Vision of Life; by Sanjay: Amazon Forest Fires & Agnipath Dialogue!

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” … Chris Maser.

Chris Maser was trained in zoology and ecology and worked for 25 years as a research scientist in agricultural, coastal, desert, forest, valley grassland, shrub steppe. As well an expert in sustainability, a noted author, an international speaker and workshop facilitator empowers citizens, businesses and public officials of not just USA but many countries across the continents! And how true his above words are coming out, actually these words are not new to our Hindu Mythology as what we give that only comes back to us but as like many other fronts this very basic principle or philosophy of life we have forgotten & that’s what gets reflected to our attitude towards nature also! Of-late the world (read eco sensitive world) is shocked by the forest fires in rain forest of Amazon & social media is abuzz with comments as well statistics about the damage done to the biodiversity due to these fires. That way many people will say what is big deal, as most people in our country are immune to any such news, as here in the fires humans get burnt & die, so what’s so much of fuss over the fires in some remote forests!

I don’t blame them, as our country is really one place where human life is cheaper than anything & people are so used to dying & mishaps that forest fires is least of the list of issues to be concerned! Well, I won’t get in to statistics as most people are bored with figures, right from EMI, to Share Index to Bank Interest Rates to GDP to Inflation & if not anything GEE or NIT cutoffs every day we have to deal (fight) with figures! So, why bother with some more figures that how the Amazon rain forests are playing role of world’s oxygen bank & how many hectors of forest are burnt along with how many thousands of species habitat has been lost to how many years will be required to undone the damage which has been caused by these forests etc etc! Instead will try to explain the impact (not just damage) of Amazon fires in other words (read Puneri). Imagine one morning you wake-up in your cozy bed & as usual you pull the curtains of your bedroom window to welcome the fresh breeze along with sun rays in your room with a view of green trees in your buildings premise (yes there are still such buildings in Pune) & what comes in along with the wind is thick smoke with ash dust & you see a smog covered black sky & burnt trees with not a shade of green around leave away the birds & squirrels chirping; what will be your reaction? Xxxx what’s this xxxxx… (sorry, for non printable words) isn’t it? Exactly this is the impact of Amazon’s forest fires on the surrounding & what I have described is not some scene from western Sci-Fi movie but it’s the future if we are not going to feel anything about such news regarding forest fires!

Ok, now someone (read many) will ask, this has happened in Brazil which is other side of the world & it’s bad, agreed but why we bother; let them handle their mess as we have enough of ours! Again I won’t blame them as nature conservation was never really high on our agenda because on one side where we are dancing & jumping for our Mission Moon on other side our Hon Prime Minister has to appeal to the countrymen for curtailing plastic use & reduce plastic waste, wow what a amazing lot we are! We the people, on one side use all latest tech gadgets, are updated about the world, we comment on every incidence around but when it comes to our own home or habits or backyards then we oppose PMC not taking away wet garbage from our homes & oppose treating our own wet garbage by ourselves, we oppose pay & park schemes, we throw garbage in rivers, we oppose ban on loud speakers & DJ’s in processions & on top of it we oppose police’s drive (read law) of helmet wearing which is for protection our own head! Now tell me, the citizens, which doesn’t cares for their own lives opposing helmet wearing law, how we can expect protecting them the trees, birds, insects & wild life in general & yet we take pride in calling ourselves wild life lovers or nature conservationists, we are nothing in actual but wild life losers!

When it comes to forest fires which is in a way biggest threat to already endangered wild life, the reasons in Amazon forest fires & what’s happening around us right here in our country, isn’t much different. There in Brazil it might be drug lords or land mafias’ (all over the world media just loves this later term) & here there may not be drug lords but in State like ours which is number one in man animal conflicts, we are hundreds of other reasons for forest fires. The first & foremost reason of the forest fires around is not greed of humans nor man animal conflict, it’s our ignorance or negligence towards our duty (read attitude) regarding wild life conservation & reason for this negligence is lawlessness i.e. no fear for the law & enforcement! And for this hundred & one percent I will blame our “Mai Bapp” Govt, may it be any ruling party in power! In this country people slowly have stopped worrying about law may it be life of some human or a tree or an animal or that of a bird, we(read people) just don’t care while taking away(read snatching) one for our personal reasons which may be greed or negligence or just for fun or even need in some cases! We burn forests for our farming, we burn forests for making buildings, we burn forests for making roads, we burn forests for excavation of earth for minerals, and we burn forests just because we feel like smoking when we are supposedly enjoying nature on trekking & we throw cigarette butt around! And worst thing is that we don’t regret it at all as we don’t care for forests & we know no law is capable enough (read cares enough) to punish us for our act of burning forests around us! And let me tell you we don’t need to just use fire to burn the forests (read destruct), we can burn the forests by Bulldozers’ or JCBs’ by just wiping out piece of forest, as effect is same like fire; ask millions of Jews during Second World War, does it made difference to them as getting killed by gas chamber or gun fire or just by starving, end is same i.e. total destruction! Same way when the forests are not being destructed by fires we use another means as mentioned above yet the outcome is same.

In yesterday’s newspaper I read one headline which as usual our so called progressive State can’t carry with honor & it said we are No. 1 State in man– animal conflicts. Our progress & development is biggest threat to the wild life as time & again I have stated it’s not the development but how & what we call the development will only decide fate of wild life in the State! And as of now whatever the Govt top bosses may claim about balancing nature & development when it comes to ground level we don’t care for nature is a fact & forests are the first which gets hit under the name of development! And here forest doesn’t mean just Project Tiger types forests (read habitat of tigers) but it’s every that piece of land which is in existence for hundreds of years naturally without interference of humans. This may be grass land, dry land, hills covered with shrubs or land with big trees; all such lands are free from any concrete structure or agriculture use & are homes for thousands of species which includes termites to rodents to birds & even smaller animals like mongoose or heir! And we are burning down every such piece of land & the threat is more towards such pieces of forests which are near to cities like Pune as here it’s not just development factor but greed factor also comes in picture! Because most of us thinks these shrubby or grass lands with nothing on it are not of any use but for using them as making homes of the humans or bungalows on it to make them worthwhile. But in the process we forget that these lands too are forests & as mentioned above homes for hundreds of species but who cares! And when it’s not our homes, we burn forests for making the use of the land on which it’s standing for our food i.e. farming! So may it be our need or greed, end use is burning of forests!

High time that there should be very clear demarcation of every forest land on ground as if we can’t protect Amazon’s rain forests which is so remote then imagine how our forest dept can protect the forests which are so near to human settlements! And then once demarcated then follow very strict laws regarding damaging these forests, again something we are not very good at. As when we can’t protect trees right in the heart of our cities how we are going to prevent cutting or burning the same away from the cities, well again who cares as all we are interested in making the so called forest laws but implementation is never the intention! Most important is like per some ten thousand citizens if one police man type figures we are adopting for law & order of humans then why can’t same logic is applied to strengthen the forest dept which protects millions of trees & thousands of species spread over crores of hectors of the land, is I want to ask our rulers i.e. "Mai Baap" Govt! As unless you give enough man power & authority to the forest dept, they alone won’t be able to protect the forest, not from fires, not from getting cut & certainly not from the humans! And lastly it’s just not “Plant Trees” campaign will work but “Save Every Tree” should be the campaign which we need to run in all segments of the society, especially school kids & college teens which are the hope for these burning forests! Make every person adopt one existing tree or shrub around his or her surrounding as then only we can make the forest survive! You may not reward people for planting trees as that’s duty actually of every human being but the punishments must be sure for burning (read killing) the trees, without valid reasons & without proper measures of balancing the killing!

Amazon fires may have happened in Brazil which is far west, thousands of miles away from us but the ash rising from that fire is a warning for entire globe & dear fellow countrymen I know we all love our Bollywood movies, especially of our beloved Amitabh Bacchan the Boss; remember his one dialogue to the villain from movie Agnipath? “Hawa Bahot Tej Chalta Hai Dinkar Rao, Topi Sambhalo, Uad Jayega…” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD0e5imsX10)! It means wind blows very fast; hold your head gear or you will lose it i.e. you will lose whatever you have if you ignore the winds! Well, need I say anything more about protecting forests, as the wind does blows from west to east & very fast…!

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

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https://youtu.be/g3lx1Nq7pBs

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http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2018/08/pune-city-no-1.html