An inconvenient truth

People in Haiti are eating mud cakes (yes, real ones made of mud). More than one quarter of America's food or about 96 billion pounds of food a year goes to waste.

India, the land of contradictions, contains within it many Haitis and many Americas. In India, the upper class and urban middle class reveling in their newfound wealth have forgotten that more than 220 million people are living below the poverty line, not to talk about millions more who barely hold themselves above it.

Our eyes fall on their face everyday but do we really see them? How can we wrap ourselves in the latest brands and zoom away in fast cars when barely a few houses across, maybe even at our front gate, someone is struggling to have a clean glass of water? Does that mean we have to give away all our wealth and become equally poor? Does it mean that every time I put on a new dress, I have to be ashamed of myself? No one will readily part with their wealth (even I will not) but I am not talking about that kind of self sacrifice which only a few are capable of (I salute those who can).

Let us at least do what we can. Let us not waste any resources. Let us be prudent about what we spend beyond our basic comforts or future security. If a certain amount of food is going to waste everyday at your house, make it a habit to give that to the poor instead of throwing it in the dustbin. Isn’t one lamp enough to illuminate the book that you are reading? Please switch off the rest. If we have enough clothes or shoes that we need, please let us not buy more to satisfy our vanity. Let us only buy things that we need. If you have the money to invest in rainwater harvesting, bio-gas, solar energy and other clean technologies while building your home, go for it. Let us spend on our essentials while bearing in mind that an ostentatious display is highly insensitive to the millions dying all around us of poverty. At least after you have assured yourself that you have kept enough money for your great grandson, please start thinking about others! This is not satire. I am being serious here. Just because we are not capable of that level of altruism that is commendable, we should not shy away from at least our brand of social conscience. Remember, everything helps and something is always better than nothing.

Man has at his disposal the bounties of nature. How he chooses to use them defines his own destiny.