Earth Day 2020 - Let the Earth heal!

Image source: Google Image Search

One thing is certain... The nature heals itself. A few weeks of lockdown and the earth is returning back to its old glory light-speed. People have seen and they are posting pics of clear blue skies during the day and sparkling stars during the night. A few nights ago, I and my teenage daughters stood outside watching constellations in the sky. She confessed that she was seeing the Orion, the most easily spotted constellation for the first time in her life... FOR THE FIRST TIME... It struck me because it was a very common passtime for us as kids to stand on the terrace and watch constellations and joke how an Orion could even be imagined as a hunter. But a teenager today was able to spot it for the first time. She had never seen the pole star so bright, something we couldn't even dismiss as a kid.

And why just the sky? We are receiving beautiful pics of clean rivers like Ganga and Yamuna; of clean Venice Canals; of Dolphins visible near Italian beeches; of beautiful clean waters near Goan beeches. We see all kinds of birds chirping in our gardens now, thriving among empty parks and open spaces. And today it has been just one month of closure of factories. The air quality had jumped 4 levels on the index within the first week itself, from "Very Unhealthy" (scale 5 out of 6 levels) to "Moderate" (scale 2 out of 6 levels). One can feel the difference when they breathe out in the open already.

The truth is that no matter how many environment friendly policies we make; how many vehicle emission standards we draft; we will never be able to fully heal the environment unless we give up our selfish economic motifs. The governments of the nations are drafting "Sustainable Development Goals" - which includes goals around climate and environment among others - with a deadline of year 2030 which, going by the current progress, most countries are likely to miss or achieve only on papers; led by some of the most developed nations. And yet we now know that we may not even need the governments to draft special policies to save the environment, to clean the rivers or reduce pollution. We just need to leave the environment alone for a few weeks at a stretch and halt our economic activities during this time to help it revive.

But then I am reminded of the movement carried out by Greta Thunberg who rightly claims that the selfish economic gains of humans are killing the environment. And the leaders are only supporting them with their policies. Today, on "Earth Day", I wonder whether the world leaders will ever have the guts to decide that every year for few weeks, we will chuck all economic and financial motifs and move into complete lockdown, not to counter some virus, but rather to let earth rest, heal and revive. Maybe not, but if only!

Waiting for the day Ashtami Puja becomes irrelevant for Girls

I have been born into a family of three sisters and no brother. The next generation till now has two girls and a boy. My family has been worshipping Maa Durga since many generations. Needless to say, Navratras were one of the most awaited festivals and culminating into Ashtami which was celebrated with much happiness.

Our family has been unique when it comes to Ashtami celebration. First, it is only restricted to kids in the family and we do not gather little girls from all over for the puja. Second, just like we treat our girls equal to boys on normal days, we treat our boys equal to girls on Ashtami (Kanya Pujan) days. So, my nephew gets to sit in the puja in the same manner and gets the same gifts and money as my daughter and my niece. Third, the girls sit in the puja irrespective of their age (and after attaining puberty too) well until they get married. Last, we share poori-halwa-chhole prasad with some families in the neighbourhood irrespective of whether the families have young girls or not.

Image source: Google search (jagran.com)

Until much later in my teenage years, this was normal for me and only after I grew up did I realise how different this was from the norm. For us, Ashtami Puja had always been for the "kids of the family" and never for the "girls". By that age, I was already into a phase getting prepped to become a staunch feminist. My first Ashtami Puja at my marital home was a depressor. I had been subjected for 6 months to an ashirwad of giving birth to a son and then on the day of Ashtami, my then MIL had sent my then husband looking for small girls to sit in the puja. My now ex-in-laws were openly and vocally upset about me giving birth to a daughter (and the irony was that she was born during Navratras) and six months later on Ashtami day they suddenly relegated her to the status of Lakshmi of the house and worshipped her. My heart was filled with more contempt that day than on the days they would curse me for not bearing a son.

It hurts me to see that the girls are condemned on everyday and on Ashtami, they are celebrated. Although I still try to celebrate this festival with just as much cheer as I did as a child, but every time in Navratras, these thoughts keep circling around my head. I see happy girls in the neighbourhood and I can make out that they are enjoying being centre of attraction for a change. And then maybe one day when the grow up, they will realise what a sham it all is.

The day Ashtami becomes an irrelevant festival for girls because they start getting valued even on normal days will be the day the feminist in me would smile brighter.