Save Resources, Go Green - this is something we hear almost everywhere, almost all the time now-a-days. Well, reading about the Copenhagen Summit, and yet another joke about Indians(no hard feelings, it's one of those age-old ones cracked by our great-grandfathers...) had me thinking about why Indians do not need to be told about this...
Indians need not be told to do either of those things, because they are the only people in the world(as far as I know :D) who use what and all that they have with absolute care. A person who has many clothes uses them till it is awfully smelly or full of holes. No other country in the world has ever had a 'Bhangarwala' from whom the mothers get second hand stuff. Lakhs of children study from second-hand books, and use each and every notebook they have ultra-carefully(talk about saving paper!!!). The joke that I mentioned above, wasn't really a joke, it was actually a tendency of using what you have to its fullest ability. No matter how much something is used, if it still has some other usage, it stays. That's what many people in India do. I myself have done that before!!!(No, I don't have torn and smelly clothes). These are only a few examples...
Talking about food, well, again, we are taught even before we can talk that food is sacred, and wasting it is practically a crime(that some people still don't follow is a different question, but I'm talking about the majority here). Having heard that since the age of 6 months(believe it or not!) we never waste food. If we can't finish it, we give it to a beggar, or a needy person. But we never waste. There are also people who dont not have food to sustain themselves, and so they can't even think in their dreams of wasting food!!! This is kind of a reason why I seriously wondered why India has been blamed for wasting food... if we don't have it, or if we respect it, how can we waste it!!!
Electricity and water - we don't get enough of that, how in the world can we ever dream of using up too much! Both are almost a Gift From God in many places, even places which have continuous electricity and water(yes, such places do exist! Yay!) use it carefully because they know how bad it was when there was none of it.
We are already doing so much, how much more can we do! One thing - consuming less petrol and diesel, well, even that is done at rate that's really low, compared to others. If this is the case, do we really need to save more? I don't think so. Yes, the people who are rich should also not indulge in way too many luxuries, but that's a small percent. Also, one can say that all this is happening because of the poverty in the country, but for once, I'm not complaining. Since people have been through poverty, they will know the value of resources, of life. They will care more, they will still save more. Not the best thing to be proud of, but I'm happy that India is one of the countries which has contributed least to the serious deterioration of Nature(least I feel so!). For this one thing, I feel India rocks!
So, what do you think about this? Agree or disagree? Do post your opinions, we would love to read and reply to them!!!
Image source : gconnect.in/.../ what-this-kid-knows-we-dont.html
