FROM EARTH TO LIFE- Thimakkas activities on greening Restaurants(Enviornment)

From Earth to Life



VINOD CV

By commenting on what is environmentalism, the article takes a route through the activities of Thimakkas (A project of Thimmakka’s Resources for Environmental Education, http://www.thimmakka.org) latest project greening south asian restaurants in US. A lovely poem is there too at the end to relish. Thanku

Environmentalism, as a term is semantically more tilted to the vocabulary of politics. Caring and revering nature is a more emotionally and poetically poignant description.. Whatever one calls it, from the very practical point of the survival of the existence of this lovely earth to the sentimentality of preserving the charms and wonders of our mother planet, a green check list is the order of the day before venturing into any activity.

Even before, Environmentalism has become a fad, particularly after the publication of ‘Silent spring’ in 60s, which revolutionised the western world’s environmental awareness; the indigenous communities and tribal were living in full consonance with the grammar of an environmental existence. The entire societal project the eastern philosophers put forward through millenniums was in line with respecting Mother Nature. The latest in this series is the father of Indian Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s social and political programme, which he introduced during Indian freedom struggle. One can safely say he is he is first green thinker of our times.

Though it is said that Easterners including South Asian community is by their religious upbringing indoctrinated to treat nature as mother, many a times in real life situation, they cut a sorry figure as far as environmental literacy is concerned. Thus the failure to understand the cost effective and ecologically sound practises with regard to environment is sorely missing in the south Asian communities. Thimmakka is formed to bring the said communities into the high level of ecological alertness. The effort of the organisation is to present alternatives from the native wisdoms so that acceptability will be high. Thimmakka is committed to introduce social justice perspectives through the environmental campaign. Such a holistic and culturally fruitful programme with environmental angle makes the effort of Thimmakka a special one.

It is here Thimmakka’s new attempt to green Ethnic restaurants assume path breaking significance. Especially as a diasporic community, ethnic minorities like south Asians visit their restaurants frequently. This is the ideal place to initiate them into the sustainable and logically unavoidable ways of living to minimise the impact to environment. More than that, the restaurants as business hubs themselves need lot of training and technology to eliminate wasteful and costly methods, which are environmentally hazardous. As a programme for the present, GER makes the restaurant and the community green savvy. But as the future beginning of a great campaign, entire community who frequent is invited to the new trends in environmental consciousness. So a total overhauling in the thinking of entire community is effected by the greening project of restaurants. It is not greening of restaurants. It is about greening the minds. Greening the minds of future. Greening the ideas of a community. It is about greening the way one think and live. The greening process will be so easy when the message is sent in their own languages, in their own idioms and in their own cultural means with the help of community leaders. The efficacy of talking to people by reaching out to their cultural universes is evident in the success of the programme so far.


A poem for earth written in connection with sending this piece

Sleeping girl in a shy green skirt
Earth is an invitation for pure romance
She is the silky seduction with thousand eyes
Earth is a mother with oceans in the womb
She is the blessed bosom with the pearls of silence
Earth is ever ready to feed her toddler trees in prayer
In the language of love, Earth is the soul
And sky is a monk in meditation