This is a fictional story of Ayaan and Zoya, based on children who live in the slums of Ghazipur, which is near now closed Ghazipur Landfill in east Delhi. Their father is a Ragpicker and both of them also helps him in rag picking. Ayaan studies on phone but doesn’t tell anybody about it. Zoya attends daily classes run by a Local NGO Chintan. Their day starts with going to a community toilet, which is newly built in their area. Then after a quick breakfast, they start with their daily routine of rag picking i.e. picking up plastic bottles, cardboard or some metal in the garbage discarded by local people. Earlier, they used to climb up the mountain of trash, but now since it’s closed, they keep roaming on streets, occasionally fighting with stray Dogs. But, they have the courage facing all this menace which is external as well as internal. As they daily come in close contact with discarded diapers and sanitary napkins. Most harmful is the medical waste like syringes or a broken thermometer with mercury releasing from it. Due to these conditions and absence of any hand gloves or safety gear, they keep falling ill on regular basis. But despite of all these hardships, they have a sweet smile on their face, because they keep finding happiness in little things like blooming of a flower or a rain shower or a simple sweet to eat. On a similar day, after a quick escape from dogs, Zoya and Ayaan were returning to their home slum. During red light of traffic, a child was fighting for a toy with his Mom. Suddenly, the mother noticed Zoya and Ayaan who were dancing in rain and pointed towards them. She says that you should learn something from them, you should not be so stubborn. She tells him to concentrate on his studies first and then think about any toy or chocolate because lot of children don’t get an opportunity to study in a good school like him. After seeing them, the boy also wanted to play with them but he nods his head in favour of his mom. Meanwhile, the traffic signal turns green and the car quickly moves away. Zoya, quickly rushes to her class and forcibly took Ayaan also to her classes. Ameena, the instructor welcomes both of them. She reminds the class that the students need to tell about their dreams i.e. What do they want to become? Zoya tells that she wants to be a Supervisor of the Gulmeher office. Gulmeher was started by CSR wing of IIFLS, after opening up a Waste to Energy plant. It provides employment to women by turning them from waste pickers to artists. They give them basic training of tailoring and embroidery. Then they become proficient in making artistic products like photo frame, greeting cards decorated with dried flowers, which are collected from nearby Ghazipur flower market. Zoya became very happy, when once she visited the office with her mother, who works there. Then it was the turn of Ayaan to tell his dream. Hesitatingly, he said that he wants to be a Rapper. Then Ameena asks him to recite a Rap. He does so in a quirky manner. His Satirical Rap was to the point on the failure of Society and Government Organisations to manage the waste and the unfortunate condition of Landfills of Delhi. He seems to be impressed by the pitch of Daily Dump’s founder and her ideology on Shark Tank. He is also seems to be worried about the increasing case of fires and landslides in the Landfills. He warns the Delhites to think about the issue seriously otherwise tell them to face the consequences like Kochi landfill fires. He praises the waste management techniques of Indore and Pune. Following this, the whole class, instructor and Zoya claps continuously.
Top 6 Eco Trekking Trails in India
Being a travelling enthusiast, I love to trek, do Yoga and gradually I am moving towards a healthy and happy lifestyle. So, I thought why not to share all amazing treks that me, my family and friends have experienced in the recent time to give you a more holistic idea of eco trekking and responsible travelling. Trekking in Himachal Pradesh– I was very fortunate to attend a trekking camp during my graduation, because I was also a NCC Cadet. First, we all reached Pathankot then took a train towards Kangra. The trekking expedition was very well planned, there were cadets of various Schools as well as College. We all stayed in a lush green campus of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Kangra installed with Solar Panels. Our first trek was towards Baijnath Temple, located in Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh. It was an easy trek, this temple was made by Pandavas during their exile. The outside view of temple was also very amazing. Next Day, We trekked towards a Monastery, namely Tashi Jong Monastery. Visiting a Monastery is always a calming and peaceful experience. But the trek in itself was difficult , we saw lot of amazing things in the trek such as Rubber trees and small waterfalls. I made lot of friends during the trek. Their were Cultural programmes also every evening in which students of each state performed their Folk Dances. I also got an opportunity to witness NCC parade of Cadets which was a mesmerising experience in itself. Next Day, We all went To Kangra Fort in a Bus. We all visited Jwala Devi Temple, Sati’s tongue is believed to have fallen at the very place where Jwala devi Temple is now situated. Kangra Fort is the largest fort in the Himalayas and probably the oldest dated fort in India, built by the royal Rajput family of Kangra State (the Katoch dynasty). On our return we saw Bears through the windows. Next Day was the beautiful experience of a homestay where we enjoyed local authentic food. Our trekking destination was a Tree, where it was believed that Vivekanand Ji meditated. Our next trekking destination was Bir Bling, which is famous for its Paragliding. It was the longest trek, we saw Fire Flies in the evening. One day we also played Volleyball and painted beautiful sceneries. On our return there was an amazing Party organised for all the Cadets by the authorities. In the evening , we also did a photoshoot and received our Certificates and Medals. It was really a lifetime opportunity for me to be a part of this trekking expedition. 2. Triund trek, Mc Leodganj McLeod Ganj or McLeodganj is a suburb of Dharamshala in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, India. It is known as “Little Lhasa” or “Dhasa” as the Tibetan government-in-exile is headquartered here and there is a significant population of Tibetans in the region. This is one of my recent trek, we reached Dharamshala, then took a local bus to Mc Leodganj. Then reached hotel and visited Dalai Lama Resident Monastery in the evening. Next day, we started our trek from Bhagsu Nag Temple. It was a 12 Km trek starting with lot of stairs, a dried stream comes in between then comes a steep trek. According to locals, during rains stream flows with water. In mid of trekking, you can take tea and maggi breaks at Cafes beautifully decorated by Waste Warriors Organisation. You will find life and motivation quotes on stones and other beautiful waste to art installations made with eco-bricks and used tetra milk packets making this trek really an eco trek. Then, you reach a spot where you can see two mountains, but the actual point was a bit more farther. Somehow, with the help of guide we reached to the top and took a sigh of relief, because the weather became a bit stormy. There were tents for our night stay, staying in them was a beautiful experience. You can do stargazing, enjoy local food at the top of the Mountains and witness beautiful sunrise amid Dhauladhar ranges next morning. Then we started our journey back to plains. The local cafes of Mc leodganj are also amazing. I bought a woolen cap, jewellery and chamomile tea on my way back home. Due to lack of time, we couldn’t visit St John’s Church at Mc Leodganj and Tea Gardens at Dharamshala. 3. Nainital, Uttarakhand My brother is very fond of Marathons, so he went to this Half Marathon organised in Nainital by Nainital govt. Nainital is a beautiful town in Uttarakhand, India. As soon as you step out of bus and travel half a mile, you get to see an amazing eye shaped, Naini Lake. According to Hindu Mythology, Sati’s right eye fell here, hence it’s called Lake of the eye i.e Nainital. The goddess Shakti is worshiped at the Naina Devi Temple, known by locals as Naini Mata Temple on the north side of the present day lake. Here, you can start your trek by covering the famous 7 points which are tiffin top, eco cave garden, lover’s point, suicide point, lake view point, dried lake view point and finally the peak point where you can take lot of beautiful photographs. If you start early, you can view amazing sunrise amid kumaon hills and other points such as Mukteshwar Dham and Apple farms with the help of telescopes which are easily available there. The amazing part was that he got to see the beautiful snow covered mountains. If you have time, you can visit Kainchi Dham. It is is a Hanuman temple & Ashram which is established by a great saint Shri Neem Karoli Baba in 1960s. It’s a holy temple surrounded by hills ,trees and river flowing besides it. Recently, Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma also visited this temple. 4. Kudremukh trek, Karnataka This is the most beautiful trek in Karnataka. The nearest railway station is at Mangalore with trains connecting to many cities. The nearest airport is also in Mangalore and is accessible by taxis. Kudre means Horse in