a trash-covered creek in Manila, Philippines, where slums often adjoin rubbish dumps. The country's poorest sift through the garbage to find discarded objects they can sell on or re-use, or even scraps of food to eat.

How long until we realize that we are sitting on a chair with a bamboo growing under our @ss and when it’s time to move out, it’s too late ‘coz you are freaking stuck to the chair and the bamboo continues to grow, unperturbed about what it’s going to touch. It will continue to grow with a lot of force: Like it fu*&ing has a brain.

But, we do.

So what are you doing, as an individual to combat climate change, fight Global Warming and prevent it’s ill-affects? Celebrate another “world environment day” until the bamboo … do I need to mention !

There’s a small story I want to tell you.. the wash room at my work place has a paper-napkin vending machine. You don’t need to drop in a coin to get paper… but just pull it out, wipe your hands and throw it in the bin. Why can’t these guys, bloody carry a handkerchief? I didn’t care to ask them. I dont’ want to educate, “educated” people. Nature help these “educated” people; I don’t think it cares. It must be happy that it will get rid of us.

Now getting back to the Great Bamboo Story, if it begins to hurt.. .. dude… I will move the chair.

An employee works inside the Caivano dump, near Naples, southern Italy, where rubbish is turned into bales. Neapolitans took the law into their own hands after the city ran out of space to dump rubbish

A huge mound of waste at a dump in New Orleans, a year after Hurricane Katrina struck

Carrier bags from the British supermarket chain Tesco contribute to pollution in the Shunde district of Guangdong, China. Italian, Dutch and British waste is recycled in the area, but as many as 3bn plastic bags are used in China every day

Computer parts lie on the ground at a dump in Accra, Ghana. Thousands of discarded computers from western Europe and the US arrive in the ports of west Africa every day, ending up in massive toxic dumps where children burn and pull them apart to extract metals for cash.

A cow feeds on plastic bags and other garbage along a stream in New Delhi, India

Farm waste and used pesticide containers pile up in a natural water reserve, which has become an illegal dump,according to environmental group Ecologistas en Accion, in El Ejido, south-east Spain

Birds on a tree among plastic materials in Changzhi, Shanxi province

Sheep feed off rubbish left on one of Albania's biggest beach resorts of Durres

In this photo released by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, marine debris has been washed ashore on Laysan Island in the Hawaiian Islands

Picture source: guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

The face of a parched land. (c) Dewang Modi

Open spaces, a good breeze helps my thoughts and imaginations. But these days a sense of desperation prevails. Do we have enough tomorrows to save this world? How can i be a part of transforming the world? What’s needed apart from a deep pocket? I have the will, the vision. I have the steel like determination. My courage can’t be matched.

The i can lead, the i can create the path, the i can be the light in darkness and water during thirst, but its noting without a we!
I need people who want to see a change in the world. I need people who believe 20 years from now the world won’t be what it’s like today. I need people who’s visions say that things are not going to get better unless, unless, they make an effort to act today.
So, here are my requirements to build a team, a team that will stand together to change those visions, to change the dark future that we all will have to live with.

parched land

• A marketeer & strategist- his responsibilities will be to create new properties and increase brand visibility and mileage so that the thought can be carried forward.
• Sales – work in tandem with the Marketing team and sell these properties to prospective clients.
• New ventures- look into new areas for diversifying. To give a holistic approach for greening the environment.

And for all these, any passionate person who is willing to give a few dedicated hours in a week will do.

So, do you believe in what i do? Do you believe that the time we have is very short and that if we have to do something, we have to act now?

Mail me at vaibhav [at] ektitli [dot] org. Call me +91 99675 89210.

I dreamt of being a saint when i was 11. We were studying about religions then. Jainism and Buddhism fascinated me; which eventually earned me a nickname in St Pauls, ‘saddhu‘. A year later, physics enthralled me. I got down making motor boats, vacuum cleaners, lifts, models of aero planes and jets. I loved my name then, kinda Hollywooddy, ‘Mad Professor Dugar‘. My love for Physics sprouted into my dream of becoming an engineer and later taking up a profession in the marketing line. But in all these years, there was a dream, a constant dream in my sub-conscious mind, a dream to do something for the cause of the environment.

Last year i founded ek titli, Experimented by sending money to people to plant trees. It didn’t work. This year, I took it a step further. A few of my friends and i distributed potted plants for free at a multiplex in Pune [for details, please click here]. This was basically to test the waters. I wanted to understand how serious the recipients were about plants, about global warming. They were serious. There were many who were willing to help us and support us for the forthcoming activities. We took it as an achievement and pride. It was very encouraging for us, very encouraging for me. My obscure dreams were getting clearer and defined. A dream of clean roads, clean cities. A dream of purity in air, purity in water. A dream of green technologies and green energy. A dream where we will all be self sufficient. Everything will be recyclable and renewable.

It’s said that if you want something, shoot it to the universe and the universe gives it to you. So here are my visions for ek titli:

1. A company dedicated only to the betterment of the environment.
2. Educating children on the impacts of global warming and how they can make a difference.
3. Increasing greenery in towns and villages in every possible way.
4. Building an “all natural township”. Also considering adopting a village/town/city where every form of energy used is naturally acquired. Either through Solar, bio gas, wind, etc.

A couple of people have shown their enthusiasm and interest. Meanwhile Bhavik and me are getting the website ready and looking for details on registering the name. We plan to take the free distribution of potted plants further, Do it at multiple locations and cities so that the importance and urgency can be felt by one and all. If you would like to be of any help do mail me at vaibhav {at} ektitli {dot} org

Unitl then, I’ll work towards building my dream ‘coz I believe that The titli needs a tree, the titli will survive.
 

links:   ektitli.org | Event Blog | Event Pictures | FaceBook Group

Sometimes they’re awesome, like the idea of having personalized Door Bells… imagine Amitabh Bachchan saying “darwaje pe koi hai… haaiii” or Sunny Deol threatening you to open the dhai killo ka darwaja khol warna… ; or sometimes not so good thoughts that puts the exuberant, playful Vaibhav into a black and white mood! Yeah… the past few days.. has been such.. it’s always going to be a tug-o-war between the two sides. The side that wins will unfold the forthcoming stories.

Just the other night, I let my thoughts wander.. it was like viewing a huge screen surfing through various thoughts/channels and the one that caught my attention was where my body transformed into a small particle of air. I became a part of the breeze, moved with it through the streets, the alleys; meandered through the roads, played with the trees and troubled it’s branches, swooshed through the grass and reached the seas.

I was now a water particle, and I loved being the sea. There was courage and strength in the sea, Tremendous power and command. I loved to play.. I hit the shores only to be absorbed by the soil and in turn the roots.

The roots transformed me into an air particle.. yet again, a part of air, water – a part of the universe.

The feeling was of utmost peace.. and when the Sun shone.. the feeling was of love.

A certain gloom and paranoia has shadowed him. Our regular walks are not the same anymore. His senses are highly attentive when in the open. He fears that a BMC (Bombay Municipality Corporation) official will either sterilize him or kill him; mistaking him to be a stray.

This sorry situation seems to bring the best in him. When I throw the ball on the wall, expecting him to run behind it and grab it in his mouth, he waits for it to rebound and then grab it, completely surprising me. He’s scared that the ball might take him out of my sight and in the zone of danger.

Whenever I watch TV in my room, he comes in kicking a football; pauses, gives me a sad-sorry look and continues to play with the ball. I stare. I stare at him. Who is more intelligent? Isn’t Man the most intelligent of all living creatures?
Tweego never questions. I think he believes questioning is for journalists. No wonder he dislikes TV and the newspapers.
What good are questions anyway. It hasn’t and doesn’t solve the purpose.

Tweego has quickly adapted to his situation and moved on. I no longer feel sorry for him, I feel sorry for myself.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas.

On the night of Diwali, I had gone out to a friends place for dinner. The person who greeted me at the door left me expressionless and at a loss of words. After a soft ‘hi’, he directed me to the drawing room where all the guests were seated, each with a drink in their hand.

This person had caught all our fancies. Tight jeans, bright and body hugging shirt, mascara in the eye, a thick fancy belt, something similar to what I gifted my girl; and his actions comprised a lot of hand movements and the use of long stretched sentences.

Whenever he walked into the seating area, curious eyes looked at him. It was hard for those eyes to believe. It was equally hard for my eyes to believe. Later my mind took over and I reasoned.

How long did it take him to accept himself, to do what he was doing, unaffected by the way people admonished and acknowledged him? How long did it take him to face himself and ignore people’s constant glances?

dugara dugara…
oh dugara…
always so busy ,always so lost..
dugara dugara ,
oh my dugara…
one in a million ,not like a zillion…
always on something…yet at times on nothing…
dugara dugara…
oh my dugara…
likes to create,
likes to make..
likes to work ..
like no ones with him..
likes to be alone
and write stuff to himself..
likes to play ..
and break his knees while play…
likes to read and eat my head
becoz i dont read,….
dugara oh dugara.,..
my lovely sweety dugara,…
i still love the dugara …
whos one in a million…not like a zillion…
dugara dugara..
oh my sweet dugara…

This post is dedicated to her, on her birthday.

The way we behave is either affected by our logical thoughts or spiritual thoughts. Spiritual thoughts comprise of wisdom and love. It’s the giving and receiving of love and wisdom. Reasoning and questioning is what the logical thoughts comprise of.

The world that we have created is the effect of our logical thoughts and the world that we have read about as History, i.e., the great Indus Valley Civilization, Egyptian and Greek Civilization, etc is a manifestation of the Spiritual thoughts.

I was in Pune a week back, sitting at Mochas feeling the love of the city and the place when I heard about the blasts in Delhi. It shook me.

I was once told about a vedic story on how Souls evolve. It is born as an object with the least knowledge; I presume a stone, and then it evolves from one form onto another depending upon the knowledge it acquires. Prior to the Soul moving into a human, that is the highest form of knowledge, the soul is an animal.

Until the advent of the industrial age and rampant advancement in technology, there was equilibrium in nature. Harmony and Peace prevailed. But now, in the modern age, due to rampant human intervention, the entire cycle of the soul traversed an unprecedented thrust forward. In simple words, the horrendous killing and destruction of nature’s creation has created a quantum leap in the progress of the Soul. i.e., during harmony, ‘G’ reached a knowledge level ‘d’ (where ‘d’ is the Human Soul) in say 25 years; but due to human intervention, ‘G’ is reaching ‘d’ in 15 years. It sure is quicker, but there is a price paid by ‘d’. It has a tremendous influence of ‘c’ like characteristics. (Where ‘c’ is the knowledge attained by the soul as an animal).
Hence, due to human intervention, Man is becoming more animal like. He enjoys destruction, violence, treachery and blood bath.

This proves the present turmoil that our world is witnessing today.

Psst: more than 40 killed in a blast in a Islamabad hotel.