Environment and Economy - A trade Off

Last week on 22nd April the Earth Day was celebrated. This day came into existence in 1970 which was to honour our planet Earth. However in the past few years this day is more focused with the environmental issues faced by this very planet, Earth. One thing which has changed over the years is the human population which has grown exponentially and this population needs to be accommodated on this planet itself. Science and technology is still exploring another planet where some of the human population could be shifted but until then we all will have to adjust on this planet, Earth only. With the human's quest for a luxurious and comfortable life a lot of inventions have happened over the years. From travelling in bullock carts to driving a car; from rowing a boat to sailing in a cruise ship; from living in mud houses to staying in concrete houses - the list is long.

In this quest of a luxurious and comfortable life, we humans have used a lot of earth's resources and destroyed many other resources. From removing green dense patches of trees to blasting rocks or mining underground we have been playing with the mother Earth. The impact of human activities can be seen in the form of climate change, global warming, greenhouse effect, ozone depletion are few to be named.

Last year a 16 year old Swedish environment activist, Greta Thunberg, suddenly gained popularity when she addressed the environmental issues. The girl's concern is that because of current environmental issues people are dying; people are suffering; the ecosystems are collapsing. She was concerned as to how would planet earth change for the younger generations and the damaging effects of this change.

As the year 2019 was ending there was a news from the southern hemisphere of the world. The forests in Australia caught fire and the reason for these forest fires was climate change. The air quality was 12 times more hazardous. The forest fires killed many animals. Who knows many species would have become extinct during the fire outbreak.

However as we enter the second quarter of 2020 things have changed. Most of the world has been locked down because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This lockdown has reduced significant levels of human movements across the world. Various parts of the world have reported seeing animals coming out on roads. In a country like India also people have seen elephants roaming around on roads. The air quality has been improved significantly. People in Punjab can see snow clad mountain peaks which are located in Himachal Pradesh. The water quality has also improved significantly. The Yamuna river located in Delhi has cleared and the foul smell has disappeared. The Ganga river is also said to have gone on a self cleaning mode. As per the television or print news the river water has become pure enough to drink. Car horns have been replaced by soothing chirping sounds of birds. The young generation of children can finally see birds flying in sky and can actually count stars in the night sky. It is said that the earth has gone on a self healing mode.

But then the question is what will happen once the world gets back to normal? When the lockdown gets over what will happen? We, the humans, will again engage in our own regular activities and again it will take a toll on the mother Earth. Can people really sit at home and keep working forever? Can innovation and invention stop? Once the economic activities begin the earth's environment will again start getting affected. Children like Greta who desire for a better planet can we really give them a planet of their dreams? It will be interesting to see to what extend does the world change.

P.S. Chirping of birds captured during lockdown - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db-049W7vqc

A Plastic World

Imagine the entire world was made of plastics. The house, the tree, the sand, the sky - everything made of plastics; but then could we humans survive? Would plastic become our staple; a reason to live?

Unfortunately that is not the case. I remember since my school days I was told plastic is bad for the environment. Since the time science was divided into physics, chemistry and biology we were told plastics are non biodegradable. Since the 1990s I was aware that plastics do not decay like food waste. Infact the idea plastics are non biodegradable and hazard for environment would be existing even before the 90s. As plastics do not decay they just keep piling up.

If  plastics do not decay and are harmful for the environment then why do we use it? 

By 2010 most shops started charging for the carry bags. As a customer most of us would happy pay that extra 5, 10, 15 or whatever extra amount was being charged. However slowly in a country like India government started getting concerned and decided to put a ban on plastics. Those who are environment lovers came with the idea of carrying own bags for shopping.

The question is that we all know plastics are harmful for the environment; then why dont we put a stop on the production of plastic bags? If there will be no plastic bags being manufactured automatically we will switch to cloth bags and maybe carry our bags for shopping.

In schools we are definitely taught plastics are harmful for the environment but the very next minute we might buy something from a shop or vegetable cart and demand for a plastic bag. Maybe the roadside cart sellers find it easier to provide stuff in a plastic bags so they keep a stock plastic carry bags. 

The best way which has been found to educate these roadside sellers is by police threatening them that they will not be allowed to sell their stuff. Some even fine these roadside vendors. Why they dont fine the customers who ask for plastic bags? Arent customers who demand for plastic bags equally responsible for the plastic menace?

Once I went to a mandi in a village near Ranchi and the villagers clearly said without a carry bag they will not sell their stuff. In the mandi a person was selling the jute carry bags at Rs. 10. So anyone who did not have their own bags first had to buy a jute carry bag and then only could they shop around.

Now a days plastics are being used in road construction. Plastics have been rated and more and more places are being encouraged to go plastic less. But still there are a lot of products which we have to package in plastic bags. Even though our government is promoting the idea of Swach Bharat still we throw away plastic covers here and there.

Can we really reduce the consumption of plastics? Can we really try creating a plastic free world? By when can we expect people carrying their own bags and those who are not doing so then some action being taken against them?

I am sure no one would like to wake up with plastic covers all around them. 

The Investigation - 2

In the meantime techniques were being used to find out laptop details and finally they were able to find the laptop number and the address from where it was purchased. The address from Bangalore itself; police went to the shop and gave the laptop details. It was a small one room shop and the owner would be somewhere in his 50s; he found out the date of purchase of the laptop. Police asked the shop owner that whether he had a CCTV camera installed to which the owner said there was a CCTV and it was working. Police asked the owner to give the footage of the day when the laptop was purchased. The footage was taken and analyzed; with the help of date and time mentioned on the bill the person who had purchased the laptop was identified. Police could see a young man’s face and started developing the face and published it in all the leading daily newspapers. Also the same face was circulated on the social networking sites and shared across by people. Police was not sure that whether this man was alive or not but he was the only hope for them to reach to the culprits.

Almost one month was over after diwali and everyone in India had got busy with the New Year which was few days away. A photoshop enthusiastic guy took the photo of the face which was being circulated on the social networking site. He started playing with the photo by putting a beard with different styles and then he came across a face which he had seen somewhere. He started adding other features and he was shocked to see the exactly same face of a guy is working at his office. He was not sure about what he should do and with both the photographs (one circulated on internet and another which he had created) he took them to his HR and discussed with her. Immediately they informed police and when the police reached the office they gave them details of the employee whose photo was developed using photoshop. However just on the basis on this photograph the guy could not be arrested police needed some more evidence.

The cyber cell of the office was involved and they started tracking the system on which the guy used to work. The guy did just one mistake that once he opened his personal mail from the office system. The personal mail was hacked and police found out all the planning and plotting which was done for the Bangalore blast. Finally the guy was arrested on the basis of these mails and he admitted to be involved in the crime.

The mails revealed details about how the entire blast was planned. Before the blast certain people started working as the hospitality and ground staff at Bangalore airport and started scanning each and every detail. The time taken for the bag to travel for the bag on the conveyor belt to the luggage scanning machine was calculated. A proper training was given to the lady for the blast. These people had already figured out that the luggage which is carried by the person is not scanned at the entry on the airport. They considered this to their advantage and this is how the entire terror attack was planned.

Bangalore was always on the hit list of terrorists and they were looking for an opportunity where maximum threat could be created among people. Finally the other culprits involved in the case were also caught and the Indian police along with the help of certain good citizens of India was able to solve the case.

-- The End

In places like Ranchi or Varanasi check-in luggage is scanned before collecting the boarding pass. However in places like Delhi or Bangalore I believe the check-in luggage is scanned after the passenger collects the boarding pass. The difference in the check-in luggage scanning process for domestic flights in different cities could be best known to the airport authorities. This story is purely based on imagination and with this story I don’t wish to give any suggestive ideas for deadly crime.

Also I would like to add that on September 2001 when there were twin attacks on WTC and one attack on Pentagon (US Defence Headquarters) the security at airports became a big concern. After 2001 also there have been several incidents of terror attacks in flights and plane hijacking. On 26 November 2011 again when there was a terror attack on Mumbai's Taj Hotel everyone across the country was shocked. Terrorism and terrorists who are ready to kill themselves and take away lives of innocent people are the biggest threat for humanity. A human bomb will never come knocking at our door and seeking permission for an attack.

P.S. If you feel the imagination in the story is good please share it across with your friends. There could be certain loopholes but I have tried my level best to ensure the flow of story doesn’t bore the readers. Well sharing is free and I hope as a reader you will acknowledge this story by sharing it with family and friends.

P.P.S. With this story I complete my 50 blogs; some good and some not so good.

Thanks for taking out time and reading the story.

The Investigation

Police started developing the face which they saw on CCTV. While watching the CCTV footage they figured out that the lady had got down at the airport from a bus. From every stoppage where the bus stopped the CCTV footage was collected. In the meantime a sketch of the lady shown on the CCTV was developed and published in all the leading daily newspapers with the hope that someone will identify.

In the CCTV scanning police found out that the lady had taken a taxi to reach to the bus stop. The taxi number was noted and the driver was contacted; the driver gave the location from where he had picked up the lady. Further investigation showed that the lady had changed 4 taxis and all taxis were booked from different numbers with different names and they had been activated just one week back. However the police was still not able to find the residence where this lady lived; there was no idea that whether this lady lived in Bangalore or she had come from some other city to Bangalore just to execute the terror mission.

As the police was busy in their investigation; the people of India got busy with a candle march procession and started demanding for a safer India. People from all walks of lives had joined this procession and there was serious concern raised over the safety of people travelling in buses, trains, and flights. The identification process of those who died in the blast was completed and families were informed of the darkness which would be there during this diwali. Both the center and state government announced compensation for those who died in the blast; the money which these families would be receiving could never fill the emptiness which was left in their lives. However other than crying and missing their loved ones there was nothing more which these families could do.

Diwali was over and almost after 15 days of blast police was still not able to find any clue about the lady. And then one fine day an old lady visited the police station with a photo; the photo was of the same lady who had blasted herself; the old lady said she had seen her photo in the newspaper and she wanted to give some information. The old lady said that she had gone to a wedding and when she returned back and was looking at the newspaper she found this photo. She gave the residence address where the young lady lived and immediately the police rushed to the location. The door was locked; police broke down the house; they started finding the evidence which could be useful for them. There was a laptop but it was completely destroyed; there was nothing in the laptop which could help the police in getting closer to others who were involved in the terror attack. However police took the laptop in their possession and started interrogating the people living in the neighborhood.

During the interrogation they got to know that the house belonged to someone who was living in US and gave the house to the blast lady on rent. The person who had given the house was contacted and details were asked as to how was the house given on rent. The person said that the house was given on rent with the help of a broker and broker details were given. The broker who had given the house was contacted; he checked his file and found out the booking details. He gave the identification proof which was given by the lady. Police began tracking of the address which was mentioned in the id proof but no such address existed. Police started feeling that they will never be able to solve this case.

Link to the third part: http://richaritwika.blogspot.in/2014/05/the-investigation-2.html

A Terror Story

Bangalore – the silicon valley of India which has attracted people from different parts of India for jobs and has an important role to play in the economic growth of India. A city which has been overcrowded with the youth population and Bangalore has been warm enough to welcome everyone. This is a story based on this city of Bangalore.

It was the time of Diwali; the festival of lights which is celebrated on a grand scale in North India. Diwali celebrations start with Dhanteras when people buy new things for their house and it is a good day for people who are in the gold business. The second day is choti diwali when people lit 5 Yam ka diyas infront of their houses all night. The third day is the main festival when the entire city is lighted with diyas; everyone wears new dresses; young children burst crackers; neighbors gather together to celebrate the festival. The fourth day is padwa which is an important day for married couples. The fifth and the last day of diwali celebration is bhai duj which celebrates the spirit of love which is shared between brothers and sisters.

People working in Bangalore were going to their homes during the festival of diwali so that they could celebrate this festival with their families. There was huge rush on the Bangalore and Yeshwantpur railway stations; airports also saw huge crowds and almost every airline was completely booked. There were long queues at the check-in counter where people were collecting their boarding pass; some people were sitting at the Café Coffee Day center; some were busy over the phone; some had proceeded for security check after collecting their boarding pass.

The entire airport could see people busy in something or the other and suddenly there was a loud noise. There was a blast at the area where check-in luggage is scanned and as everyone started rushing towards that area there was another blast at one of the queues in the check-in counter. The airport police rushed towards the blast site immediately; there was an environment of shock among the people who were present at the airport; people were speechless and they were not aware about how to react. The area of blast was immediately sealed by the airport police and the police started collecting any possible evidence which they could get from the site.

High alert was raised in every airport in India and a thorough scanning of people started. The casualties and victims of the blast were immediately shifted to hospitals; the job of identifying the identities of people began. It was a sad day for Bangalore as almost 50 people lost their lives in the blast and around 20 people were injured. Blood, burnt bodies, destroyed faces was what could be seen at the blast site. However the police officials had to keep their emotions aside and work together to find out any small evidence which could lead to the culprit. After every individual and their luggage was scanned thoroughly the flight departure and boarding process resumed back again.

The CCTV scanning began and police started finding out the source for the twin blasts which took place at the airport. The luggage which had blasted near the scanner was identified; there were few officials and workers working at the scanner who lost their lives. Now with the luggage police started identifying the person who had checked in the luggage. The face which they saw on the CCTV was of a young lady who had blasted herself and in the process killed 50 people. The investigation and search for the person responsible for blast began.

Link to the second part: http://richaritwika.blogspot.in/2014/05/the-investigation.html

Atithi devo bhava

Atithi devo bhava. Iss baat ko hum Indians bahut hi gambhirta se lete hain.

Ek atithi wo hain jisne ek Indian se shaadi ki aur aaj wo India ki bahu ban gayi. Unke pati ke jaane ke baad India mein unko maan samaan mila. Aur wo iss desh ki hi ban kar reh gayi. Iss atithi ko humne aisa apnaya ki sabhi jaruri muddo par unki bhi rai li jaati hain. Hum yeh maan kar chalte hain ki wo India se utna hi pyar karti hain jitna wo apne desh se karti hongi.

Ek atithi wo hai jiski khoobsurati ke log deewane hain. London se India aayi; apna safar b-grade movie se shuru kiya aur phir belly dance sikh kar Sheila ki jawani pe khoob dhoom machaya. Aaj wo jis movie mein jis actor ke saath aati hai wo movie aur wo actor charcha mein aa jaata hai. Inko hum Indians ne aisa apnaya hai ki acting bhale na aaye phir bhi inki movies ko hit jarur karwate hain. Sayad India mein inke jaisi khoobsurat haseena nahi milegi isliye ek videshi atithi ko apnaya hai.

Ek atithi wo hai jo bahar videsh mein pornstar ke naam se famous hain. Unko bhi hum Indians ne khule baahon se apnaya hai. India ki sayad hi kisi pornstar ko itni ijjat aur pehchan mili hongi jitni inko di gayi hai. Inka sayad sapna honga jo aaj yeh bollywood mein heroine ka kaam karti hain.

Ek atithi aaj kal dance ke apne jalwe bikhair rahi hai. TV ke reality show mein aati hai khoob jum kar naachti hai aur logon ka dil jeet kar le jaati hai. Kismet hue to jaldi wo bhi bollywood mein heroine ke roop mein nazar aayegi.

Ab yeh to hue bade logon ki baat; agar hum apni baat kare to jab videsh se koi atithi aata hai hum usse badi sehajta se angrezi mein baat karte hain. Ghar par jab usko khane ke liye bulate hain to ghar mein 5 saal ka bacha bhi ekdum faratedaar angrezi mein baat karta hai. Magar hum dusre ki maatra bhasha tab kyu nahi sikhte jab kisi Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Bihari, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Kanada, Malayalam, etc. ko apne ghar bulate hain? Kyu kya atithi videshi atithiyon se alag ho jaate hain?

P.S. Agar blog pasand aaya hai to link share kijiye :-)

Recreational Adventurous Proactive Entertainment

Before you start reading this blog I would say that it is not intended to hurt anyone's sentiment.

Scene 1:

Roshini is alone at home. She is feeling hungry and she is not in a mood to cook so she decides to order the food from outside. She calls at the restaurant to order food.

Roshini - "I wanted to order food but before I order I wanted to know who would come to deliver food at my house?"
Salesman - "Mam our delivery boy will deliver the food at your place"
Roshini - "You dont have any delivery woman? You know the country is not safe for women; what if your delivery boy does something wrong with me?"
Salesman - "Mam trust us we do a complete check before we hire someone"
Roshini - "Trusting a man is next to impossible. All men are the same"
Salesman - "Mam do you want to order food or should I cut the call"
Roshini - "Yeah yeah take my order"

After 30 minutes her door bell rings and she quickly goes and opens the door. Delivery boy is standing on the door.

Delivery boy – “Madam your order.”

Roshini – “How much is the bill?”

Delivery boy – “Madam 200 rupees”

Roshini – “Wait here I will go inside and bring the money.”

Roshini goes inside in her bedroom. The house is completely empty there is no one else except her; she is all alone and her house is in such a location that if anything happens inside the house no one will get to know. Roshini comes out and pays Rs. 200 and the delivery boy leaves. Roshini calls at the restaurant from where she ordered the food.

Roshini – “I had ordered food at your restaurant.”

The person checks the number and finds out the details. He replies back – “Madam your order has already been sent. It would be reaching your place in sometime.”

Roshini – “I have got my order but I wanted to complain about your delivery boy.”

Salesman – “We are sorry mam if he did something wrong. We would fire him immediately.”

Roshini – “I wanted to complain that he did not do anything wrong. I was all alone at the house but he did not even make an attempt to force himself on me. What kind of delivery boys you have at your place. These day every where men are raping women but your delivery boy is simply useless.”

Salesman was confused he had no idea what he should reply back.

Scene 2:

Roshini is at office. Today she will have to work late night and so she has asked for a drop service to her place. A list is mailed across with the car details and people who would be travelling with her. Roshini checks the list and there are 4 other co-passengers with her; 3 are women and one is a man. She would be dropped second according to the list. After seeing the list Roshini goes to her manager.

Roshini – “Sir I have a complaint.”

Manager – “Yes Roshini tell me. What is the issue?”

Roshini – “I wont work late night tonight.”

Manager – “Roshini you know this delivery is urgent and we need to deliver it tonight. And what is your issue; you are being provided the drop service then why are you worried?”

Roshini – “Sir the problem is with the drop service only. First there are 3 women and next my stop is second one. I don’t get an opportunity to be all alone with the driver and the other male passenger. This is not fair.”

Manager – “Roshini are you out of your mind?”

Roshini – “Sir where men force themselves on women at late nights then how can I be out of my mind?”

Her manager did not have any reply to her question.

Scene 3:

A guy along with his family has come to see Roshini for marriage. The family lets them sit alone and they are left to talk to each other.

Bahadur – “You have anything to ask then go ahead ask me I wont mind it.”

Roshini – “Have you ever raped any woman and murdered her after that?”

Bahadur – “No”

Roshini – “Acha atleast you would have raped the women even if not murdered her”

Bahadur – “No”

Roshini – “Then you would have definitely molested a girl”

Bahadur – “Not at all”

Roshini – “Then you must have passed lewd comments on girls”

By now Bahadur has lost control. He replies back – “Listen madam if you are not interested in marrying me then simply say it. I am not a criminal that you are asking me all these questions.”

Roshini – “Let me tell you one thing that these day dowry is not based on the family background or educational qualification but the severity of crime committed by the man. For instance if a guy rapes and murders a girl then he would get 10 lakh as dowry; when he just rapes a girl he would get 8 lakh dowry; when he molests a girl he would get 5 lakh as dowry; for passing lewd comments or stalking a girl he would get 1 lakh of dowry.”

The way these days news related to rape and safety of women is being shown in media it seem that in future all men would turn into rapists. The candle march protests which are done with the slogan 'teach your son not to rape a girl' or 'do not tell your daughter not to go out tell your son to behave properly' or 'do not touch me my dress is not a yes' what kind of messages do these slogans want to create? Already girls do not go out alone at nights and with such incidents only more fear will be created for female gender in India. Things might be worse but concrete solutions should be found out such as women employment as delivery women; autos run by lady drivers especially at night; and many more such steps can be taken.

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