A Question to be Asked

Saturday, 31st March, 2007: 7.30 PM to 8.30 PM;

Saturday, 29th March, 2008: 8 PM to 9 PM;

Saturday, 28th March, 2009: 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM;

Saturday, 27th March, 2010: 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM;

Saturday, 26th March, 2011: 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM (A Futuristic View).

Can you search out any similarity between these dates? You can find out one, if you’re good enough in analytical reasoning. These dates are similar in a kind of being on last Saturday of every March.

You can find out a relationship if you are an ardent environmentalist.

From 2007 onwards, on every last Saturday of March, every year an occasion is celebrated for the cause of global community. The concept idealized by WWF Australia and Leo Burnett Sydney, an advertising agency, spread out its wings to promote and unite world community for a common purpose, by providing a global platform and a cause.

It was named ‘The Big Flick’ earlier, but, thanks to Leo Burnett for renaming it to a simple one, for the world to grace its appearance every year and remember the celebration till its arrival the next time:

An Earth Hour.

Before coming to MBA, I was aware of this concept, but, how it gives the very cause of ‘Saving Earth’ a real time effect every year was an unknown fact to me.

I witnessed it for the 1st time on, 27th March, 2010, from 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM. I was staying in ‘GN Hostel’ the one provided for accommodation during 1st year tenure by my MBA institution ‘Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida’.

Lot of enthusiasm for this was instilled in us by a very invigorating message on mail by our Institute’s Deputy Director regarding:

Effects of Global Warming;

Event Earth Hour;

How our college will also be supporting this cause of ‘Saving Mother Earth’.

We were instructed to switch off all the lights and fans during the 1 hour period. We were encouraged to use as much minimum electricity as possible during this episode.

Every single mind living in the hostel or for that matter you can say every other person living on this planet was ready to relive this dream episode conceptualized by WWF and Leo Burnett.

A formality of just switching off the lights and fans was carried out at exact 8.30 PM and suddenly the world around me seemed to be in darkness which I never before witnessed. It was really a great feeling to be a part of a global cause and reliving the dream with tens of thousands of people across the 5 continents.

For an hour or so, it was really an amazing mood to be back into the days which our ancestors lived: No Electricity. An hour episode, in true sense made me realize the value of electricity in our life. I was getting impatient to switch on the TV set to watch IPL match, being a great fan of it, but, was not allowed to do so.

At 9.30 PM exact, the much awaited IPL match was set on along with the lights and fans all over the hostel. It took some minute to realize that we have been back from a really beautiful experience, which was shared across the world.

But, a thing perturbed me after around half an hour of this chapter, as I was walking alone with my thoughts in the garden:

For that much celebrated 1 hour, we were very much aware of the causes of: Global Warming and Its Consequences. We were very much passionate about: Proper utilization of Electricity and No Wastage of it. We were a part of a celebration and a cause of global community without even being related to WWF or Leo Burnett.

But, what happened after 1 hour: We were again into our usual mode of switching on lights and fans in the premises of where it is not even required. It happened in our hostel and I think it must have all over the world. Lights and Fans were switched on in the common rooms of our hostel where the presence of a human being would have been a question mark. We were in the period of our 3rd Trimester exams at that time; TV sets were just switched on in the common rooms with full volume, so as to make the commentary reach in the nearby rooms, to get the glimpse of an ever exciting cricket match conceptualized by Lalit Modi.

This wastage of electricity made me to think on some points, which I would like to present here:

1) Is it really the Earth Hour, which will save our Mother Earth, from the basic consequences of Global Warming?

Or is it the sustained efforts of each one of us for the every other second we are living on this beautiful planet, which will save it from ill effects of Global Warming?

2) Then this episode is just like: Zindgai bhar jitne chahe paap chadha lo, baad main toh pavitra Ganga nadi hain hi apne paapon ko dhone ke liye.

It is not that Sachin Tendulkar played only 1 One Day inning every year in his 20 years of illustrious career, to make 20 innings in the whole career, and score 500+ runs in each inning so as to reach the mark of 10,000+ runs. It is the consistency for every single second of those 20 years which is now paying him a lot in terms of: Money; Recognition; and Respect.

We as a human being require constant: Love to care for us; Food to energize us for our works; Respect to stand with pride in the crowd; and Recognition to praise the work beautifully crafted by us.

Or are we satisfied if:

We are loved by our parents and near and dear ones only once a week and for rest of the time they hate us;

We get food to energize ourselves once a week and for rest of the coming 7 days we keep ourselves starving;

We are respected only once in a month from someone and then we are torn apart from the world till the next coming period of respect for us and meanwhile we are disrespected;

We are recognized for our work done only once in a year and that too for the single recent that has happened and rest all are forgotten.

I do bet, if this would happen with anyone of us, it would be unbearable and we won’t be able to survive.

Then how can we think of surviving our Mother Earth only through a 1 hour period along the year.

It is not at all about criticizing the event: An Earth Hour. I do respect in a passionate manner, the whole reasoning with which it was started.

We love and respect our parents’ whole round the year, or do we really need a special occasion only to show our affection and admiration for them. But, just to mark the occasion and show our gratitude to them (which no one can ever show), we celebrate ‘Mother’s Day’; ‘Father’s Day’.

We are fond of our friends and are waiting to meet them the every other day at: School; College; Office, or do we really need an extraordinary event to meet them. But, a celebration is always due on: ‘Friendship Day’ itself.

We love ourselves a lot and it is the same from our parents and friends for us, but, we are always special on our: Birthday. We are the same ones on this day, nothing changes expect the age of ours, but, the birth of ours in a mankind is celebrated in the most perfect manner, we can.

Like this there are many such occasions we celebrate all round the year to mark the exquisiteness of the day. But, our Love; Respect; and Recognition for these relations remain the same or it grows inside us with every other passing day, spent with our loved one and we don’t really need a day to: Care for someone; Value someone; or for that matter to Distinguish someone’s work done for us.

So, why can’t it be the same in our relationship with: Mother Earth?

We can always give from our side a sustained and a passionate attempt to: Save Electricity and Water, which now serves as the basic necessities of the mankind. As we celebrate our occasion, we can always be a part of and celebrate the cause of: An Earth Hour, every year. But, can we love our Earth whole round the year in the cause which is given by this episode.

To achieve Perfection is a task, which is not accomplished by a day or two. It a result of: Consistency; Perseverance; and Hard work day after day; hour after hour; and seconds after seconds of our breath.

But, this would be really achieved only after we start perplexing ourselves with a basic question:

‘Do we really need An Earth Hour to Save Our Planet Earth?’