Tag: environment

Ideas for a “Sustainable future”

Dear friend,

At the outset, let me wish you and your near and dear ones a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. 

I have always wondered what could be my new year resolution every year. This year I thought I could think of 12 practical ideas to live sustainably every day. I am trying my best to practise them in my life. These are not difficult ones to follow but does require discipline and intent

1. Have a bath with one bucket of water: I was used to having my bath in a shower everyday and enjoyed doing it. I did not realise that I was wasting four to five buckets of water everyday for a bath till a friend told me so. I then decided to forget the shower and use a bucket of water to have my bath every day. This way I am not only able to conserve water for the future generations but feel less guilty since there are millions around the world who do not get enough water even to drink and cook. I do use the shower occasionally when I am travelling but it is worth trying.

2. Dont honk while driving your car or scooter: I was quite used to blowing the horn liberally in my car and scooter since the time I started driving almost four decades back. However about ten years back I attended a programme on defensive driving at Panchgani and learnt that driving without honking is possible and it further makes you drive more safely. I have since been practising the same except in emergencies. It is a feasible idea and worth trying.

3. Switch off all lights and fans, which are unnecessary: We are lucky to have 24 x 7 power supply in our homes today. However there are millions around the world who are not as privileged as we are. Further, if we conserve power it is power saved and may be useful for those who do not get it from the grid especially in rural areas. It is a simple idea to switch off lights, fans and all appliances when not needed. This way we can conserve energy for others.

4. Take the public transport atleast once in a way: We all  aspire to drive our own car or bike to work or at leisure and it is fun to do so.  However, apart from consuming precious fossil fuel, we also pollute the environment and increase our carbon footprint. It may be a good idea to take a bus or metro or train once in a while. This way we can contribute to promoting a cleaner environment for our kids.

5. Walk instead of driving to the shop nearby: We have the habit of taking our scooter or car even to places near our home or work for small errands. It may be helpful to walk instead of taking our bike or car. This way we not only make the environment greener but also improve our fitness. Our lifestyle today does not give us enough time or motivation to exercise every day. This can even be supplemented by taking the stairs instead of the lift at work and at home.

6. Use solar power to generate the power you need: Our electrical energy needs are increasing by the day. We are increasingly using multiple appliances for our lives. So, it may be worthwhile to generate enough power for our daily consumption. Roof top power through solar is an easy option to install and maintain. This way you can produce enough power through solar energy for your daily needs and save fossil fuels for the future generations.

7. Recycle organic waste and make compost: It is possible to collect and recycle organic waste in our homes through a simple and sustainable process of composting. It is possible today not only in independent homes but also in flats and apartments with simple to use bins and thereby save the environment of avoidable garbage all around us.

8. Do not waste food while you eat even at home: We are lucky to get a full meal three times a day. We have our breakfast, lunch and dinner without fail. However, we sometimes tend to waste a lot of food at home and more so when we eat outside. If we remember that there are millions of people especially children going hungry around the world every single day, we may avoid wasting food. All the food we waste can feed many hungry people around the world. It may be worthwhile to promise to oneself not to waste food from today and share it with others if it is surplus for you and your family needs.

9. Plant one sapling around you and take care of it: Many of us are not privileged to live in our own home even today. Even those who live in our own homes do not live in independent homes and have a garden to plant a tree. But it may still be worthwhile to plant a tree at home , work or in a public place or park and take care of it. Every tree we plant helps us clean the air and protect the environment for our future.

10. Donate one old set of clothes for every new one you buy: All of us love to go shopping. I have been no exception. However, over the last few years I learnt an idea of donating at least one set of clothes for every new one I buy for myself or my spouse. In the beginning, it was tough as all of us are very possessive of all that we have but as I grew up I realised that it may be a good idea to share my possessions with others, who are not as privileged as I am.

11. Never throw garbage around: We are in a consumption world today. We consume a lot of packaged food and most of the stuff we buy are in packaged form. We generally tend to use the things or consume the food and throw away the garbage in form of plastic or other materials. It may be a worthwhile to minimise throwing garbage around and recycle whatever is possible. If we are able to help segregate garbage in a scientific way, it may help us save the planet.

12. Carry a cloth bag for shopping : Shopping is not only a habit but a contagious one for many of us. We tend go around shopping even when there is no specific need to do so. Further, we dispose all the plastic carry bags all around us and pollute the environment. It may be nice if we carry a cloth bag whenever we go out for shopping. This way we can avoid plastic bags and save the environment too.

Let our lives bloom like this colourful flower( as in the photo above) in the new year.

I would recommend that each one of us can try practising one new idea every month. We may sometimes fail but that is ok as long as our intent is to learn from our own failures. Let us together create a sustainable future for our kids.

S Ramesh Shankar

3rd Dec 2022

Anything natural is generally good…

IMG_0131I have always been an admirer of nature. I have admired nature in all its forms. I love the hills, mountains, rivers, deserts and the sea. I love trees, forests, animals and birds. Of course, I like human beings and love to observe how they behave with all forms of nature. I have wondered as to how we have progressively tried to destroy nature in the name of growth and development.

I am a diabetic and had switched over to sunflower oil and other so called healthy diet based on what I read and believed from people around me. I then met a leading diabatologist in Mumbai. He advised me to go back to my roots. He simply stated that I should follow the diet patterns my family has been following over centuries. For eg. He advised me to switch back to TIL oil from sunflower oil. He said nature has a way of adapting the body to suit the health of human beings. If you belong to a particular region, you should follow the food habits of that region.

This was a revelation for me. I started believing that “Anything natural is good”. It is not only true but experience of mine substantiates this belief. While technology and science has helped us develop wonderful things, I still realize that there is no substitute for similar things found in nature. It is like no perfume on earth can invigorate me more than fresh jasmine flowers in my garden.

I am yet to see a painting more beautiful than the skyline every evening during sunset. There is no building in the world which is more intricate than a bee hive or an ant hill if you dig deep into how they are constructed. Similarly I am yet to experience the joy of being in the midst of a dense forest , in the city centre of the best cities of the world. I do not know why but nature engulfs you. It embraces you and makes you feel special.

As human beings instead of learning from nature, we have tried our best to destroy it. A simple example is the use of plastic. While plastic is a great discovery and it has benefited us in multiple ways, it is unnatural and hence harmful in many ways too. It has choked drains, killed kids, and has been the root cause of many catostrophies because of human misuse.

If we look at the contra of my hypothesis, I believe everything unnatural is harmful to human beings. While artificial sweeteners and flavours can quench our taste buds they are ultimately harmful to human consumption. It may be more beneficial to have juices from fresh fruits rather than carbonated drinks. The marketeers of these carbonated drinks may have made us believe how prestigious it is to consume them.

It could be neem leaves or its extract to brush your teeth and compare it to the multiple chemicals used in our toothpastes every day. It could a cup of fresh milk in the morning as compared to diet drink today, which has no nutrients. We were eating fresh fruits as part of our breakfast. Today we take artificially flavoured cereals, which may lose their original nutrient value because of the unnatural ingredients.

Jack fruit as in the photo above is considered the king of all fruits and has multiple benefits. Almost every part of the fruit and tree is useful to human beings.

It is time to wake up. It is time to bounce back. We need to get back to nature. We need to protect our trees and animals. We need to protect the earth and may be other planets from all the pollution and waste we are dumping on them. We need to realize that nature gives us everything we want for a sustainable living and further keeps us happy. Instead of giving back in equal measure, we have ended up destroying nature.

Time to wake up and get natural.

S Ramesh Shankar

Politics at the workplace

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“Politics” could be defined as the art of weaving your way in the organisational context.  Does politics exist in organizations ?  The answer is a resounding “yes”.  Do you need to indulge in politics to be successful in your career ?  My answer would be a resounding “no” from my life experiences.  While behavioural scientists may say that “politics” is not a dirty word and they may be right.  According to them, politics is the art of using the ogranization’s human networks to your advantage.  

I am not against “networking” and using your networks to get your things done as suggested by the social scientists.  What I am against is to indulge in “political behaviour” in your day to day work.  This means simply that you are indulging in “behind the back” gossip.  This results in lack of trust in your team members and saps away the energy of the team.  A lot of organisational energy is used in resolving conflicts and misunderstandings rather than building bonds.

How can one avoid politics as a leader ?  This is a question many people leaders have asked me during the course of my career.   My answer is simple.  As a leader, one needs to clarify the “Dos & Don’ts” of behaviour expected in your team.  Further, one needs to lead by example what you expect from others.  For eg. I clearly encourage my team to raise any issue with anyone and sort it out face to face rather than talk behind the back.  Gossip or talking behind one’s back may be the fountain head of organisational politics.  This needs to be actively discouraged and even punished, if necessary.

On the other hand, if someone wants to build relationships so as to get things done, it is not politics in my definition.  After all organizations are nothing but a network of relationships between people working in different functions.  It is essential to build networks and relationships to get things done effectively.  We need to do everything to enable our team members to network across the organisation and build these relationships.

It is only when a team member ends up misusing a relationship or a network to gossip, politics sets in.  Politics in my view is like a wild fire in a dry summer forest. If not nipped in the bud, it can spread across the organisation and will be very difficult to put off.  I have been asked many a time as to how one can avoid these webs of organisational politics.  It is up to us.  If we want to stay clear of it, we can clearly and unambiguously communicate the same to our team members and colleagues and it works.

I have also been asked if one can be successful in one’s career without being political.  I believe so and have practised it all through my career.  Being a HR professional, I have seen most successful people do not indulge in politics, as I have defined it.  Further, this also ensures that your energy is chanelized to do more creative work in your domain.  Teams work with high energy and enjoy their work without any fear or barriers.

In my view, “politics” in the organisational context is counter productive if not channelised to build networks and relationships.  As a leader, it is up to us to define the rules of the game for our team and ensure nobody crosses the line.  If many of our team members play foul, we not only lose the game but also create poor team spirit and negative energy within the team.

Let us define the rules of our game today and lead by example to ensure others follow it.

S Ramesh Shankar