DilliMeriJaan

The Rose Garden Walking Club, as the name suggests, walks everyday in Rose Garden. On Sundays, they also eat lots of food – samosa, bread pakora, milk cake, biscuits and hot tea – for which they have a commercial size canter. Weight-loss does not seem to be purpose of the group, clearly, but they are healthier than anyone with perfect BMIs. The day we met them, we were out for our #DelhibyMetro walk, with jamun and mango seeds to plant. In our typical unplanned style, we got caught in the rain, without umbrellas and with bags full of seeds. The club members welcomed us into their little circle, with steaming cups of tea. We hesitated, only fleetingly, and then jumped right in. They invited us for their ‘Celebration Ceremony’.  They were celebrating the rain, the forest and a member’s birthday. But we realised that they didn’t need a particular reason to celebrate. They were just happy to be.  As I watched our group member vigorously plough the earth to drop the seed...

Every world earth / environment day, people arrive in droves, to plant trees. It is a picnic. Photos are clicked - selfies with saplings are a rage. The saplings of course, die of thirst, the very next day. Also sometimes, ‘wrong’ trees get planted – which do not belong to the region and do a range of environment damaging things – from dying themselves to killing plants around.   So this World Environment Day – June 5, follow these ‘Easy Steps to Planting Trees- which do not die or kill you’. 1.        Select a spot close to home/place of work. That way you can water the sapling and see it grow (a most satisfying experience). 2.        Find an indigenous tree. You can go to a government nursery and ask the gardeners there to help you. They are very happy to chat if you catch them in the slim windows between their morning, afternoon and evening breaks. But they know trees. 3.     ...

“No, I will not”, again mama and I were fighting the night before the walk. She said that I should come. But I did not want to wake up early in the morning and walk. But I had no choice! I was simply angry. Next day before we reached the metro station, I started feeling excited. The streets were empty. It was not sunny nor was it hot. Although no one seemed up, the birds were up and were making a dinfull racket. When everybody reached, we did a round of introductions. Then we started walking. We were almost the only people so could walk freely. There was no traffic. First we went to ‘Chor Minar’ where we heard the squeaking of bats. And there was a puppy who I went and patted. Then we took a picture with everybody holding their necks! (1) Then we started walking again. This time we saw a hornbill, who was extremely shy and did not like being photographed. We then went to the ( I forgot the name)(2) where we stood on stairs and took pictures and there were two puppies. And fi...

Usually, there is way too much beauty around and they mask the occasional ugliness – so I pass them by. But sometimes, even I, shudder.  Like when someone carelessly breaks a leaf, while walking in a park. Or drops a wrapper. When people scribble on fresh paper, only to throw them in the bin. Or take print-outs of things without stopping to think – railways, movie theatres, airlines – all accept e-tickets on phone!  When people pour glassfuls of water for themselves, others, take a sip and throw the rest. I shudder and watch open-mouthed, gallons of water being wasted during Holi, millions of pollutants being released during Diwali or when India wins a Cricket match. I am amazed that such a wanton show of idiocy is considered ‘celebration’. I shudder most when I see no one raising a voice. Not because they don’t realise the adverse affects of such acts. But because they don’t want to be ‘unpopular’. This #Earthday2016, let’s get unpopular. Let’s shout,...

It was Earth Day. She was rushing to the metro station to catch the metro. To lead her ‘Earth Day’ walk – where Delhi-ites were going to appreciate trees and talk about things they would do to be green. She took her eco-warrior role very seriously. That it was insanely cheesy to make people stand in a circle, under a tree, and take a pledge to turn ‘green’, was something she did not get. So she was driving really fast – the metro station was not at a walking distance from her home. It was early morning and there was no traffic. Which is why she did not see the SUV that she banged into.  It emerged from a corner at a speed much slower than her car. Her tiny car just about reached its monstrous tires but yes, there was a perceptible scratch and a very loud screeching stop. She waited for the arrogant, eco-insensitive, gelled hair, pot-bellied individual to emerge and maybe shoot her. It was Delhi and this was an SUV. Obviously she would be shot. When the befuddled, scrawny, bes...

You have to fall in love with something, to want to take care of it. Eco-consciousness came naturally to me, when I saw the Arabian Sea in Goa, as a child. You had to protect something so beautiful. Over the years, I have seen the way Goa has turned over a new and clean, green leaf. More importantly, I have seen how tourists have changed their behaviour to preserve it. Sign-boards urging people not to litter the beaches, are not necessary. When you see miles of gorgeous white sand, with nothing but crabs, sand plovers and an occasional gull, you know you have to keep that candy wrapper in your pocket, till you find a dust-bin. The inconvenience of carrying a plastic water bottle, along with the obvious damaging effects of using plastic at all, had turned me into a ‘local juice’ drinker, long time back. In Goa, drink tender coconut water. It’s good for you, it’s good for the beach and it’s good for the local economy. In central and northern parts of India, you will find sugarcane ...

The Bombax  (silk cotton) trees have large, fleshy red/orange flowers. If you park your car under one, it will be smeared with gooey flower pulp – which I think makes my car look like a wedding carriage. My neighbor finds it very annoying and grumbles about Spring and it’s sticky flower menace. I love Spring. Delhi has more than 100 varieties of indigenous trees and a lot of them flower during Spring. The pink version of Bombax – the Silk Floss trees, remind one of Cherry Blossom. Unlike Cherry Blossom,  one doesn’t have to wait for many years for Silk Floss to blossom – they do so, every year, in March, in Delhi. Jacaranda is an indigenous tree which has glossy green leaves, which remain during the flowering season. So do the leaves of the Yellow Trumpetbush. One of my nature lover friends, pointed out that we are getting “tree blind”. So we don’t notice trees and don’t miss them when they are cut. This #EarthHour2016, let’s start a new habit. Let’s see trees. ...