December 14, 2018

Book Review: The Great Smog of India by Siddharth Singh


“We have largely treated Air pollution as a local issue, rather than a national or even international one. Expecting local leaders and Chief Ministers to solve the problem is akin to expecting the captain of a small boat to clean the water around the boat, when in fact the whole lake is filthy”


Title: The Great Smog of India
Author: Siddharth Singh
Publisher:  Penguin Viking
ISBN:  978-0670091171
Genre: Non Fiction, Environment
Pages: 272
Source: Flipkart Review Program
Rating:  4/5 


Air Pollution cuts average Indian’s life expectancy by over 4 years.
Thick haze engulfs Delhi, air quality remains severe. 
Delhi smog reveals a global failure on climate change


These headlines make me sick, every time I scroll twitter or any digital news site, especially when I hear about Delhi. I have spent 5 years of my childhood there, particular area was in developing mode then, we had parks, gardens, of course traffic would exist, still situation was not that exhausting, and now ? I feel suffocated, after knowing that people has started buying oxygen packs.

Is this for real? Is that something we are working hard for? If we have wound in a part of our body, doesn’t the whole body get affected? That’s what happening to me, that’s why I needed to read this book, THE GREAT SMOG OF INDIA by SIDDHARTH SINGH. Though we can’t recover what is already lost but we can surely act towards right direction to save what we have left.

Without stuffing data and statics, author created a well researched book. Isn’t it great? I read a non-fiction that too on serious issue, still I have been enjoyed it thoroughly. The way Siddharth Singh conveyed message into the form of storytelling is commendable. Readers are not generally interested in major views, they want to know, how air pollution impacted human lives. On this note, author did a great job. Simple language makes this book gripping. Author turned it into a must-read by including human case studies.

This book considers the fact about biomarkers and its impact on our genetic material; everyone knows the damage that leads to cancer

In a chapter, author mentioned an experience of an athlete, Sania, how Delhi-Smog robbed a runner of her passion and left her distraught. Of course, Sania is not alone who suffered, there are many complaints of severe headache and  constant coughing hours so much so that it has been degrading life quality on daily basis.

Air pollution kills over a million Indians every year, silently. The silence around the issue is not merely a function of inaction, our government has been working continuously to cope up with crisis, taking several measures towards reducing emissions, still there are holes left in the strategies which need to be reviewed. And this book is perfect eye opener for everyone. 




Author mentioned that “air pollution, crisis is also beginning to step onto toes of India’s image in the international arena. For instance, in December 2017, Sri Lanka’s sport Minister Dayasiri Jayasekra made an official complaint to the International Cricket Council about the critically poor air quality to which players were subjected during a fife day test match held in Delhi”

Add to this, The Smog of India by Siddharth Singh, explores many facets of air pollution in India and what gives rise to the great smog every winter.

Author states clearly that “The state governments of Punjab and Haryana had mandated that the timing of the rice planting should coincide with the monsoon rains which lash the region starting early July. Since 2009, there has even been a law called the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act that has prohibited the cultivation of paddy before a date is decided by the government.

Owing to such mandates and regulations, the two crop periods of Kharif and Rabi in the case of rice and wheat moved close to one another, leaving about fifteen days in between the two crop cycles.

This put pressure on farmers to prepare the farm for the next crop in a handful of days, and burning the residue has proven to be the cheapest and quickest way to do so”

In the beginning, author talks about implications of air pollution on human health and freedom. What are the key factors behind this pollution? Along with transport and industries author didn’t forget to consider the geographical and meteorological factor that impacting air quality of Delhi.

I liked the way book ends with some takeaway and potential answers. Air Pollution imposes the second highest disease burden in India after child and maternal malnutrition. You can't escape from it but insulate yourself by being aware of it. Reading this book is a wake up alarm for Indians, more than that opportunity to regain our fundamental right to live a happy life. 

Highly Reccomended!


ABOUT AUTHOR  
Siddharth Singh is an energy, mobility and climate policy expert. He was selected to be a German Chancellor Fellow in 2016-17 under the guardianship of Chancellor Angela Merkel's office. In the past, he has worked at the Wuppertal Institute in Berlin, Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Oslo and TERI in New Delhi. He has a graduate degree in international studies and diplomacy from SOAS, University of London, and an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Delhi. The Great Smog of India is his first book.


Connect to Author :  Twitter 

December 10, 2018

नोट्स: पागलपन है जिए जाना


एक दिन पहले तक जिनकी हंसने की आवाज सुनी, एक दिन बाद सब कुछ खत्म। कितना अजीब है ये सब, चन्द मिनटों का खेल जैसे, एक महीन सांस का धागा, बनने की प्रकिया में ही टूट गया, या बाती की वो मद्धम लौ जिसका बुझना अचानक होता है, पलक झपकता जीवन, होने और न होने के बीच डोलता हुआ, पेंडुलम। हजारों जिम्मेदारियों का बोझ लादे कंधे अब दूसरे के कांधे की सैर पर हैं, मुस्कुराते ठंडे होंठ सारी चिंताओं से मुक्त, कितना बड़ा पागलपन है जिए जाना, सिर्फ जीते चले जाना। थोड़ा ठहरना है, देखना है पीछे, कितना अनजिया छूट गया, दर्द है टीस भी, गहरी नींद सब मिटा देगी, चंद मिनटो का खेल बस।

-- अंकिता चौहान

December 09, 2018

Notes : Lost in a Bookshelf

बचपन में अपनी स्कूल की किताबों से अलग एक लाइब्रेरी बनाई थी, करीब सौ किताबें कहानियों की, कॉमिक्स से लेकर भारतीय सुपरहीयोज यानी कृष्ण हनुमान महाभारत बाल रामायण हातिम ताई अकबर बीरबल, प्रेमचंद के गोदान गबन तक। जब पढ़ने बाहर गई तो वो लाइब्रेरी गायब हो गई शायद वो बचपन की किताबें उन बच्चों के हिस्से आयीं जिन्हें उनकी ज्यादा जरूरत थी, गोदान के अलावा मम्मी ने सब किताबें बांट दी। इतना गुस्सा आया था मुझे उस वक्त। इतने सारे दिन चुप रही थी। नाइंथ में मैथ्स को अपना दोस्त बना लिया था। उसमे सर खपाना वक्त को खत्म करने का सबसे आसान जरिया लगा। लेह्निजर और जोऑलजी को अलविदा कहकर कुछ साल पहले किताबों की अपनी उसी दुनिया में लौटना एक मजबूरी थी, धीरे धीरे फिर से पढ़ रही हूँ, छोटू सी लाइब्रेरी बनाने की कोशिश कर रही हूँ। ज्यादातर किताबें किंडल में ही हैं। लगता है अपने पीछे जितनी कम फिजिकल प्रेजेंस छोड़कर जाओ उतना अच्छा रहेगा। खुश हूँ, आउटफिट्स को उँगलियों पर काउंट कर सकती हूँ, जरा से हैं। एक्सेसरीज के बारे में सोचने पर भी कुछ ध्यान नहीं आता, किताबें हैं जिन्हें लंबा खाली वक्त मिलते ही डिजिटल शीट में डालना है, कैटलॉग टाईप कुछ।