Circular Reflective Task

Sustainability has always been a core component of the Indian culture. A sustainable way of life has been underscored by its values and philosophies. The yogic principle of 'aparigraha' is one such example. It is a virtue of being non-attached to materialistic possessions, keeping only what is necessary at a certain stage of life. Humans and nature share a harmonious relationship going as far as a reverence for various flora and fauna. This in turn has helped biodiversity conservation efforts. Yoga and Ayurveda are among the most common and well known ways of holistic Indian living. 'Dharma' is one of the most important hindu concepts. It is translated into English as duty, virtue, religion and cosmic order. In the hindu religion, protecting the environment is an important aspect of Dharma. Originated near the river Indus over 5000 years ago, the hindu tradition has no founder. It is a group of closely connected religious traditions rather than a single religion that practices a complete way of life. With 80% of the Indian population being hindu, they worship one God under many manifestations and deities. A strong belief of hindu's is the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth governed by Karma. Hinduism does not prescribe any principle to its followers. They are asked to follow any God or religion they like according to their own beliefs. To hindu's, animals are holy. The cow is viewed as a sacred animal. Thus, meat eating hindu's may not touch beef at all. Along with the aforementioned information about the element of sustainability embedded in India, there are ways some practices are harmful to the environment too. Humans love to celebrate. Sadly, the current modern touch has influenced an infusion of pollution, plastic and waste on our cultural celebrations. Through major Indian festivals like Diwali, Holi, Durga Puja and other traditional ceremonies like cremations, the nation's air and water have been further polluted which have in turn affected biodiversity and health. Toxic chemicals are used in fireworks, non-biodegradable plastic in balloons, lanterns and confetti, and waste is poured into our rivers and landfills. This issue begs for a reevaluation of our celebration method bringing about a balance between celebration and environmental preservation. Back in the early days when humans were hunter gatherers is when urbanisation crept its way into the society. With the introduction of new agricultural techniques, villagers started producing food instead of searching for it to give birth to the first sort of self-sustainable modern society. Over time, the idea of improvement took over and around the time of industrial revolution, it materialised like never before. The introduction of new agricultural machinery was a game changer and urbanisation was set to take on the world. Urbanisation in the past seems like a bright and nurturing avenue but the reality of the current world would beg to differ. With the unstoppable increase of population in urban areas, urbanisation has started to affect the environment in the worst possible manner as the ecological footprints, carbon levels and temperatures are rising. Hailing from a city like Kolkata, I was way too used to the chaos the city had to offer. With the beautiful monuments and cultural displays, the crowded gatherings became a part of the image for me. The laid-back attitude of the citizens as well as the administration makes the health hazard the city faces due to pollution even worse. One of the major factors behind Kolkata's rapidly declining air quality is the lack of pollution check on old vehicles. Cars visibly emit black exhaust. Years-old vehicles are flouting rules and getting away with no pollution checks. Environmentalists apprehend that the consumer demand for plastic products results in a great amount of plastic dump in the waterbodies. The static waterbodies across east Kolkata's township has been rampantly abused by the industrial and plastic waste, and sewage adding to the pollution. The issue of traffic congestion and waste management continue to be major problems in one of India's most metropolitan cities. Waste management has always been glaring, especially in garbage disposals and sewage systems. A few solutions could be the correct installation of electronically powered garbage dumpers, power bucket machines and other advancements under the 'green city mission.' In conclusion, I would like to say that we are at a stage where while planning anything, we have to take the environment into account. This realisation should have been instilled in us a few decades ago but it is now important more than ever.

Reflection - Part 2

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