At her own residential place where the window overlooks the beautiful Turahalli forest, a gripping conversation transpired with Mrs. Chaitanya Subhramanya. The  environmentalist we are talking of is an enthusiastic social worker working with myriad government organizations, NGOs, and Resident Welfare Associations. Some of her areas of work encompasses- saving the lakes of Bangalore, Green Initiative, working with the rural population, safety and security of citizens and health. 

A peek into the interaction that occurred with Mrs. Subhramanya might change the way we are living our lives.

Question- How do you feel regarding the environment in your neighborhood? On a scale of 1 – 10, how clean is it?

Mrs. Subhramanya – I would say 6.5. Compared to the recent earlier days, when I’d have given a 5, in the current times lot of cleaning activities are taking place and an elevation in the awareness of people is also witnessed. However there are a few people who do not abide by the rules … just throwing things away where they want.

Question – The pollution of which kind personally bothers you the most? 

Mrs. Subhramanya – Water Pollution. Earlier Bangalore was living up to it’s name, ‘The City of Lakes,’ with more than thousand lakes flowing through it’s lands. But now the scenario has remained the same no more with the canals, that linked the rivers, being blocked. Many flood mitigation lakes have vanished. Majestic, the main bus stop in Bangalore, was once a lake! Now we hardly have 100 to 200 lakes left in the city.

Question – What kind of environment friendly products do you buy?

Mrs. Subhramanya – We work on reduction of waste, and the most essential step is the segregation of waste: dry waste, wet waste and rejected waste. The last type of waste is basically the medical wastes like band aids and diapers. The main rejected waste coming out of a household is the sanitary pad and so we use menstrual cups and the cloth pad. We also conduct sessions to make people aware of how essential it is to eschew the pads made of plastic. The cloth pad is washable and must be dried properly in the sun, because if it is not dried wholly moisture may lead to bacterial growth. Menstrual cups must also be washed after every use with warm water.

Question – Do you feel that people who litter the roads must be fined? Is that the only way to stop pollution? 

Mrs. Subhramanya – Yes, just like children, when they do some mischief they know that a scolding from their parents awaits them, in the same way, the only way to punish adults is penalty. And the penalty should be such that it pinches their pockets. That’s the only way people will learn. Unfortunately.

Question – What inspired you to be an environmentalist?

Mrs. Subhramanya – I started off when Modi called for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. It was back in 2014 when me and my family started with the Turahalli forest. We collected the trash there and since then every Sunday, 6-8 in the morning we’d clean up.

Question –  Describe your daily routine as an environmentalist. 

Mrs. Subhramanya – I can’t say that there’s any activity that I do every single day, because I’m involved in various things like lakes and plantations, as and when a duty arrives I perform it. 

Question – Describe a time when you failed as an environmentalist and what was  

                  lesson you learned?

Mrs. Subhramanya – Every time we try to make a person aware regarding the environment and how it is our duty to take care of it, and the person understands, it’s a success. And if they understand yet they don’t follow, it’s a failure. When we conduct sessions we do not expect 100 percent of the people to follow. If at least 10 of them follows we feel satisfied and name it success and these 10 people will inspire others. It’ll be like a ripple effect.

Question – How do you feel when you hear of the Global Warming? Do you see any hope in future of things getting better? 

Mrs. Subhramanya – Yes. The youngsters are the owners of the future world. Our generation and our previous generation is culpable when it comes to the current situation of the environment and if you want good water and good air, you must begin taking care of the world right away. Nothing is impossible. We place our hope in our youngsters. It might be late but it’s never too late. 

Question – In one sentence, what message would you want to bestow on the earth?

Mrs. Subhramanya – ‘You must know how your grandparents lived and adopt their lifestyle.’