just so many more. In my parallel universe, people don’t crib. They use the metro (as their fancy cars collect rust in the garage), reuse, reduce, recycle, plant trees to celebrate occasions rather than drink themselves silly. In my parallel universe, I am surrounded by those who feel empowered, who Just Do it. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sanjay Van- ek prem kahani

-
Image
The romance began when I was working in an organisation in Qutub Institutional Area. And to put it mildly, the boss of the place, and my boss, is possibly the worst person [not just boss] in the world. So post one of those irrational screaming bouts, I simply ran out into this forest. And just ran and ran till I finally slowed down. Then I stopped. And sat. Sanjay van and I became friends for life.  I have seen different seasons in this forest. There is a lane where the amaltas falls down in a golden shower, every summer. In rains, the forest croaks and little peepal saplings sprout all over the place. In winters, many migratory birds come and flock around the water body. I have also gone there on a full-moon night. It is scary and fascinating. The water bodies glimmer and there is thick hatch of bamboo next to one of them, which casts the most gorgeous shadows. There are many mazhars inside and my favourite one is next to the 11 th centure Lal Kot walls. These...
Read more

Dilli 6

-
Image
While we are very aware that the market is 500 years old, with history etched into every corner, we really just went to buy silver jewellery. We walked down Dariba Kalan, the road famous for silver jewellery – one of the primary items being sold in this grand bazaar, since it started. We recommend Jaina & sons, right at the end of the lane – for its happy customer friendly owner and very reasonably priced products. There is a ‘very old’ (the board says so) Jalebi and Samosa wala right at the beginning of the lane- you can smell and taste the ghee and believe the owner, when he tells you that his ancestors made samosas for Akbar! You should ignore the fact that Chandni Chowk was set up after his reign was over… We didn’t enter the historic Central Baptist Church- one of the oldest in North India, just across the street. But we couldn’t not stop to pay homage to the 9 th sikh guru, Tegh Bahadur, who was beheaded for his beliefs, at what is now Gurudwara Si...
Read more

Meetings in forests

-
Image
“Where should we meet after work? I am carrying my walking shoes so it’s ok”, my screen blinks. Walking shoes are an important part of meetings with my friends. We don’t meet in cafes. Other than widening our waistlines and thinning our wallet lines, it does little else.  So we meet inside a forest/park. Sometimes, we catch a lovely sunset on top of a rock or a bird singing on a branch. Conversations flow easily and deeply in such places. Some of my favourite forest meeting points are- ·          Sanjay van - I must have been a deer or nilgai in this forest, in my last birth. The moment I enter, I feel I am home. You can enter from the Qutub institutional area side and walk straight. On your left there is a rock formation – an easy climb and a great spot to just sit and catch up with your friend. You will invariably see a variety of babblers, a kingfisher and loads of peacocks from your perch. You can then walk on and climb the...
Read more