Thursday, April 19, 2012

To Save or Not to Save


Last month saw emergence of another celebrity in the form of Earth Hour.

What is it? Some new Hollywood movie?” One of my friends asked me.  He thought Earth Hour was just another movie like Rush Hour, 127 Hour, The Darkest Hour etc and with this question I thought he clearly was not on any form of networking websites or even using internet leave alone reading newspapers.

I explained to him about the 1 hour no-electricity campaign across the globe and how it would help us save our Earth from global warming. Apart from the still existing ignorance about this campaign amongst people, what startled me further was their reluctance to participate in it. I wondered how difficult was it for people to sacrifice electricity for just one hour and that too just for a day? Could they not just sleep during that time and get done with it?

Nevertheless determined to participate in it I switched off entire lights of my house on 31st March at sharp 8.30 pm and lit plenty of candles. For a moment I felt like a YashRaj heroine but in the very next moment this feeling died down in the lack of any background music. Anyway, after doing my bit of lighting up my house I came and sat on the couch. I picked up the remote to watch TV, but then remembered about my pledge so I quietly kept it down. Then I looked around and picked up a magazine to read, but after about 5 minutes of wrinkled eyelids and straining eyes I gave up. I mean although I am used to reading books under my tiny reading light, candle light reading was a bit of pain. So I slid my magazine under the cushion and picked up my laptop for browsing on internet. Alas! I had switched off my modem’s power too. Damn you Earth Hour! I was wondering what I could do next and realised that I really had no work. Dinner was over, dishwasher was loaded (thankfully I remembered not to turn it on), TV and magazines were out of question and internet was elusive. I mean I had good one hour with me with absolutely no agenda and still I couldn’t remember a single activity which I could do in this hour. Maybe this is what people call “Kulhadi par pair marna”. Switching off electricity was actually pushing me towards boredom. I was beginning to feel restless so I got up and thought of taking a stroll in the house, but the tick-tock of the clock was weighing too heavy on me. I couldn’t even talk to anyone on phone as it was low on battery and I didn’t want it to get switched off in this dark hour.

I loitered around for a while and then came back to my good old couch. After making myself comfortable on it I actually began to wonder how electricity had crept into our lives and transformed from a human discovery to a human necessity. Our days start with switching on of lights and end with switching it off with all the hours in between filled with myriad moments of indulgence and dependence on electricity. For instance can you imagine your day without your cell phones, laptops, iPods, TVs, microwave, washing machine, refrigerators, dishwashers and several other gadgets? Leave aside smaller tools like an iron, hair dryer, electric shaver, blenders, globes and in my case a fan too! Yes believe it or not I just cannot sleep without running a fan even in the thickest of Melbourne winter. I know, I know – I also pity my husband. From thinking how easy it would be to sleep during earth hour and not feel a pinch of it, my mind was just staring at the motionless fan. Sigh! Moving on, imagine the horror of starting your mornings without your daily dose of caffeine. Ouch! I know it hurts.


Till an hour ago I was very sure about what I valued most in my life - my family and my passion for writing. However now I feel my necessities have changed. Reality has struck me hard and now I know what I need most is electricity even to value the other two aspects of my life and cherish them. For most of us our worlds would come crashing down with serious lack of fuel, but when have we learnt to be proactive. This has been the first time in my life when I have actually realised how much we abuse electricity. In India too I used to participate in Earth Hour but then it had not impacted my life in a manner as it has this time in Australia. Despite enjoying all the luxuries Indians still have alternatives for carrying out their daily chores sans electricity. Be it washing clothes, cleaning utensils, sweeping, mopping, cooking or even plain communication and entertainment – everything can be performed to perfection without thunder and bolts. Nevertheless one hour of no-electricity had certainly sabotaged an hour of my life and so I have decided to become more aware of my daily electricity quotient and help save our earth. What are you waiting for now? Act fast, before all our machines and gadgets gulp down Earth for their electricity appetite. 

20 comments:

  1. Awesome.... Can I get a signed book

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  2. @Ananta...It's soooooo generous of u to say this...and I have to say thanks for it :) I wish the day comes when there would be a book...till then keep reading these pages mate ;)

    Cheers!

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  3. @Dee..that's so sweet :) Thanks for reading Dee..

    Cheers!

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  4. Where was this Writing Talent hidden in SVNIT days???????? U could hv started a DAILY MAGAZINE then! Newyz, Gud one! U hv some real talent gal!

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    1. There were better writers than me in SVNIT and m sure they did great job..but thank u for showering such wonderful compliments on me :)

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  5. Hey Madhu...

    Very nicely written indeed...

    I consider this "Earth Hour" a big-big fad and never participate in this media-created jingoism...

    I contribute in my own way...by switching off all unnecessary lights in my home and even here in Kuwait where electricity-abuse is a way of life !!! I have been doing this all my life anyways...

    I consider daily efforts much bigger than this 1-hour switching off gung-ho...

    Its great that it made you realise and I am sure you would be a responsible electricity user now !!!

    and BTW your dearest sister is also the Fan-Fan...fortunately for me here in Kuwait their are no fans and I am saved ;)

    Keep writing...

    Cheers,
    JJ

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    1. Glad that u liked this JJ :) We've always been very conscious about our electricity usage and follow most of the DOs, but during this earth hour I got a real experience of living in a world without any electricity and it was thought provoking...and I guess the FAN thing runs in our family..lol...Mel too does not have fans but we have managed to find a portable one for me, and it works great :D

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  6. Hey MT! As always it's wonderfully written and depicted in ur own amazing ishtyleee... really love reading them... to be candid i actually visualize each n every moment described by u... Keep them coming... All the best!!

    cheers
    Shashi

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    1. That's nice. Hope my words come out alive each time :) Keep reading dude.. :)

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  7. Madhu, what about good old conversation with your hubby :) I know in this age we are so dependent on technology - my kids want an Ipad when they are in the car and I wonder what happened to the world?? Back in India, we had power cut every single day during summers for 1 hour and that used to be my escape to chit chat with my parents, siblings on our veranda.. because I knew that as soon as the lights came back on, my parents would ask me to finish my homework or study when I was in 10-12 grade :)

    But being away from India, the dependence on electricity is immense, every damn thing runs on electricity.. boy I'm happy to have a gas range for cooking :) if we did have an outage, at least we won't die of hunger!

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    1. Thanks for sharing ur views ma'am....the good old conversations are great idea and much practiced habit at our end but m yet to try that in no-electricity hour :D btw I wonder what would those people do who have electric cook tops? Maybe explore the chulhas :D

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  8. i've got some experience living without electricity and let me say that i did not like it too much. great going sis!!!

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    1. I am sure none of us would like to live without electricity....but I guess that day might not come because earth itself might not exist..

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  9. Thought provoking Madhu..So u seem to have moved from being in IT to a freelancer!

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    1. Thanks Srie. Yes I love writing and love being a writer :)

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  10. Well "Earth Hour"...Till about last year I was all Enthu about so called "Earth Hour" to say but in order to actually save the earth we need a lot more earth hours and specially for my city Gurgaon to be able to save electricity and live peacefully...So I try doing my bit by switching off the lights at my place and wherever I go to see people (Sometimes people think am a fanatic switching lights in their house) but I hope people really understand and realize the importance of electricity! Very Nice Maddy..As usual its fun to read your blog!

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  11. Thanks babe :) In fact I get so surprised to see people abuse electricity in their daily lives that sometimes it gets on to my nerves. Sad part is that all these are well educated people(from our circle of friends, family, relatives and colleagues)who consider their prerogative to abuse electricity (saying that they pay for what they use). You are right in pointing out that such people often do not like being told "how" to use electricity and they even consider us crazy for our awareness. So at least I try and do my bit of contribution to save Earth in the hope that someday sanity will prevail in these people's lives as well.

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  12. Right on. I believe, It is time everyone picks up a hobby which does not need external energy.

    I'm not suggesting photography,blogging or listening to recorded music, We need to think more primitive here..like learning music, dance and other things which does not necessarily need technology/ energy.

    If most of us pick up an energy efficient hobby, we can not only relax and unwind, but also have an earth hour every day.

    Would'nt that be awesome?

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    1. Thanks for sharing your views Rahul.

      Although it would be great if we all could manage to pick up hobbies which synced well with environment, but the question is will it still remain a hobby for us if chosen out of obligation?

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