There is a Akbar-Birbal story in which the Emperor gets a huge pond constructed and then orders each citizen to pour a potful of milk in the pond during the night so that it gets full of milk by next morning. In the morning the pond is found full of water. Birbal explains that each subject thought that all the others will be obediently pouring milk and a potful of water from him will make little difference! As we shall see, today this story has been made to stand on its head.
Air pollution in our cities and villages remains hopelessly high perenially. I feel the main reason is burning of garbage in the cities and of stalks of harvested crops in the villages. Swachchh Bharat notwithstanding, all the blah-blah is about not littering and not about the final disposal of all kinds of waste. Yet, most of the time there are a few islands of greenery in each city where one can breathe comparatively easily. Lohia park in Lucknow is one such spot in my city. However since past couple of days, post Dipawali, the air in the park is drenched in the smell of firework and garbage fumes. And, you will agree, that jogging with a mask will not only be difficult but ridiculous too. No need to highlight how bad the air elsewhere is.
A news channel illustrated the air quality post Dipawali by telling us that it is like a room filled with the smoke from 465 cigarettes! Smokers are now countering the propaganda against smoking by pointing out how much worse can it be if you make it 475 instead of 465? Just a rise of little over 2%! And this 2% is pleasurable unlike the remaining 98 percent. Similarly staunch proponents of muscular Hinduism point out that burning of crackers hardly adds significantly to the already murderous levels of pollution.
If our story were to be retold in today's terms, it would again be a pond full of water, but now for a different reason. Now everyone thinks that all the others will be pouring water only and a potful of milk from him will make little difference. If everyone is polluting to his heart's content, how do my cigarettes or crackers make a difference.
So dear readers, here is my Vetaal prashn! I gave up smoking 11 years ago. Is the time ripe to resume?
Air pollution in our cities and villages remains hopelessly high perenially. I feel the main reason is burning of garbage in the cities and of stalks of harvested crops in the villages. Swachchh Bharat notwithstanding, all the blah-blah is about not littering and not about the final disposal of all kinds of waste. Yet, most of the time there are a few islands of greenery in each city where one can breathe comparatively easily. Lohia park in Lucknow is one such spot in my city. However since past couple of days, post Dipawali, the air in the park is drenched in the smell of firework and garbage fumes. And, you will agree, that jogging with a mask will not only be difficult but ridiculous too. No need to highlight how bad the air elsewhere is.
A news channel illustrated the air quality post Dipawali by telling us that it is like a room filled with the smoke from 465 cigarettes! Smokers are now countering the propaganda against smoking by pointing out how much worse can it be if you make it 475 instead of 465? Just a rise of little over 2%! And this 2% is pleasurable unlike the remaining 98 percent. Similarly staunch proponents of muscular Hinduism point out that burning of crackers hardly adds significantly to the already murderous levels of pollution.
If our story were to be retold in today's terms, it would again be a pond full of water, but now for a different reason. Now everyone thinks that all the others will be pouring water only and a potful of milk from him will make little difference. If everyone is polluting to his heart's content, how do my cigarettes or crackers make a difference.
So dear readers, here is my Vetaal prashn! I gave up smoking 11 years ago. Is the time ripe to resume?
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