Politics of pollution

~by Prateek Goyal

Air pollutants directly affect the lungs causing lung infection, chronic obstructive lung disease, and lung cancer. This polluted air is aggravating conditions of the diseased and affecting healthy people adversely with headaches, itchy eyes, and irritability. The toxic fumes affect cellular pathways and hamper brain development in children. My pediatrician has sent her children to Dehradun. Who wants to stay in the gas chamber if not for bread and butter?

While the city chokes in what is being called a health emergency, Netas are refusing to stop playing the blame game. The Delhi Government is continually advertising in national newspapers that pollution in Delhi has come ‘down by 25%’ in bold letters but smoke from stubble burning is reaching the city. Arvind Kejriwal in a press conference alleged Prakash Javedkar that pollution is a “North India issue” and not a Delhi-specific issue after Javedkar criticized Kejriwal for “politicizing” the issue. Captain Amrinder Singh, CM of Punjab, wrote a letter to PMO to seek the Centre’s intervention. Manoj Tiwari sat on a hunger strike.

Amid all this political drama, the one who suffers is of course the common man. Politicians must understand they are what they are because of people. They should thus make it a point to serve people and give meaning to democracy rather than sitting in their air purified bungalows and pinpointing each other. Politicians rather than taking responsibility for their failure once again have stooped down to blaming one- another and doing too little and too late. Every political party, during LS elections, was undivided on taking suitable measures to grapple with air pollution but apparently to no effect. A picture surfaced on the internet in which the CM of Delhi distributed masks to children in a school on a stage as if he is giving a prestigious award. But actually, the mask symbolizes his failure to live up to his promises.

Man has divided land and water. But can he divide air? This severe air quality must affect the rich despite various filters. Aren’t we sending a tarnished image to the world while hosting German Chancellor, Angela Merkel in the city amidst all this pollution? I must question what do politicians actually care for?

 

Theme- the road that was taken

Untitled

The crowd thronged that way

and I like a sheep

followed them

half asleep.

The road that was taken

had abundant manholes.

The journey shook me

down to my soul.

I didn’t want to regret

but I end up doing so.

Who I thought was my friend

turned out to be a foe.

The route hasn’t ended yet

and I am contemplating a U-turn

as brimmed with regret

but already half-burnt.

My feet were terribly hurt

walking down this road.

It has become utterly difficult

to return to my abode.

More than my feet,

my brain feels pained.

Blinded by clouds

that have already rained.

This road has consumed

me like a parasite,

sucking my energy,

my ability to fight.

I fell deeper as

I jumped higher.

That road was

but a quagmire.

Where only a few stand

On many other heads

like beautiful peonies

on a deathbed.

 

~Prateek Goyal

The End Of Absence- Reclaiming what we've lost in a world of constant connection by Michael Harris

BOOK REVIEW

This book is easy to read with good vocabulary. During the first half of the book, it is like listening to one side of debate for hours. Some times it clicks and resonates, other times it doesn't. He advocates a very abstract thing called absence against all the material technology. I think he used the notion of abstract to bring out the poetic stance. By sharing personal excerpts in the second half of the book, be it his relationship with Kenny or the journal of analog august, he manages to build a trust with readers. And also he puts forth the message that even he is not perfect, even he does not know what he is trying to achieve. I think this adds beauty to the book. What seemed like listening to a rant or debate turns annoyance into sympathy. One solution he offers is to not drown in the sea of content but take breaks of solitude,

gazing into nothing and reflecting. forming our own thoughts.

*This is a link to the book's vocabulary: https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/6833162

 

The End Of Absence- Reclaiming What we've lost in a world of constant connection

Chapter Review

CHAPTER 7

Memory (The Good Error)

The chapter on memory is very weakly argued. Though I agreed with the arguments but he really couldn't convince  why outsourcing is bad. Why is it wrong to have extensions of our memories in our mobile phones?. He gives answers by analogies like when man with 10 memory slaves was asked to join wrestling. He must have found himself in a loss for words. I could infer that the author wants to say that outsourcing your memory makes it alien. It is not personal anymore. But this argument is very weak, Why would I care if my memory is no more private, I am only concerned about retrieval of information when i need it. Then he goes on to draw differences in computer memory and human brain. But everything muddles and he is inefficient in explaining the harm of outsourcing. Even I dont see any harm other than if you want to remember things for test. Interesting points were put forward when he discussed Sherlock Holmes and emphasised on letting selective useful things inside long term memory and also when he  interviewed his teacher and he gives him the moral as you sow shall you reap. He touches on an interesting point that memory begets thought and thought begets actions, actions begets habits, habits begets character/ personality and character begets destiny. So, memory plays a pivotal role in our personality. Also, I hoped that author would have offered solution to the problems faced by information explosion. We tend to have a hard time memorising. I wished he would have told some effective methods to memorise what we look up on google and normally forget as the book is sub titled reclaiming what we've lost. We can't reclaim simply by discussing the problem, author should have offered solutions.

Two Sides of Tourism Industry

The world is too wide with its scenic mountains, vast deserts, cheerful rainforests, shining beaches and interestingly India exhibits all these features of nature and hence it is called "The land of all seasons". Not only the nature's mystic presence but also the culture and ethnic traditions of India are worth experiencing, thus making India a tourism hotspot.
Travelling enlightens our mind, body and soul. Hence, all the nations take the advantage of the tourists to gain the foreign currency but as the old adage goes "One has to lose something to gain something" The industry prospers at the cost of environment. No doubt, tourism in million ways brings people closer and foster understanding between different cultures. Tourism, in developing countries such as India, is looked upon as a golden opportunity to promote development. A tourist arrival benefits all from a panipuri vala to the manager of a 5 star hotel. Yet a flip side exists of this flourishing industry. In a bid to please these foreign arrivals, we have harmed our culture and environment to a high extent. The country has witnessed a shift of younger generation from traditions. The green land is being cleared as fast as the speed of light for building roads to hard to reach places such as waterfalls in Uttrakhand. The wild life is bereft of their habitats and ironically the headlines say "A cheetah entered the city" while it is the city which entered the habitat of cheetah. Moreover, at times tribes do not survive infections that are got in to the area by the tourists due to lack of medical infrastructure in remote areas.
Thus, tourism industry does more harm than good to our nation but the government overlook the ill effects for the sake of economy. Area under tourism should be limited and a check should be kept on tourist activities for a prosperous nation.

Refugees and their message to Europe

A flash of light blazed,

And then thunder roared.

The dark clouds gazed,

And he sailed with no oars.

The raindrops have been coming down,

The bubbles going up all day

Now he is bereft of his town,

Wherein will he stay?

At the mercy of waves,

He hoped to reach the shore.

For food, he craves,

But the skies continued to pour.

Cold, hungry and tired out,

He shut his eyes filled with tears.

Though his faith was shadowed with doubt,

He fell asleep reminiscent of his dears.

 Now he found himself on sand,

The sand gave him motherly warmness.

He stepped on the long land,

And looked forward for kindness

But who knew the length of his joy,

Was as short as his age

For the helpless eleven year old boy,

The vast land had nothing but rage.

The people accused him,

For being terrorist in disguise

His eyes grew dim,

And burst into cries.

This unlucky population,

Have their lives torn apart.

Crisis destroyed their nation,

And Europe doesn’t accommodate them in heart.

O Europe! Don’t turn your back,

They beg you for shelter.

Is it too much to ask for?

Is it too much to render?

                           -Prateek Goyal

Sports and Games

There goes a proverb- "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". Games and Sports are not only important for the success of studios but they are important for success in every walks of our lives.

In ancient Greece they formed it a principal part of their education. Sports became a prominent part of Greek culture and with it started the Olympic Games which are held after every four years and sportsmen from all over the world participate in it.

Sports and games are an excellent means of spending one's leisure. Some lessons cannot be taught in classrooms and they can only be learnt on the fields. Sports develop a sportsman spirit and help us to accept our defeat gracefully. Now a days, sports and games are emerging as lucrative career options. Every child cannot become an engineer or a doctor. Each one has his own strength. The child who cannot fair well in exams may do wonders on the field.

For sports fan, sports are the epitome of hard work and dedication. To get to the pinnacle of their sport, Even the most naturally gifted athletes have to give it their all. After all, Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.

                                                                                                                          - Prateek Goyal