MANASVI SHARMA BAWA

You might have seen a number of green advocates talk about sustainability and the organic life. Going from plastic packaging to glass or leaves, eating organically grown food or use organic products to save yourself and the environment.

There is a no doubt that the ecosystem is falling and we as a generation with a number of generations behind us have greatly contributed to this downfall. The ice caps are melting, the forests are catching fire, the rivers are running dry, water levels rising and so much more. It’s a signal from the Universe that we have screwed up collectively and can now either choose to sustain ourselves and save something for our future generations or destroy and be destroyed.

Gloomy? Absolutely.

So having noticed all of these things atrocious things us humans have done, I decided to start doing my “bit”. Start small and then someday hopefully grow into a completely sustainable lifestyle. With my thinking hat on, I consumed content from across the board about how I could start contributing and building this life. Steel straws over plastic ones, cloth bag over plastic ones, glass jars for packing, eating grass fed butter instead of just any super market one, saying no to the “fast food”and embracing homemade food and more… a number of Youtube videos and articles on the web later, I sat with my mouth agape, quite literally.

Let me explain.

I hail from India and for all the things India is known for, it was and in some parts is everything the World is wanting to be. Sustainable and Organic. In India, we have been practising a sustainable life with organic elements, the path the rest of the World is heading currently, of course, with the influence of various factors Indians themselves have digressed and resorted to the ‘ready-made’ life in lieu of less time and the availability but here is how a number of homes still operate.

• Ghee – As far as trends go, Ghee or clarified butter is the new kid on the block for the Western World but for Indians, Ghee has been the focus of our lives ever since we grew up. I remember my Grandmother saying Ghee could cure all ailments and make food taste a million times tastier. Imagine this, a hot roti (Indian bread) with a dollop of ghee with a yummy dal (lentils) on a cold day. BLISSFUL. I cannot begin to explain to you how delicious it is, I can never do justice with mere words. All the nut butters of the World are no match, I honestly can say that.

• Coconut Oil – Predominantly used in Southern Indian homes, coconut is a key element in stews, dals and more. Coconut oil is also found in every Indian household for hair, skin ailments, chapped lips and even as a make-up remover (do try, its amazing). The trend alert on coconut oil just like ghee began in the new social media World but it has been existing in our culture for way longer and continues to hold a special place in our shelves.
  
• Stainless Steel Tiffins – I remember being in school and everyone having the same steel tiffin box with locks on the side. Many a times, tiffins would get lost so our mothers would put name tags on them for easy identification. As a child, as many I found the steel boxes boring, lifeless and with the introduction of plastic tiffins and the launch of the Tupperware life it all seemed colourful again. Little did we know what it all mean’t. Today, I see people going back to the steel tiffins or storage cases and look back at the time when I actually was living a more sustainable life than many other Worldwide.

• Earthen Pots – Growing up in India mean’t making sure you fed water to strangers by simply putting out an earthen pot outside your house along with a bird feeder during summer or winter. Earthen pots were also used within the house called “Surai” which is known to keep water cool in rather dire temperatures. Sustainability and the cruelty free life eh? Sustainability advocates across the World are now discovering this gem.
  

• The “Turmeric” Secret – Firstly, for anyone wondering it IS tu-R-meric and not t-u-meric. That being said, turmeric as a trend with Turmeric Latte’s and Turmeric fritters has just come up in the last 5 odd years but has been a part of my culture and many Asian countries for a very long time. Known for its medicinal qualities, turmeric is a magic spice that is added in every “curry”, fritters, milk and even face packs. Nothing says organic than a turmeric and honey chai or even face mask. Nothing.
  
• Ceramic/Glass Jars/ Woven Sacks – I often see zero waste advocates talking about carrying glass jars to wholesale markets to get their food measured. Back in the day, growing up we did not have the super market culture of walking into a store and filling up a shopping basket with plastic bags. Essentially, we visited a grocer every month and bought our groceries in bulk which mean’t packing it in woven sacks, cloth bags provided by us or even glass jars. More so, if our grandmothers or mothers were to pickle mangoes, radishes, cauliflowers etc they used glass jars called ‘martaban’ and left them out in the sun to do its own thing.

From eating on banana/peepul tree leaves to using our hands as opposed to plastic cutlery, the Indian subcontinent has always been leading a sustainable and organic lifestyle. Ashwagandha, Tulsi, “detox teas” and much more that is in trends now has existed in a World of the East for a very very long time. With Westernization setting in and in no way do I mean that in a negative sense as it introduced us to an easier ready to go life, but what it did do was that it took us away from the concepts we always had followed.

India is not a perfect country and honestly, which country is?! But I like to reminisce of a time when we lived a sustainable life without the burgers and fries, happy with our chaats which we at least knew were freshly made in front of us instead of consuming something that was mass produced for who knows how long packed with preservatives.

This debate is never ending, but I wanted to share this nugget of information with the World that is now heading where I grew up. I am happy to go back to those times as a grown up but I also wish, we as humans hadn’t messed up things to such a great extent just for some easy peasy time saving cheaper way of life.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

As always,

Stay tangled! xxx

Ps. I can hear my grandmother saying “I told you so!”.

This article was originally posted on Manasvi Sharma Bawa’s Linkedin Account.