Good over Evil - a happy story

A pair of small eyes that we’ve brought onto this earth, look up to us every Autumn, asking 'what does this Good-over-Evil, really mean'. Because ‘polluting the water bodies with plaster of Paris and toxic paint immersions’ and ‘killing the air with crackers’ cannot possibly be good.

Everyone I know, does multiple things to ensure their carbon footprint is minimal. But almost none of them raise their voice, when they see others harming the earth, mindlessly.

The ‘3 legged Evil’ of shyness, fear- this is DELHI, we will be shot, and embarrassment, stops them.

So this year, I insisted on demonstrating ‘Good over Evil’, with tangible outcomes. Of all the car-chases, of SUV's emitting fumes, angry shouting matches with those littering, and other loud fights, my favourite engagements are these below-

1.After raising hell with the Durga Puja committee, for destroying my park every year, this year there are students protecting the trees. The fight over immersion still continues, but there is hope.
2. Openly deriding plastic users, is of course my thing, but this year I am putting notices where single-use plastic is kept. I had put the one above on a water dispenser in a co-working space, and 10 days later, when I went back again, people were using bottles. More importantly, the notice was still there, with a ‘heart’ and ‘smiley’ added.
3. ‘Dillimerijaan’ walks now end with concrete action items that each walker will take, to help preserve our natural heritage. Some of them actually write back, with photos of the ‘green steps’ that they are taking.

So this festive season, just try conquering the '3 Legged Evil'. Go and point out what’s wrong. You will be surprised with how much ‘good’ there is in others – once you help them see it. And those little eyes, that you may have brought onto this earth, will look up to you, with pride and admiration.