Heroes of Mother Nature
Eco Warrior, Deepa Rai
An interview with a tree-lover
Deepa Rai, who, I am privileged and honoured to call my friend, is not your everyday weekend eco-warrior. She is a 24/7 Eco-Warrior, whose social media posts are replete with how all of us can, in small ways, and big ones, protect the environment from damage: damage that centuries of human misuse have created.
Take for instance, this simple piece of advice: Do not throw away your used plastic covers. Stuff them into a plastic bottle that you need to throw away, as many as you can, so that all of them stay in one space, and are not clogging up waterways and arterial water supplies, and stop wild animals who forage for food from being choked to death. It also saves space in the dustbin.
And this: On World Environment Day, June 9th, she highlighted a call to action, by an environmental group that created 100000 ‘seed balls’, a seed wrapped in compost-filled soil, to resemble a tiny ball, that could be planted, and grown into a tree.
I haven’t seen any post that talks about herself, her family or her achievements and her frequent travels. When I told her that I wished to get some answers from her for a virtual interview, I had to ask her half a hundred times to tell me something about herself. For the rest, I had to flesh out from her Facebook posts.
She is one of the bravest persons I know.
When we were in Bir, Himachal Pradesh, getting kitted out for our paragliding adventure, she was the only one who didn’t begin immediately. No, she was waiting for that time of day when there were the maximum thermal currents, so she could sail and glide as high as possible. Whether it was camel riding, climbing, trekking or hiking, she was always game for it.
She speaks of Permaculture, of simple ways and means to save the Cauvery River, and how to reduce effluents; of how to make sure we preserve the trees we have and plant more, for every tree that careless and rapid, unplanned ‘development’ destroys.
She is not playing to the gallery: her heart’s in it. She is an active and dedicated participant at every drive to plant trees, help the environment, clean beaches and roads.
I met her when I went on a solo trip arranged by a woman’s Start-Up Group, F5Escapes, which plans holidays and adventure trips exclusively for women in out-of-the-way tourist spots that tourists don’t venture into. And she completely floored me with her energy levels, her kindness and compassion, her self-effacing nature and the courage of her convictions. And a smile that could stop anyone within a hundred yards of her.
Ø Tell us something about yourself, briefly.
One of the million human beings aspiring to make earth greener, cleaner, and beautiful. I have an MBA from Ohio University. My professional portfolio includes Finance and Business Analytics | Internal Audit and Strategic Consulting. I work with Philips.
Ø Why were you attracted to Nature?
Being outdoors always gave me energy, calmness, and excitement. Green is my favorite color, and the variety of green can be observed in leaves all around us.
Ø Who was your inspiration in this?
Transformation of the city: Living in Bangalore for few decades, we have observed how the city has changed after the globalization bloated up the quiet, cool, garden and lake filled city with global population and amenities.
Ø How do you intend to give back to Nature?
Looking to buy a small piece of farmland and build a community of like-minded families with whom we dream of creating a micro-climate like Bhutan. Learning sustainable and earth-friendly practices like Permaculture, leveraging Earth and Bamboo as primary building materials and water conservation.
Ø How do you inspire people to follow your example?
Helping people around me to have urban garden — showing mine as example 😊. By following the Nike slogan — ‘Just do it’. Whenever feasible, take time to volunteer for tree planting, lake saving activities. Being cognizant of the plastic and water use in our daily lives and using social media, whenever possible, to inspire people (under my sphere of influence on these topics).
Ø Are you affiliated to any organization?
Mother Earth
Ø Do you plan to start your own movement in future?
Member and participating in groups like-minded people currently. We don’t need new movements but sustaining, perseverance and expansion of existing movements to preserve whatever is left of nature with us.
Ø How do you get across the message of saving nature, to younger people?
It is commonly said that ‘children learn from adults. Our daily lives at home, school, society needs to inculcate practices, thinking, and activities that helps them own the nature journey.
I haven’t changed anything in what Deepa sent, except her academic and professional qualifications, in the first answer. Deepa is so self-effacing that I had to coax, persuade and gently bulldoze her into submitting this write-up. And if I sound gushing and verbose, it is because she’s my kind of wonder woman: talks less, works more and is strong, brave and selfless.
