Stronger Together

Diya Ghosh (India)
Honorable Mentions

It was 2015, the morning after Diwali, a festival which is celebrated with much aplomb here in India. I woke up rather early for a holiday, say at around 6 am? And for some reason, I really didn’t feel like staying in. It was an impulsive decision, but I got out of the house to go for a morning walk. My mom always told me to go for morning walks anyway, so why not? Turns out, it wasn’t such a great idea for that particular day. Diwali is the festival of lights and it’s beautiful, but what also came with it was bursting of crackers. A lot of crackers. So the morning after Diwali had the city swimming with polluted air. I remember, I couldn’t even see the end of the path because of the thick smog. I didn’t think much of it then, but what I didn’t realise was that I was inhaling toxic air. My throat felt a little scratchy in the evening. By the next day, I was down with a throat infection. My mom reprimanded me for picking the morning after Diwali to go for a walk. But it wasn’t something that had affected me alone. It had affected the entire city. The pollution levels had risen to a very harmful extent. Schools were closed for a couple of days. People were wearing masks outside. To control the dangerous levels of air pollution in the city, an initiative was taken in consideration and practiced for 15 days. It was called The Odd-Even scheme. According to the scheme, an odd numbered car would be driven on an odd numbered date and en even numbered car on an even numbered date, with some exceptions. Two thermal power plants working in the city were also closed down during this period. The reviews to this had been mixed, though it did bring down the pollution levels a bit. However, I think this incident really woke a part of me which resided in blissful ignorance. I began to understand the severity of the situation. And I understood that air pollution is not something that can be tackled through a fortnight long experiment.
 I have always emphasised on the importance of small changes. They are always the ones that lead to big differences. I don’t travel by the car nearly as often as I used to. I use public transport. Not only does it reduce a car on the road, it also gives me a sense of independence. I feel happy, going to places via metro and then walking to my destination. In those few minutes, I feel connected to my surroundings. I don’t think of anything, I just look around and listen to music. I feel free. I think over the years, I had lost this feeling. I have rediscovered it rather recently and it is very soothing. In fact, nowadays, if I don’t find time like this for myself, I get restless. It’s important to disconnect from our worries and work just for a few moments to have some calmness in the everyday madness.
Ever since I was child, I have been very enthusiastic about Diwali. As I mentioned before, it is the festival of lights. Though, in the last many years I haven’t burnt crackers. I am not very fond of them especially considering the effect they have on the environment. Since I stopped bursting crackers, I have been spending my Diwali making rangolis (patterns created on the floor or the ground using rice or dry flour or any material of one’s choice), lighting candles in my home and putting up lights. And honestly, this has brought a lot of peace in me. Now when I look at my house on a Diwali evening, I find it very rewarding. The atmosphere feels positive. The festival of lights has become a happier occasion. And isn’t that what festivals are about? Happiness and harmony.
Moreover, I strongly believe that change comes when we take initiative and spread the word. My mother recently bought a composter, and now we have started segregating the wet waste and the dry waste in the household. Most of the components of the wet waste go into the composter, which gives us manure for the number of plants in our house. The reduction of garbage is really important, as most of it is dumped in landfill sites, where there is emission of greenhouse gases. Using the composter has really decreased the amount of waste generated. After we discovered this, we started telling people about this. Relatives, neighbours, friends. Many people aren’t aware of how much of a difference they can make by simply making these small lifestyle changes. Educating people about the ways in which they take care of the environment is one of the most important things that we need to do today! And to our delight, some people have started doing the same. They too are now, proud owners of composters and they also tell their friends and neighbours about it. That’s how the word spreads. The more people we tell, the stronger we stand.
It’s important to use our voice. It doesn’t matter if the change feels little. Nothing that we do is insignificant. One thing I’ve learnt is that we don’t know what we’re capable of. The smallest of things do make a difference. Which is why, it is vital that we do whatever we can to make things better. It’s not just for you or me, it is for everyone. We are stronger together.