trees die easy

We are the champions, our children hardly matter, really.

Reading the piece, i am reminded of Mahathir Mohammad's, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, inaugural speech at a global environmental summit in his country a few years ago. Where he lambasted the West (“developed countries”) for using the bogey of environmental conservation to prevent the Third World from clearing forests and benefit from using forest resources for developmental activities !

Sadly, the majority of our development planning is too myopic in approach to appreciate that the Earth’s forests are a renewable storehouse of resources. We may clear forests - plunder and pillage. But Nature is stronger. By re-investing a small fraction of the money generated and a little time and care, the same forest can regenerate. Forests can be managed to benefit society, sustainably.

The man on the street does not understand nor care about the catastrophe looming large on us, within the next decade. Despite all proclaimed efforts (and after dispatching thousands of Crores into Swiss accounts) over at least the last 30 years - Governmental, NGO and otherwise - we have miserably failed to check our burgeoning population. This is triggering catastrophic crises in the availability of potable water and energy for cooking (forget “kyunki saas bhi kabhi…”) - both in our suburban population hotspots and around the countryside. Why do i care, as long as i made it to “Outstanding” in the annual appraisal ?

And with honourable and notable exceptions - NGOs' big business, the enlightenment to achieve karma! Spare the howls of indignation !!

How about a 30-minute discussion with Dawood (him of the D-Company fame) on the Indian population bomb? To be live-telecast Sunday-evening primetime? Oh, wow! The TRPs will be sky-rocketing, he’s a well-known authority on fireworks, you know !!

To borrow unabashed - “Death come easy if you come before your time, Death come easy to a young man in his prime…”

Amen