Batti Bandh

This is something I had once thought of initiating through this blog. I imagined suggesting that all of us decide to turn off all our electricity for a fixed 15 minutes every single day. That would be easy to achieve. I imagined getting lots of people charged up about it.

But I wanted to make a grand statement. I wanted to announce it with facts, figures and statistics. Saying that switching off power for x minutes will save to run y number of things for z number of hours, and so on. You know, those impressive statistics you see in pamphlets about climate change and water conservation. So of course the plan sank into the backseat and wedged itself there, since I never hunted out those statistics.

So when I realised Bombay was doing it at last, I felt, first, cheated that I hadn't been the one to suggest it, and then, shamed and motivated into full participation! So we did it too. We had friends over for drinks and dinner, and they all walked into a dark house, with candles in the kitchen where I was frying the kababs. (Though I must admit that we didn't switch off the fridge.) And so, our house, and the 3 houses our guests had left empty for the evening, certainly contributed to the effort yesterday!

Now that it's begun, do you think we can all (and I mean all you readers, the commenters and the lurkers) volunteer to pick at least 15 or 30 minutes of the day, after dark, when you'll switch off all lights and electrical gadgets in your house? And ask others to do so? Everyday? Let me know.

This is a small thing we all need to know and do. Oh, I know there are theories out there that global warming is a myth. That the hype about the gravity of it is politically motivated. But saving some electricity can only be a good thing. It even brings down your bills! And, being forced to go without it for an hour last night reminded me how much I took it for granted. That sunset did not mean the end of the day because of that magic switch at my command. We need electricity. So let's respect and appreciate it. Let's not be tube lights about this!

Zor se bolo, BATTI BANDH!!!