Scene 1:

Place: Bekal Fort. Time: late evening of a mid monsoon day. Vast land, lush green, beautiful scenic view. One of the major historic spots in North Kerala. I was there for the third time in a year's time. It has become a routine to take our visiting guests to Bekal. Nothing much to explore and see for a second time, nothing at all for the third time and thereafter. So after dropping my family and relatives inside the fort I started wondering, what to do? Is there anything interesting? Then I noticed him. A smart young boy of eight neatly dressed in a t-shirt and jeans holding a soft drink can in one hand and the other safely resting in his parent’s arms. I was watching the boy closely. He had his last sip of drink and was thinking of disposing off the can. His eyes scanned the surroundings - left, right and then threw the can to the lush green. Along with shock, an array of questions popped up in my mind. What will happen to the can? Will someone pick it up later? Or will it be stamped down to earth by careless tourists? Will it degrade or take hundreds of years to decay? I was further shocked at the careless attitude of his parents. They didn't bother to correct the little child. They behaved as though it was a fundamental right to litter around and the kid is following the usual practice. My hatred towards improper plastic disposal and environment pollution, all the feelings, got offended at one go. I didn't have any other option but to tell the little kid in a bit harsh language, that too in front of his parents, to pick the can back from the spot where he threw it. For a while the kid was surprised and stared at me and then at his parents. I was still surprised by his parent’s apathy. Left with no option, the boy was forced to pick the thrown can from the bush. Thereafter he gave me a look with a question, what next? This time I didn't have any answer. Is there any dustbin around? Dustbins are one of the rarely sighted ceremonial things in our country. My eyes scanned around. That was the first time in my life I desperately searched for a dust bin. But the Fort authorities didn't disappoint me. I spotted one around the corner. My eyes spoke to the kid and the boy went towards the bin and deposited the can in it. I was very happy and thanked the little kid and advised him not to repeat it. Of course his parents were offended. But who cares as far as the results are good.

          That was the first time I realised that the best habits in a human being starts at home and from his parents. Parents are the first teachers. You practice the right things and your kids will follow it. I really couldn't recollect when I started to hate throwing plastic waste outside and became conscious about the environment. My wife takes the credit for mending my habit. I appreciate her good efforts. But now these good habits are limited within us. That was the time when my cousin from Mumbai came visiting us on a summer vacation. Her two school-going sons were educated on two of our anti plastic disposal policies.

Policy 1: We stopped throwing waste outside while travelling; we certainly stopped throwing plastic bottles and bags.

Policy 2: We started carrying waste with us till we found a dust bin or took it home to dispose it in a proper manner.

           And we realised, though a little late in life, that these are not too hard to follow. These policies inspired the little ones and they too joined the group. Now we are four. But still a small group. We still don’t have any option but to get offended and disheartened when we see public throwing plastic waste all around the country side.

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Place: Chennai Central. After a tiring trip to Chennai, I boarded the return train. The pockets of my jeans were filled with plastic wrappers (preserved after eating toffees from Thambaram till Parry's). The first thing I did was to transfer each and every bit of plastic throw away I had in my pocket to a safer place inside my bag. I felt relieved but at the same time embarrassed at seeing the co passengers throwing plastic glass, aluminium foil, plastic bottles and a hell lot of other things through the windows. Generally Indian Railway does not place dustbin inside the compartments and if placed they forget to clear it off very often. The passengers take this as a right to throw the waste outside and consider the entire track and the surroundings as the dustbin. I was helpless, felt all alone and so stupid to fill my bag with all plastic stuff, which I carried from morning till evening, to take them back home 800 kms away. Suppressing my feelings I started preparing for an evening nap. That’s when my co passenger Ms Haripriya, an entrepreneur from Chennai interrupted me. She was noticing me while I was busy arranging my bag with the plastic wrappers and other stuff. She appreciated my effort for not throwing the plastic outside. She too follows the same principles religiously. I felt I am nowhere near in comparison to the principles she follows. But that was the first appreciation I received and now the group is five.

           One of my cousins from Qatar and one from Liverpool made a maiden visit to my home. My brother from Mangalore and sister from Kannur joined us too. A good gathering with lot of zeal. But the same question came up. Where do I take them this time for an outing? Bekal? After the bitter experience (rather an opportunity in disguise to come to terms with a truth) and under the hot summer no was the answer. Thought of exploring a new place this time. The decision was to go to Paithalmala.

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Place: Paithalmala, 40 kms east of Taliparamba, Kannur. 1400 ft above the sea level. Rarely explored, non commercialised, virgin hill station in north Kerala. A trek through the thick forest for an hour and half to reach the misty hill top.

Frequent fog covers the hill, reducing the visibility, making it a wonderful experience. At the destination we sat on the top-most hill, where we climbed with my six-month-old little baby boy, and took the chilling breeze. Relaxed there for some time and when the fog got cleared and the visibility improved, our cameras became active. All of us were busy posing at various locations and styles. Then the state of surroundings hit us. The place was full of plastic bottles and non- biodegradable waste. It was as though the visitors had trekked the entire route to dump the plastic waste at hill top. With a heavy heart and very few photos we started back. On the way back the view was more painful. Both the sides of the narrow path were full of plastic bottles and waste. The enthusiasm to reach the top made us neglect the surroundings while climbing up. During the trek down I couldn't withstand the deplorable state of the pretty place. From one of the waste heaps I picked up a plastic bag and started filling it with plastic bottles and plastic bags. My wife joined me and all my cousins and my brother gave a hand. With bit of hesitation Liverpool guy too joined the club. Once we started clearing the plastic waste as much as we could, it became more enjoyable and satisfying than the trek. By the end of the trek we gathered around seven gunny bags full of plastic waste. But still lying around was 20 times more than what we could pick. En-route we crossed a lot of families. All gave us disgusting looks as though we are from state conservancy or under punishment. But the morale was high and the aim was to remove maximum plastic from there. At last one family acknowledged our efforts and appreciated our mission. But they were not willing to join hands, but still we were happy for their positive remarks. I was sure they will not drop a single waste during the whole trek. We achieved the mission. We educated at least a group of six. But now what to do with the collected waste? At the end of the trek we thought we could cite a dust bin. But we were helpless. No dust bin sighted, no boards giving warnings against littering. Finally we decided to take the stuff back home. I thanked God for the extra big boot of the car and carried it home.

 En-route we added one more policy to the list.

               Policy 3: Whenever possible pick few litters and throw it in dust bin. 

 

            And the third policy is not an easy task as the first and second. We need to follow two rules for the third policy. Rule 1: Despite your post, position and surroundings, never hesitate to bend. Rule 2: Never think about the cause that created the mess, always look ahead for the results.

            We realised the best policy among all three is the last one. This is the only means to propagate the message and wake others intellectually. Am I getting into Gandhigiri? However, now the team is ten. I wish I had more hands to propagate Mission - “TOP” Throw No Plastic and keep the surrounding green.