On the auspicious day that is today

I can't believe I'm missing Ganesh Chaturthi this year! No modaks (yummy envelopes of rice flour shaped like Hershey's kisses, filled with coconut and jaggery), no fruit, no shankar pali! Nahiiiiiin, cries the Bollywood heroine inside me.
I've read in a number of articles that the festival is an eco-friendly one. Well, I suppose it used to be.  I know it encourages people to be, what with Shravan coming before it. Back in Goa, it was only recently decided to ban Plaster of Paris (PoP) statues. Why? Because clay is so much more environmentally-friendly. For those of you who don't know, the idol of Ganesh is immersed in a pond, river, or the sea at the end of the festival period (anywhere from a day and a half to 21 days). Clay disintegrates in water, but PoP does not. One year, the capital city, Panjim, had pots to drop garlands into so that they wouldn't litter the beach etc and could be disposed of properly. I hope they take the same measures this year too.

At Mocha Mojo, Bandra

A shade inspired by Ganesh: Celebrate in as sustainable a manner as possible. Use old glass jars for beverages, eat off banana leaves (it's a custom that people return to especially at the time of festivals.) Get decorations that are made from recycled bits and bobs: a CD chandelier, perhaps? Eat off bagasse plates- Susty Party has sustainable party supplies. Regular plates are good too, but most of us baulk at the washing up after. I understand. Been there, baulked at that. FYI, Ganesh is considered the remover of obstacles. May he make dish washing post the party easy!
And in the shade of a coconut tree... Here's wishing AnnMarie a Happy Bday! I still have to make you something. Modaks?

The girl who took me to MM

#50shadesofgreen

50 shades of green. (I love clovers!)

It seems to me that everybody is reading Fifty Shades of Grey. I've heard all kinds of reviews, all possible viewpoints. Not feminist enough! An expression of female fantasy! Pointless! Groundbreaking! Disgusting! Beautiful!
FSG started as Twilight fan fiction, and- to me- it always will be Twilight fan fiction, even if the names of the characters have been changed. And that is all I have to say about it.

Coming to the point of this post: have you noticed that in both series there is a mysterious male trying to 'save' a clumsy, diffident female?
Here's my analogy: WE are the (not-mysterious, not-necessarily-male) saviours of a force that has been considered female through most of history- our planet. She's not clumsy, and we aren't really saviours. But as far as analogies go, it'll do.
Do you see what I'm getting at? Let me spell it out. Every contribution counts. Every act makes a difference.Even when you don't believe it.

So here's what I'm going to do- I'm going to list 50 things that I personally have done. 50 things that can help our planet. I don't know if they'll be pointless or groundbreaking or cliches. Whatever they are, they'll make the planet a shade greener, I think.
I'll try to cover as broad a spectrum as possible. However, I haven't gone on a paint-splashing, whale-saving spree yet, so that end of the spectrum might not get covered.

The first thing you can do? Use public transport. I do. And so do millions, billions, of other people around the world. Try it for just two days a week. You'll enjoy the break. And so will Gaia. (Go Planet!)

Sustained in Dubai

OMG!!!!
(Yes, I do realize how ridiculous I sound.)
But this is the kind of thing that makes you sit up and take notice (I was standing, but you know what I mean).
Dubai has a store that sells eco-friendly products! It's called The Change Initiative and was founded by a man named Gundeep Singh (must be Indian origin). Guess who else is on the board of directors? Robert Kennedy Jr. That's right, nephew of JFK.
The 'facility' is located in Al Barsha. 4,000 sq. metres!
I must find this place and check it out!
And when I do, I WILL write about it!
(I suppose you can tell by all the exclamation marks in here how very excited I am!)
For more information, click here