yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Environment Day: Of tokenism and ironies Published at The Citizen on 5th June 2017 here . Thanks are due to the team at The Citizen Suddenly everyone around seemed to have reignited their love for their mothers, realized that their mothers were the best ( whatever it means ) and rekindled their memories of pleasant incidents with mothers. Preceding the Mother’s Day was Women’s Day , a day to celebrate women, as if half the population on planet does not exist otherwise. After a point even the mainstream media had had enough. A Hindustan Times ’ article stated “ While I do appreciate the free manicures, drinks and air miles this Women’s Day, let’s aim to stop the tokenism. It means nothing. Instead, let’s aim for deeper, long-lasting and more substantial solutions ”. While an editorial in The Hindu said “ What have we reduced International Women’s Day to? It’s nothing short of a jamboree. Events aplenty are organised around March 8 to demonstrate our admiration for ‘woma...

Plastic is there to stay and the onus is on us to change our lifestyles and protect the environment. Published on First Post on 6 th June 2017 here .  Thanks are due to the team at First Post. An unedited version below. Images of turtles, albatrosses and other marine species dying on account of plastic in our oceans have been doing rounds in recent years. Many of us have been pained but most of us seem to have done little. Two shocking incidents this year not only underscored this but also gave us a final warning. A warning to act now or to face a future not very different from that of these species . The first is a whale on the Norwegian shore which was so sick it had to be euthanized; 30 plastic bags (besides other garbage) were found in its stomach. The second is the publication of a report on Henderson Island. More than 37 million pieces of waste plastic were found on an uninhabited island recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its ecology! Plastic ...