#but she is a) made of tissue paper and very cognizant of the need of a tank to hide behind

[theloonypumpkin]

Middle Class Throwback.

Today is World Environment Day. With much gusto, lot of Watsapp groups are putting up videos and brands/corporate are showcasing what they are doing for sustainability, for the environment. Few social media influencers are doing LIVE sessions on how you can reduce, recycle and help make the planet greener and better.

Not that I am not cognizant of my environmental impact otherwise, but a lot of these ‘cool’, ‘zero waste’, ‘vegan’ trends are just throwback to essential Indian middle-class values. What is often looked down upon as being cheap and having a penny saving mentality is somehow packaged into an environmentally friendly, zero waste lifestyle.

I remember the first time we bought an air conditioner. It was such a luxury and we were so excited to be able to sleep in a cool, air-conditioned room. It also meant higher electricity bills. My parents would put on the timer and switch on the fan so that the AC is not kept ON the entire night. We would also be the default helpers to clean the filter and ensure that the AC is serviced at regular intervals. Reading about how this helps save environment puts a smile on my face. We still have that same AC in our old house, it works perfectly fine too.

Growing up, I would also accompany my grand mother to the occasional grocery run to the market. As there was no internet and TV time was also limited, a kid had to improvise and think of various ways to pass time. This was my favorite one as the trip ended with a rupee coin to buy a toffee of my choice. She had a red basket which had lot of re-usable bags for segregating her shopping. When we moved to supermarkets where everything came in its own plastic wrapping, we lost the habit of carrying our own bags. It is nice to see, the Bring Your Own Bag trend catching up, it reminds me of a simpler time in life.

A very fashionable thing these days is steel tiffin boxes over plastic ones, using steel straws and carrying your own cutlery. How many of you remember these from school? I do. A steel tiffin was a sure shot way to avoid spilling the sabzi and it was a basic no frill tiffin with no cartoons on the cover, etc. We usually carried our cutlery while travelling as it was easier to eat fruits and snacks during vacation trips. Lot of responsible travelers are recommending this in their vlogs, funny how things which were once done because you wanted to save the extra penny are now ‘planet conscious’ and ‘responsible’.

How many of you buy store bought yogurt which comes in plastic packaging? During the lock down, we revisited the old method of making yogurt at home in a container overnight. Turns out, it tastes much better than the store bought one and so does homemade pasta, hummus, pickle, ketchup and tomato puree. Have we been wasting tons of packaging which is ending up in landfills in order to be fancy?

Being middle class was about saving money. We were comfortable and the focus was always on not being wasteful. When people talk about using reusable bottles, not using tea bags, using second-hand stuff, or re-purposing leftover food into tasty breakfast items, it makes me think that although this might be a new concept it the west, it is like revisiting old memories for me.

During the lock down, we have been cooking everything at home including items such as biryani, pani puri, pasta, cakes, pizza, ice cream. Things which would have come in plastic containers as take outs. Cooking from scratch which is a very Indian and middle-class value to save money of going out, is just a lifesaving skill that also helps the planet. I have forgotten how to use old T-shirts as night wear, then reusing them as cut out cloths for polishing shoes, cleaning cars. As times changed, we got around buying night wear T-shirts and kitchen towel and tissue. The world is consciously moving to this very middle-class trend of re-using clothes, ensuring hand me downs in cousins and avoiding buying stuff till you absolutely need it.

Do you remember doing these growing up? I am sure you do, and while the world moves to newspaper or recycling gifting paper, remember the time spent as kids in saving these from gifts, carefully storing them and using them again. All the home books covered in old newspapers and repairing items before buying new ones which were essential middle-class sentiments are now transformed to overcoming a throwaway culture and being green and environment friendly.

I don’t remember exactly when we gave up these things and moved to doing ‘posh’ things in life. While reading all the blogs, top 30 things to help this planet, and various other influencer videos, it brought me closer to my middle-class roots, and made me think that life should be more than just chasing ‘shiny’ things and being excessive without reason. It should be meaningful, sustainable and thrifty.

Take care of the planet, we have just this one.

#world environment day #sustainable #zero waste living #frugal #indian values #planet earth #environment friendly