This is an incident of year 2019 when I was a resident of a girl’s hostel of IIT Delhi. The menu of the hostel had been updated and it was proposed to serve the residents with mango shake once a week at dinner. It was a welcome decision by all the residents. However when the first time itself the shake was served, I was disheartened to see it being served in plastic glasses rather than the steel glasses of our mess. I could hardly relish the taste of what was served in those plastic cups. But because we assume that one persons resentment can move nothing, I too ignored and slept. The next week however when the whole episode repeated, I could not remain calm at all. Even if my resentment could move nothing, I still had to try to remain at peace with myself. I am afterall a staunch supporter of sustainable development. So I wrote a mail to the Mess Secretary.
“Dear Residents,
This is regarding the usage of plastic in the form of cups and bowls in our hostel mess which I believe is avoidable. Every Friday we get some shake or other sweet drink as a dessert in the dinner. However, the glasses that it is served in is of plastic. Maybe these glasses might be convenient to use, but if we look from the environment perspective it is awful. We all savored the taste of the shake tonight, but that glass it was served in will remain on the face of the earth for another 1000 years. It might be sounding dramatic but we all need to do our bit in saving our environment.
I humbly request the authorities to make some arrangements such that such desserts can be served in the normal steel glasses of mess. The method will be cheap as well as environment-friendly.“
Little did I know, this pockets of resentment had been mushrooming in so many rooms and the move was immediately supported by large number of residents. The matter was finally taken up by the authorities in due course of time, and after a period of approximately 2 weeks, the plastic cups and bowls were clearly shown the door of the hostel.
That day I realized, it does not matter if you are alone in raising your voice. There are 100s of other voices always sharing your emotion. All you need to do is channelize your thoughts so that they are approachable.
बात निकलेगी तो फिर दूर तलक जायेगी…
कफ़ील आज़र
Aali Pant 