Watch it here !

I have used a Canon PowerShot SX 130 IS.

My Observations- Drawbacks of the Camera:

1)It cannot shoot continuously for more than 10 mins.

2)It also loses focus , readjusts and comes back to focus while shooting.

My Observations- Positives of the Camera:

Picture and voice clarity pass the muster.

The output video files from the camera are in .mov format which could not be used  in my Pinnacle software (strange !). Therefore, I had to convert them to .avi with video codec as xvid using Any Video Convertor with substantially lowered quality .

“Aarti Home was started to help orphaned and abandoned children in Kadapa district. We started with just five children in a rented house in 1992 and now have our own premises housing ninety-seven children ranging from ages 1 to 20.

Over the years, Aarti Home has opened its doors to many needy children, some needing a security for a short time, some coming in when they are no older than a day old and leaving the Home when they are ready to face the world. Over 250 children live or have lived as long-term residents and around 800 children have found short-term relief here when they were rescued from traffickers and subsequently rehabilitated.”—-Aarti Home

Watch the compilation here…

Here is the link to it

I started off by giving them a few (around 12 ) choices and asked them to raise their hand for whichever they wanted to be. There were around 4 who wanted to be travellers !!  .With some more questions and answers about achieving them , I got them in agreement with the idea that one has to be physically and mentally fit in order to achieve their multiple desires. Then ,I brought the environment into focus with some statistics and how there has been an increase in ailments including Cancer .

Please watch this video on Chennai’s Garbage Dumpyards to experience the gravity of the situation.The scenario is similar in other cities in India too.

Some resolutions :

It is true that the statistics are grave .In fact , it used to stress me out in the past , when I was still in school. When I actually started to work with people to bring about awareness along with some activity , I realised one thing .I have to take it easy .Activity obtained from a human is not directly proportional to the pressure applied on him. Neither is there any inverse law. So ,yesterday I was grave when I presented some of the facts .However I told them that they can definitely change at least  their own lifestyle. The changes that I asked them to take with their agreement are:

1)To plant at least 1 sapling /yr and take care of it.

2)Avoid getting plastic bags from the shopkeepers. Remember to take their own bags while going to shop.

3)Manage their degradable waste by either feeding animals (like cows , dogs ,crows ) or composting them.I think this one would be difficult to get sanction from the parents  .All those who have a garden in their homes can easily do. Otherwise , composting can be done in pots .

Motive behind the visit:

I wanted the students to understand and know about Chennai’s pollution and take their own stand for it. If they understood and therefore stuck to their promises then that would be great .Many people look at this as something that cannot be done in their routine lives. I beg to differ.It would be wonderful if they gave some changes a try. 

I have created a group on Facebook for the students and teachers of B.V.S. .It is called Green B.V.S., Korattur.Students are joining in.However , it is open to all who want to discuss and bring about greener changes in the environment.

From 11^th January 2011 , I am in Chennai. I have used the public transport extensively to roam around the metropolis. On 23^rd february , I went to the Spencer Plaaza, along with my friends Vaibhav and  Lavanya. I usually go to malls to read magazines for free or to respond to nature’s call  . On  feb 23^rd , I had ‘Dreams Kulfi’ at Bhagyam Snacks Centre in Phase III , Spencer Plaaza. It was sold to me at Rs 25 while its M.R.P. is Rs 20.When I enquired about the difference, I was  shouted at and taunted by the woman who was providing token for the shop. She said that shops in malls have to sell at prices higher than M.R.P.

 I got myself a token (not a bill ) for purchasing the kulfi .My friends and myself  headed towards the consumer court in Mylapore (Thirumaylai).We were very  enthusiastic about going to a consumer court .In all our sudden plans we make use of Justdial and/or the Chennai Map .In the court , we were told that it is illegal to sell above the M.R.P. irrespective of the place of the shop . It is rampant in restaurants (ice creams &soft drinks ),shops in railway stations to sell products above the M.R.P. I am sure that the law makers and protectors are aware of the fact.

 Story Mein Twist:

We took a train from Mylapore to Park Town to get back home. We had tickets only till Chintadripet. Hypocrites ! To my amazement, there were ticket checkers . For a moment ,I thought of running away ,  but I didn’t. We  paid a fine of Rs 255 each ,for having travelled an extra station.

Informing and Enquiring the proprietor :

Day before yesterday, we sent a registered post (along with an acknowledgement card) to the proprietor of the snacks centre asking to refund(Rs 5).We spent around Rs 50 for the speed post. This is logically a waste of money .But I get to see the response and share it with you.

Response:

Yesterday,I got a call from Ms.Madheshwari who is the supplier of Bhagyam Snacks .She runs 3 snacks stalls -T.Nagar , Spencer , Express Avenue. She pays Rs 8000 , Rs20,000, Rs50,000 as rent per month in the places respectively.Selling price for the kulfi is Rs 20 ,Rs 25 and Rs 30-40 (under negotiation) at the places.I have experienced this situation while having sandwiches at Subway.They tax you seperately depending on the location.Hence sandwiches at EA are costlier than in Spencer.

The smaller shops do not have such an elaborate billing system .Inability to account for a separate tax in the bill along with a lower m.r.p. could leave a suspicious impression on the customer. I conveyed this do Madheshwari.. She agreed with the idea ,but said that it is a tedious process and would take her some time.

  I did all of this out of curiosity .With news on corruption within bureucracy , judicial system and the elected body , I could only imagine this to be another corrupt business.Although I dont abide by the law all the time ,I wish that I am not exploited.I don’t think this hypocrisy is going to help me or anybody who wishes to bring about change in the society. Through this post , I primarily shared my experience .It would be great if this opens up a discussion to correct my understanding or improve it on this subject .

If you observe some advertisements , their major sales point is creating  fear of germs & diseases among the people. For e.g. , Dettol hand sanitizer , Huggies Diaper , Ponds Face Wash & Complan to name some. Unless one questions about the need of the product & the ad , one will simply be buying  for whatever the ad says.

The tendency to keep everything germ-free around oneself  is the main cause for increased incidence of auto – immune diseases in the developed world .The immune system is there to fight infections, but if you don’t give it any work , it could start doing crazy things. It could fight against the cells of the host. It is not only that one reduces the work of the immune system , but one is also exposed to  toxic chemicals in its name. The fear very effectively works against one’s own body!

One can easily look into the ingredients of the product to know what they are exposed to(provided all the ingredients are mentioned).If one could observe the response of the body towards a product, that could be very informative too. For e.g. burning sensation in hands while dissolving detergents in water .Also , their strong smell chokes me. It is proven that detergents are good for nothing , not even the clothes. Moreover ,the detergents are very difficult to degrade and therefore pollute the waters. However, right now most of the city dwellers do not have any other option. People in the past used soapnuts  to wash clothes. I am happy to know that Daily Dump, Bangalore has come up with a product that helps the city dwellers have a chance on a really eco- friendly and human friendly product  .  http://www.dailydump.org/products/harmless-home

 The exploiters sure TRY to create fear and increase the demand for their product (or they themselves are not aware of these facts ). If you don’t want to be tormented by these fears, experiment yourselves and take your own decision. Otherwise waste your life believing somebody else’s theory. That includes believing me too!

So ………Experiment !

(P.S.  it is proven that the modern medicine has lots of negative impacts on the body and very few effective ones. So , it is advantageous to  give a chance to your immune system  on commonplace diseases to begin with.)

 According to my plan , I had a chance of finding cows way far from my house( at gaon/village) .At a bifurcation of roads, I didn’t take the usual main road, instead took a bumpy road lined with chawls and small houses .I thought that this route could probably have some cows .

 Within 2 minutes of walking into the bumpy road, I spotted some goats. I fed them the vegetables As I didn’t take the same route back home, I could spot some more goats on the way.

I didn’t venture to go into the village when my work was done. I still don’t know how it looks like and whether it has any cows or goats.

Problems due to waste is non-existent in Coir Board(Thanjavur), in spite of ignorance of the people or the governing bodies, as there are a lot of empty plots. The occupants very effectively utilise the surrounding empty plots of land by disposing all their wastes in them. Then why did I go about telling and helping them to compost their bio-wastes? I wanted them to know the value of their kitchen wastes .This was well received as most of the people still wish to have garden in their houses. Moreover, the emptiness is not a guarantee .  

In  Koperkahirne, there is a surge in building construction. The constructions take care of parking spaces but there is no space for a single tree to be planted in its premises .When I was in my college hostel I used to feed the banana peels to cows. Rotten stuff would be taken care of by the soil.But here it is difficult to find empty spaces and cows. Anyway, so how am I dealing with the kitchen wastes here? :

1. I am feeding some of them ( papaya peels, bread , lady’s finger to name some)to the pigeons and crows , which inhabit the place in such abundance. Feeding the cows comes with  an assurance that they will poop on the ground, which ends up composted .The birds, on the other hand, may poop on my terrace.When I wash the terrace the poop will travel through the drainage system .The poop will have to wait long till it gets decomposed. If all the living spaces have some amount of soil cover around it , it is easier to handle most of the solid and liquid wastes(including human faeces and urine).
2. What if the birds don’t eat ?The wastes get dried up , which I put on the soil of the potted plants in this house. Here again , there is dependence on the soil.

If the wastes cannot be held in the pots ,then I have to keep them aside or dump them in the dustbin.With time , the volume of the vegetable remains (in the pots)would reduce to accomodate the newer wastes.

I had mentioned in my earlier post that I wish to provide dust bins for plastic bags. So ,I called up the President of Panchayat Board and asked him to fulfil his words of providing bins for non-biodegradable wastes(NBW).He instead asked us to search for the provider and order for them ourselves!…OK , no problem, as long as Panchayat pays the bill for the bins.

So ,yesterday ,as usual ,Lavanya and myself went to the first batch of composting houses. We informed them that , with Panchayat support , we are going to put dustbins for their NBW. As most of the houses here have their compound walls on the road, it became difficult for us to choose the spots. In the end I resorted to calling the Panchayat President .I asked him to send a person who knew the details on government land in Coir Board. He told us to first procure the bins and then decide the spots. Guess he needs some explanation on the issue. I plan to meet him today evening regarding the same.

How good are these houses composting?

We visited 16 houses from the 1^st batch.7 of them are effectively composting. While informing them about the dustbins we have made it clear that only NBW has to be put in them. I might need a follow up to check their response to this idea.

When completely done , a compost looks black in color and smells of rain & mud.

You might be wondering how these houses respond to us. Those who are composting well, have opened up to us. Those who are not doing it with involvement ,are mostly shy. Our attitude towards all these houses is the same. We are curious to see their compost. Hence, we manage to get to their backyard ,with or without their wish.

One of the pits was entirely filled with dried leaves from the trees and plastic covers! We removed the covers and watered the pit. I told the lady that optimum moisture is essential to degrade the substances .  

Free Saplings

I have spoken to the Thanjavur collector about our work. He is ready to help us with free saplings. When told about this, most of the houses expressed their willingness to plant saplings in their houses. They have given us their choices. I look at “free saplings” as an incentive ,for the houses, to include effectiveness in composting. Moreover, it is one of my ambitions to plant at least 400 saplings by 2011 July.

Challenges faced by PPDS to go plastic bag free:

He said that customers usually demand for plastic bags, sometimes demand for an extra one too. He found paper bags to be costlier compared to plastic bags ( Sorry ,I don’t have the quotations ).There are a few customers who always prefer to take their things in a cloth bag. It has been difficult for him to ask customers to carry their stuff in a cloth bag. He said he doesn’t want to mess with his customers. So , I couldn’t propose any measures further.

During the one an a half hour talk, we could figure out one thing he is very much interested in .It is awareness among children. He asked us do in mass by approaching schools. So, this is his area of interest and he could execute via us! Nice deal.

Any help we got from him?

He will not be able to stop giving plastic bags to the customers if they ask for it. However, he said that he will be able to support us for our activity in our locality.

He told us to approach kids with goodies like biscuits and chocolate and gain their attention. He gave us 10 packets of biscuits to work out his trick. He seems pretty clear about what he wants!

I am definitely not in for tricks but have kept the biscuit packs aside for kids(don’t want to constipate ! :)  ).

My plans ahead:

1)Approaching kids was not in my plans, but now I have a fellow interested in it. There is scope of awareness generation .I want to use this opportunity to remove plastic bags out of Thanjavur. If anybody is passionate about conducting workshops or creating awareness among kids in Thanjavur, please contact me. We could partner against plastic pollution.

2) Meet the Thanjavur Collector M.S.Shanmugham to support us in making Thanjavur a plastic bag free town .We also want to plant saplings just before the onset of monsoon here. So we will ask him for support in kind.

3) Create momentum in our college and other colleges too. We are going to propose certain methods which can be integrated in everyday practices in every college. Will get back to you with them.