Environment Day 2021

Today is June 5th of the year 2021.

This is the world environment day.

This day we acknowledge and recognize the importance of environment.

‘Ecosystem Restoration’ is the theme of the year, 2021.

 

But this year, the environment day falls in a situation of a fight between the world population on one side and the virus, Covid on the other side.

Nobody knows, how long would the war continue, one year, two years or more.

 

So far Covid took the life of 37,00000 of people all over the world.

 

Covid has influenced every walk of life of the people, which are visible. But this pandemic has also influenced the ecology of our mind and the physical environment around us.

The stress and dislocation created in our life by the virus has upset the mental equilibrium.

 

Natural calamities, like: cyclone, excessive heavy rain and sea shore erosion happened in India and other places still hang as the sword of Damocles over the life of innocent people.

So this celebration of the day becomes unforgettable in the midst of three-cornered encounter with the environment.

 

Fighting Covid deaths, massive vaccination and saving the life of the people from natural calamities are the three war-fronts at present with almost all governments in the world.

 

The theme “Restoration of the ecosystem’ shall be analyzed against the present scenario, where humans are struggling for their own survival.

So that, there are three questions for which there need restoration of the ecosystem?

 

Who should restore the ecosystem?

What are the aspects of the ecosystem to be restored?

How is the ecosystem to be restored?

 

These are the questions to be answered.

To answer these questions by ourselves, shall I tell you the story-part of a drama?

This drama was written by Neil Grant in 1935.

 

There was a bio-war among the nations using virus.

The virus destroyed not only the warring nations, but the whole mankind.

Only one human being was saved, Bill.

Then a group of animals, consisting of horse, dog etc. assembled on the stage.

 

The microbe, who was responsible for the total destruction comes to the stage.

There happens a debate, whether humans get restoration on to the earth.

All animals vehemently opposed the suggestion of restoration of humans.

The animals made a trail against the human race that has been wiped out then.

 

The human race was attacking one another and doing all evils against their own race and the environment.  

They kill their brothers and sisters in battles. Human beings are cruel and uncivilized species. Animals are shame of the human beings.

But, only the dog had some soft corner for human beings.

 

Meanwhile an angel from heaven comes to the stage. At last the angel saves human from the trail of the animals with a request to give one more chance of restoration.

Let humans correct themselves.

That is the end of the drama.

 

There is a social theory that humans invite their own destruction. They challenge or misuse or break the order of the environment for their profit making.

It is firmly believed that the restoration process mainly depends on the how that human beings and nations are going to change the individual life and the societal life. Means, what changes they make in their economic activities, food style, clothing, construction and utilising energy sources.

For example, rather than depending on hydro, thermal or atomic generation of electricity,   why solar power is not utilised for a clean and green energy source in different parts of the world.

 

What aspects of ecosystem are to be replaced?

The over utilisation of the present available resources is to be discouraged at any risk. Industrial development and agricultural development have squeezed the nature incessantly, thus the cry of nature for its survival is heard around in the form of famine, flood or even earth quake.  That is why Greta Thunberg, the Norwegian environment activist, now 18 years old questioned the American President and world leaders in an International forum. She was only 15 years when she had an angry stare to Donald Trump in UN Assembly in September 2019. Through her speech and angry look she challenged the world leaders for their dull approach towards the issue of climate change and hazardous economic growth and development.  

 

All these discussions point out the need for a safe and sustainable development for the modern world. Individual life of the citizens and the economic life of the nations should be policy-based one, so as stand for an ecosystem where misuse, overuse and mal-practice in enjoying the natural resources are avoided.

 

This note would be incomplete, if am not saying the quote of Mahatma Gandhi, who said in clear terms “  "The Earth has enough for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed."  There is no other message better than this to give you when we think about the restoration of the ecosystem.

I wish you a thoughtful and happy Environment day.            

 

About the real Canadian culture

In the earlier essays I tried to describe certain snapshots from the round-trips in the two states: Ontario and Québec. In that essays my attempt was to describe about the journeys that I had with my host, who was leading me to see places of importance or places where the natives as well as the foreigners thronged to enjoy weekends, like: CN Tower, Museum, Art Gallery, Aquarium like Ringleys, Palace like Casa Loma (Hill House), beaches and islands.  But, while seeing these places or any other places in down-town, my interest was on the day-to-day life of the people in the cities and rural areas. It is understood that the Canadian social life and the culture is a contribution of two major partners from Europe, i.e. UK and France. Much before the Asians reached and settled there, the English and the French had more prominence in Canadian settlement. It was due to the immigration of the British and the French in 19^th century, a mixed culture of the both came into existence in Canada, before the advent of the Chinese and the Indians, who came to test their destiny in business, services and agriculture in 20^th century, and afterwards. With the advent of the British and the French into Canada, their mother-tongues became the two official languages of the land: the English and French. English language enjoyed the upper hand in the social, political and economic life of the people, except in Québec, where French became the official language as well as the language for day-today life. My host told me that there was considerable projection of the French culture everywhere in Que’bec in the form of sign boards in French, announcements and rituals in churches in French language and policemen speaking French to the people etc.

 

As European legacy is reflected in Canada through the British and the French, American cultural endowments are clearly reflected through the presence of the Afro-Americans settled in the country. But in the modern times, amongst the cultural conglomeration of Canada, the Chinese, Indians and the people from 80+ countries have their space in the social and national life of Canada. In the heavy vehicles plying on the highways, a good number of the drivers are from the Punjab and Haryana, in India. The Chinese own or manage supermarkets and department stores, where Chinese endowments are exhibited and briskly sold out.

 

 

Kochi shop in Toronto

One day, during my stroll on the streets of the down-town, I had a jaw-dropping experience. I was much anxious to enter a shop with a large sign board ‘Kochi Shop,’ where there was only one sales-woman, she seemed middle aged and with maturity and seriousness of one who was managing a medium-sized shop. Leisurely she was arranging the collections, a range of products, from pin to paper and from handicrafts to ready-made dresses, all were imported from different parts of India. “I am from Kochi, in India. Will you please tell me the reason for the name of your shop as Kochi?” My question enthused her to reply with a smile as the proprietor of the shop. “The owner of the shop, a native, is not here now. He has gone out for a business purpose. He visited India more than once, including a city in South India, named Kochi. He respects that city and linger the memories of that city in his mind. When thought of starting a shop for Indian products, the only name came to his heart was ‘Kochi’. There are general stationery also in the shop.” Inviting me to see the stationery, she looked into my eyes.

Gandhi’s statue in Canada

Yet another hair-raising event for me was during the sightseeing in Carleton University campus, Ottawa.  When our car was taking a turning, on the road inside of the campus there stood Mahatma Gandhi in his dhoti-clad posture with a walking-support of reed in his right hand. There is no other similar moment in my life to compare the thrill and proud that emerged simultaneously. The statue was made of metal, I felt the colour was dark brown, it has a noticeable position just near Richcraft Hall. I don’t know whether Canada has any other statue of Mahatma, anywhere in Ottawa, Montreal, Québec, Ontario or British Colombia. I admired hundred times the master-mind who proposed the erection of the statue in a country outside India. Canada has not any direct link with the life of Mahatma, except the relation that Canada became a member of the British Commonwealth after World War and India is another member of the Commonwealth.

No other evidence is required to theorise that the Canadian natives are ready to accept the world into their culture with an open-mindedness. They can accept the name of an Indian City to their business or they can erect Mahatma Gandhi’s statue, the only one statue in a university campus.

 

But, two years after, when I was writing this journey-book, my mind became bleak when I happened to read a title of news and a sentence that followed the title:  Petition calls for removal of Gandhi statue from Carleton campus… The petition claims Gandhi was a misogynist and a racist who referred to "Africans as savages." 

Here, again and again, another reference was being tested its validity: The assassinated Gandhi is more controversial than the Gandhi actually lived on the earth. But, the sight of young Canadian natives waving Indian Tricolour out from the plying cars to the roadside of Toronto to register their moral support to the Indian cricket team playing against another Asian country, was unbelievable as a token of the Canadians‘  for acceptance of anything good of other cultures from any part of the world.

As a visitor like me who came to Canada, from a thickly populated country, it was a new assessment for me about the minimum number required for a place to be called a town. Rockville on the bank of the Little Current, though not too small town, has a population of 2700 only! The Little Current was used as a water way in the last century, especially for the transportation of heavy logs to other parts of the country. The logs reached through the railways up to the end of the wharf were taken in vessels to the distribution points. The railway through a tunnel used at that time is even now well maintained for the visitors to reveal the history of one of the smallest towns in Canada. Very close to the Little Current, the most important place in Rockville is the Water Street. When leaving from the urban centre of Rockville and entering into the rural area, I thought I was saying good-bye to any of the small towns in UK as described in the stories of Dickens or the novels of Mark Twin, in US. Rockville administration might have a clear decision to maintain its antiquity and tradition everywhere possible, in construction of roads, churches or public buildings.

 

‘Decent begging’

The self-imposed discipline and order in the social life of the natives was another matter of cynosure for my eyes. During my three week stay in Canada, I could see only two cases of indiscipline on the streets. One was a  half-naked tall young man moves insensibly on the road and controls the traffic on the pretext of directing cars to a particular side only, apparently an addict of liquor. Another day, a young lady was hauling and dancing on the street of down-town, seemed to be the consequence of drug abuse. There is not a third event of same category to be described here. But, seeing the begging in a ‘decent’ way by an old man, well dressed and resting on a cot where the bed-spread was neat and tidy, two or three suitcases where piled on the roadside, near a small culvert. The beggar was reading seriously a book, then the passers-by give him coin or currency. Somewhat, same scene was there in the down-town also of another aged man. To quench my anxiety, my host told me that the beggar might not be a real beggar, but might be experimenting begging to test their freedom to avoid the responsibility of permanent settlement in a house. Nobody questions their freedom, to live on the street by their own.  That is the Canadian way of life, where nobody peeps into the privacy and freedom of the life of others.