The day dawned bright and sunny in Ooty. My friend Ammu (I will call her thus for the sake of her anonymity and my safety) and I had risen at daybreak (read 7 am). Having finished brushing and bathing, we were all set to venture out. It was the second day of our class’ excursion to Ooty. Since the cock was yet to crow for the rest of our friends, we decided not to perturb the sleeping beauties and slipped out of the room noiselessly. Feeling fresh and elated, we strolled along at a leisurely pace along the street.
Now I must highlight a particular trait of ammu’s character. She possesses this tremendous fascination and passion for all kinds of flora- flowers, plants (both big and small!!), trees and ofcourse, loves wild jungles. Foraying into forests and landing in trouble would be typical of her. Returning to the anecdote, the pleasant warmth of the sun and the tree-lined pathways lifted our spirits further, and we were soon chatting and giggling.
Suddenly, ammu nudged me and pointed across the road. “Look at those beautiful woods. Come, let’s explore it.” Glancing at the said ‘woods’, all I could perceive were some thick green bushes and shrubs dotting either side of a narrow, rubble-filled lane. Before I could voice my opinion, she had grasped me by my arm and dragged me across the road to her lovely woods. Not desiring to pour cold water on her enthusiasm, I gave in without protest and plodded along beside her. The bushes grew denser and more mysterious almost immediately after we had stepped into the lane. As we went ahead, drinking in the greenery, the road sloped upward gently and took an abrupt turn to the right. At the bend, there was a large house flanked by sprawling grounds.
The two of us went round the corner. Subsequently, multiple things occurred concurrently. A couple of dogs rushed out from the direction of the house, towards us, barking ferociously. Caught by surprise and feeling frightened, our instantaneous, involuntary reaction was to flee. Before we knew what was happening, we had fled a few steps forward, the dogs in apparent pursuit. The curve was a cul-de-sac and we realized that we were stuck. Then it dawned on us that it would be wiser to try and return the way we had come. But, to our horror, as soon as we attempted it, the barking ascended to a louder decibel level. Ammu, scared out of her skin, started screaming at the top of her voice, “Oh God! Let’s escape from here. Come, ranjani. These dogs will tear us apart.” Almost hysterical, she caught my arm and appeared ready to escape at lightning speed. Sensing that she was more frightened than me, I overcame my fear with effort and concluded that we had to stand our ground, for the moment. I clasped her hand tightly to prevent her from running in fright. Trying to conceal the tremor from my voice, I consoled her, “Do not be afraid. And whatever happens, DO NOT run. That will result in the dogs giving chase. They won’t attack unless we try to run.”
Meanwhile, the dogs had reached the threshold of the courtyard and halted in their tracks. As we looked on in fright, they positioned themselves at the gate, glaring at us and barking away furiously. A few, tense attempts by us to go back revealed that they had no intention of permitting us to go past them. Finally, we decided to proceed upward, where the path seemed to end in a cottage. Glancing behind fearfully, we slowly made our way upward, praying and hoping for another escape route from the ‘woods’. The cul-de-sac terminated in a staircase. We climbed up those steps and to our immense relief, came face to face with an elderly man standing in the garden of a tiny cottage. We narrated our plight to him and enquired if there was an alternative path for return to the main road. He quashed our hopes by replying in the negative. He informed us that our only option was to take the lane we encountered during our onward trip.
The memory of the fierce barking still haunting us, we asked him desperately, “But how can we return that way? The dogs will attack us.” He responded casually,”No. They will neither chase you nor bite you. If you are really frightened of going alone, my grandchildren will accompany you on their way to school.” So saying, he summoned two kids (who looked less than 6 years old) and instructed them,”Come, my dears. Escort these two ladies past those dogs.” The two tiny boys, draped in school uniforms and navy blue sweaters and huge bags strapped onto their shoulders, nodded in assent. They eyed us with the frank curiosity reserved for tourists. Bidding goodbye to their grandpa, they descended the stairs and began the trek downhill. We thanked our saviour and followed suit. The young boys strode on, unafraid and we walked close behind them.
When we arrived at the bend, the terrifying dogs resumed their vociferous barking, still settled on their perch proximate to the gates. Our guides remained unfazed and one of them stooped down, grabbed a couple of pebbles and flung it at the dogs. This panicked my friend and she shrieked frantically at them,”NO! NO! DON’T DO THAT!DON’T TRIGGER THEIR ANGER!”. After pacifying her, we proceeded along the path, numb with fear. Once we had safely negotiated the danger area, relief flooded through us, although the barks followed us for a considerable distance. Soon, the main road came in sight.
We thanked our brave ‘escorts’ for their assistance. They bade farewell and continued their journey to school. I spoke to my friend sternly and forbade her from deviating from peopled roads and rambling into the wilds. She meekly assented and we moved on, along the road. We came across two of our friends out for a stroll and grinned sheepishly at them, shuddering at the remembrance of our misadventure. The rest of our walk was peaceful and uneventful and we returned, exhausted to our hotel. Needless to say, we were rebuked by our friends for thoughtlessly wandering to unknown, remote regions!! The memory of this scary adventure remains fresh in our minds.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Conservation of Energy
“Hey! Coming for tea?”, queried my colleagues, as the clock ticked to our usual tea time. I nodded in assent and after switching the PC to standby mode, rose. An accidental, fleeting glance at my neighbour’s PC revealed that it was in full power mode. Hastily, I turned it into sleep mode and switched off the lights, on my way out. A friend, who happened to witness my actions, commented mockingly,” You are really stingy!” I retorted indignantly,”This is conservation of energy, not miserliness.”
Such is the attitide of many among us- unknowingly, unintentionally, we are contributing to the colossal waste of electricity in this world. Despite the advent of nuclear power, India still relies primarily on our water bodies for meeting a huge chunk of our power needs. Conventional non-renewable resources (like coal) and emerging renewable resources (wind, solar, wave energy) constitute only a tiny portion of the generated power. The steady growth of population, coupled with wanton deforestation and pollution, has caused much of our hydro-resources to dry up. The severe water scarcity afflicting most of our country is its grave consequence. Conscious avoidance of power wastage is a very simple, but highly effective means by which we can contribute our mite in energy conservation. Let us always remember to switch off all the lights, fans and other electrical equipment while leaving rooms, both at home and office. Switching the PC to sleep/standby mode saves considerable power. When it is known apriori that we will be absent for an hour or more from a room, (while attending meetings, etc.), the PC can be shut down and the AC can be turned off. At home, the TV can be switched off while it is not being watched by anybody. Use of CFL lamps in place of incandescent bulbs, taking care to switch off unnecessary lamps, keeping the fridge turned off for 2-3 hours everyday- all can go a long way in saving power. With the entire country plagued by power drought and prolonged hours of power cuts, such practices are the need of the hour.
Whenever I go to the canteen or bathroom, I perceive mindless wastage of water- from taps carelessly left running or not closed properly. My friends watch amused, as I go around the wash area, closing the taps. Water is a precious resource and it is our duty to conserve it. There are millions of people deprived of water even for their basic needs- drinking, bathing, cooking and washing. Water is also inevitable for irrigation in agriculture. Every drop of water saved by each one of us counts. As the saying goes- tiny drops of water make the mighty ocean.
Another invaluable resource that is squandered commonly in offices is paper- as printouts, xerox copies etc. Manufacture of paper requires felling of trees. Thus, wastage of paper is equivalent to mindless destruction of trees. Let us vow to minimise the use of paper to essential purposes alone. Instead of printouts of pages for verification, correction or reading, the soft copies can be utilised. Only the final, corrected copy needs to be printed out. Similar is the case with xerox copies. Further, for rough work or calculations, unwanted one-sided sheets can be utilised. We can exhort our family, friends and colleagues to keep these simple points in mind and follow them. This will assist in safeguarding our environment.
As all of us are aware, petrol and diesel are fossil fuels, on the verge of extinction. By relying more on public transport and walking or cycling to places of close proximity, vast quantities of fuel can be saved. It also has positive implications on our health. Instead of four or five individuals travelling alone in separate cars, pooling of vehicles can be practised in offices. Such measures can decelerate the pace of depletion of the reserves of fossil fuels.
Let us also lend our hands in alleviating the problem of plastic menace. The plastic wrappings of toffees and snacks are often carelessly flung onto the pavement by many of us. Throwing such non-biodegradable waste in garbage bins is the first step in solving this pressing issue.
This earth was a beautiful, clean place when we arrived. It is our responsibility to ensure that the future generations inherit atleast as much and not a deteriorated planet.
Such is the attitide of many among us- unknowingly, unintentionally, we are contributing to the colossal waste of electricity in this world. Despite the advent of nuclear power, India still relies primarily on our water bodies for meeting a huge chunk of our power needs. Conventional non-renewable resources (like coal) and emerging renewable resources (wind, solar, wave energy) constitute only a tiny portion of the generated power. The steady growth of population, coupled with wanton deforestation and pollution, has caused much of our hydro-resources to dry up. The severe water scarcity afflicting most of our country is its grave consequence. Conscious avoidance of power wastage is a very simple, but highly effective means by which we can contribute our mite in energy conservation. Let us always remember to switch off all the lights, fans and other electrical equipment while leaving rooms, both at home and office. Switching the PC to sleep/standby mode saves considerable power. When it is known apriori that we will be absent for an hour or more from a room, (while attending meetings, etc.), the PC can be shut down and the AC can be turned off. At home, the TV can be switched off while it is not being watched by anybody. Use of CFL lamps in place of incandescent bulbs, taking care to switch off unnecessary lamps, keeping the fridge turned off for 2-3 hours everyday- all can go a long way in saving power. With the entire country plagued by power drought and prolonged hours of power cuts, such practices are the need of the hour.
Whenever I go to the canteen or bathroom, I perceive mindless wastage of water- from taps carelessly left running or not closed properly. My friends watch amused, as I go around the wash area, closing the taps. Water is a precious resource and it is our duty to conserve it. There are millions of people deprived of water even for their basic needs- drinking, bathing, cooking and washing. Water is also inevitable for irrigation in agriculture. Every drop of water saved by each one of us counts. As the saying goes- tiny drops of water make the mighty ocean.
Another invaluable resource that is squandered commonly in offices is paper- as printouts, xerox copies etc. Manufacture of paper requires felling of trees. Thus, wastage of paper is equivalent to mindless destruction of trees. Let us vow to minimise the use of paper to essential purposes alone. Instead of printouts of pages for verification, correction or reading, the soft copies can be utilised. Only the final, corrected copy needs to be printed out. Similar is the case with xerox copies. Further, for rough work or calculations, unwanted one-sided sheets can be utilised. We can exhort our family, friends and colleagues to keep these simple points in mind and follow them. This will assist in safeguarding our environment.
As all of us are aware, petrol and diesel are fossil fuels, on the verge of extinction. By relying more on public transport and walking or cycling to places of close proximity, vast quantities of fuel can be saved. It also has positive implications on our health. Instead of four or five individuals travelling alone in separate cars, pooling of vehicles can be practised in offices. Such measures can decelerate the pace of depletion of the reserves of fossil fuels.
Let us also lend our hands in alleviating the problem of plastic menace. The plastic wrappings of toffees and snacks are often carelessly flung onto the pavement by many of us. Throwing such non-biodegradable waste in garbage bins is the first step in solving this pressing issue.
This earth was a beautiful, clean place when we arrived. It is our responsibility to ensure that the future generations inherit atleast as much and not a deteriorated planet.
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