Step it up!

My classmates from Pondy Univ will laugh their heads off if I told them I could name a few birds. Ornithology and any ecological study to do with birds was something I kept away from in those days. I felt strongly about insulting our fair feathered friends by calling them a wrong name, spotting them and figuring out who they exactly were was (is) such a challenge for me, I'd rather be happily immersed in all the garbage projects.  

Years later a son comes along and for whatever reason (can even be peer pressure) wanted to know if the bird he spotted was the bird he thought it was. He'd flip through my bird book and show me something and tell me why he thought what he spotted was that particular bird. Now, I tried "I'm a biologist but don't know EVERYTHING let me check and get back to you" line many times, but then the fear that his wrong assumptions being worse than no assumptions prodded me into learning a few names to begin with. I realised if I had to keep up with him I had to step it up and singing "....he'll know much more than I'll ever know..." won't do! So this October when we went to my parents place, bird watching was our main activity. With a little help from the great SAs bird book, my siblings and Dr M B Krishna, I managed to identify and show Nishanth a whole new bird world. And the good part is we had a Karan walking behind us asking if it was a pum-headed-pakeet or a dongo and the older sibling would take pains and pride in explaining to him what bird. 

Sometimes you just have to step outside your comfort zone if that difference has to be made ..... I am still trying .... 

Green Info to reduce your carbon footprint

I am a believer that civic and environmental awareness is critical if one wants to see change at a community level or city level. It is not like every one who is aware will do the right thing but even is a small percent did, it would matter. 

This blog is wholly a SHARING EXERCISE of information that is already out there - The Green Life by Latha Anantharaman, a series of 10 articles featured in The Hindu.  

The names of the articles itself will give you a sense of the topic :) ..... the articles have a little (or a lot) of 'this' and 'thats' that we can internalise in our day to day routine / life to make a BIG difference.


1. How to Trash That - http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article3874326.ece

2. It's all about easy composting - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article3904072.ece

3. A Thriftier Kitchen - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/a-thriftier-kitchen/article3929252.ece

4. Hole In The Bucket - http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/hole-in-the-bucket/article3963048.ece

5. More Power to you - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/more-power-to-you/article3974698.ece

6. There Will Be Mud - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/there-will-be-mud/article3990934.ece

7. The Minus Touch - http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/homes-and-gardens/the-minus-touch/article4016421.ece

8. Shop Talk - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/shop-talk/article4033993.ece 

9. Drive to Change - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/drive-to-change/article4057804.ece?css=print 

10. Travelling Light - http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/travelling-light/article4096290.ece

The Kambha is here!

It has been 14 years since I walked around digging in the garbage piles of Sunrays Composting unit, sampling soil and water and talking to the farmers about their health issues and that of their cattle. For 8 years now I was also contributing to their woes (before that we did anaerobic composting in the garden of our house) and every now and then feel very guilty for not doing my “more” in managing my waste despite knowing so much about it and preaching to people. Living in an apartment really wasn’t a valid excuse, because many others have managed with options that were available, but somehow for us, there was never a right time. Till NOW :)

Most of our other household waste is managed fine - we live in an apartment that requires to segregate our waste into 6 categories!! And I happily do it. They collect our kitchen waste seperately too but like I said for us 'that' time has come ..... I have been following Daily Dump (http://www.dailydump.org/) for a long time, eyeing exactly what I wanted.  I knew when the time came, I’d have to step up – yah! Decomposition happens naturally but every positive outcome you look for needs that proportion of effort!! 

This is going to be my Kambha Diary, hopefully not one filled with woes like my gardening attempts!! It is Day 3 and still too early to report ‘happenings’ except for the fact that I am happy I am making our little family unit count :)

Stitched2Save9

One year since I began blogging, to share the buzzing in my mind and especially if it was some little thing done to make a difference. Here is one big attempt at making me count........

I have always enjoyed working with my hands and if something meaningful came out of it then, super! I have been stitching stuff and subjecting my friends to it for a long time now. In fact when I gave my friend Deepa a bag for her birthday a couple of years ago she said, "Joe you gave me a bag last year too". I never thought I was stitching that much (except for the kids nappies). There never was a thought to scale up and I was happy doing the odd ones her and there.

Last year, my sister, DIANA CHERIAN and her students took on a task of stitching 1000 cloth bags, a project that is nearing its goal and the bags are being distributed in the neighbourhood, I am sure each of those bags will decrease the number of plastic bags in circulation. Simple math, many cloth bags will decrease many more plastic bags and this project is what inspired me to scale up! And this was the thought process - there is always a need for cloth grocery bags, I just have to make as many as I can and make it available to anyone, especially those who make sad excuses to accept plastic bags. I have to make bags that people can fold up and keep anywhere - in their laptop bags, purses, bikes or cars so that there would be a cloth bag at hand should there be an impulse to pick something spotted randomly. I should also make bags on request as long as it's upcycled material.

Stitched2Save9 seemed an apt name for many reasons .... one was the hope that 1 of my cloth bags would reduce atleast 9 plastic bags in circulation. As far as possible no new material will be used, it will be any old sturdy cloth. Upcycling is so meaningful, it is a good way to reuse to reduce our ecological footprint - one person at a time. So far the cloth used for the bags I have made include old bedsheets, curtains, dhupattas, kurtas and material rejected by tailors saying it was too little to make anything. My plan is 'keeping it simple'. While each bag will have some element of design, I do hope some can look trendy to meet the needs of every type of shopper! A lot of thought went into whether I should price the bags or just keep giving it away for free. I finally decided to price it nominally so it will be meaningful to me and the buyer. Of course I will be gifting a lot of people who will not only appreciate the effort but also use the bag many many many times over.

https://www.facebook.com/Stitched2Save9 is where one can see progress of my plans and a place where you can let me know whats on your mind!

 These little bags were specifically made on request as tambula bags given to visitors during this Dasara season.

 Easy-to-store-anywhere grocery bags - no more excuses for not carrying one of your own!

Bolster bags!! ... One big bolster cover made way for two neat grocery bags :)!

It is that time of the year again!!!

No! it's not some festive season and me sending out wishes. No! its not me sharing a great time I had or a disaster with some official or autodriver ..... It's that time of the year I have kept aside to send out a request to near and dear ones - a request to donate to Iksha. 

My family is a part of Iksha Foundation and we are involved in all its activities be it creating awareness or fundraising. Since it is difficult to request for donations year through I usually wait for the Bangalore 10K, register to run and use this as a good opportunity to run for my cause, create awareness and raise much needed funds. 

Last year, with the help of my ardent supporters I managed to raise just over a lakh, enough to support treatment for one child over a period of one year. All my donors were family and friends and their friends. I cannot thank them enough for placing their trust in me doing the right thing with their money. We are currently supporting treatment of seven children. The youngest was born in August 2011!

Iksha Foundation is only two years old and it will be a while before we get any corporate support and till then we are totally dependent on family and friends. 

..... the TCS Bangalore 10k is on 27th May ... another 16 weeks away .... and as I write to my family and friends I hope .... 

• All donate something :) ...... aaaaah!! what a scenario, but nothing wrong with being hopeful ....
• Some will have a figure in mind and donate .....
• Some put away 100 bucks a week for the next 16 weeks .... maybe 100 bucks a family member ....
• Some vouch for us and fundraise for us from their friends circle ..... 
• Some mark February to May in their calendar and make it an annual contribution .....
• the little drops of donation add up to atleast 2 lakhs this year ..... that's my target folks!! 

If you've read this and think you can donate .... pledge any amount .... I'll gently remind you when its time ;) ..... 

For those who want to know how I am a part of Iksha Foundation read this blog of mine from last year http://iamoneinabillion.blogspot.in/2011/04/iksha-and-me.html