Day 12 in India. Today was our last full day in Bangalore. We fly back to New Dehli tomorrow. Seems like such a long time ago since we were there. We’ve all acquired more stuff over the last week (books from presenters and of course souvenirs) so packing checked bags that can only weigh 33 pounds is about as difficult as finding a toilet outside of the hotels that are stocked with toilet paper (ah bathrooms and toilets, that’s another topic for another post). On to other matters of the the day...
The first presenter of the morning session was Dr. Ramachandra, of the Indian Institute of Science. He and his students have done so much research on the land and his presentation was very thought-provoking. There was so much information presented and so quickly that I want to watch it all over again. He has researched how Bangalore has gone from a garden city rich with trees and vegetation, to a garbage city out of control with pollutants of all kinds, to a dead city because of the killing off of the ecosystem that is literally killing people. Oxygen scarcity is already happening and the population is continuing to grow. There’s an increase in kidney problems, cancer and other diseases.
He showed the connection to the massive growth population and the successive clearing of land which leaves the city with more pollution and less oxygen. Eco systems naturally have no waste (everything is interdependent). “Nature knows”. He talked about his work at his college campus where they planted more trees around the man-made “lake” which helped protect the water, which helped attract more wildlife, which expanded the eco systems and even improved the ground water levels and is of course providing more oxygen.
He had tons of stats and I interesting stories which really advocated for the fact that when you understand and protect the diversity of nature you understand and protect a healthier community/life.
Our afternoon was spent touring the botanical garden. What a park. They’ve brought in and protected a huge variety of trees from all over the world. Since today was a holiday, (Hindu New Year) the park was full of families. It reminded me of Memorial Day where many go to a park to picnic, play games, or just hang out enjoying the day. The sarees (long fabric wrapped around the body) and kurtas (traditional long dress) are so bright and colorful that the park was like a living rainbow everywhere you looked. We were once again the focus is many people pictures and had several people come up and ask if they could have a photo with us. I took one selfie back (should have been doing this more regularly as it’s kind of fun to have the photos). Enjoy some photos from today.
No comments:
Post a Comment