Greening the conscious

This post is part of the Chennai Bloggers Club's CBC VIBGYOR BLOG TAG 2 where some of us will write a post on the colours of VIBGYOR each day starting 1st of May to the 7th of May, 2020.

The colour theme for today's post is Green. 

The colour Green is an oft abused colour when it comes to expressing the natural world around us. Anything environmental/eco-friendly is green. Conferences on ecology/environment have splashes of green all over and the staff members also proudly display their green coloured attires complemented by green coloured folders, pens and other paraphernalia. Of late, many news reports and conscious citizens have reduced the effects of the corona virus to mention that there is less pollution, the air is clearer, the mountains are visible and so on. Some exclaim, "The green world is happy!" While this realisation is dear, it is also a gross reduction of the whole environment that has improved in say one or two months. 

A fern that I captured with my mobile camera while on a trip to Amboli, a hill station in South Maharashtra in August 2018
This is incidentally called an 'eco-hotspot'

One of my academic peers and ecocritic, Stacy Alaimo writes on her Facebook wall,

"Just because people are hearing more birds, and cetaceans are hearing fewer ships, doesn't mean that the oceans are not full of plastic, the world isn't full of toxic chemicals and radiation, and countless species and habitats and ecosystems have already been destroyed. Those species will not magically return. . . ."

The same birds which have been there are singing everyday but given the condition of the quiet around, people are waking up to the same. Green has come to signify the earth and anything that concerns the earth but sadly it stops with just that. There is an 'eco' prefix in many activities be it a corporate company's CSR or a cosmetic product which often lures probable customers with the 'eco' prefix. Synonymous with the colour green and the prefix 'eco' are the words, 'organic,' 'natural,' 'bio, and so on. It's wonderful that many of us have become aware of the ongoing climate change and the rapid acceleration rate of habitats and ecosystems but how much could we contribute and take responsibility.

I leave you with the words of Alaimo,

"The broken and horribly unjust systems will cause the most vulnerable to suffer and die during the pandemic. And struggles for social justice and environmentalism will most likely be even more daunting once things return to "normal," given that the crisis will be used as a reason for accelerated extractivism and social austerity."

Thoughts on bathing/showering everyday

Bathing and cleanliness is overrated in today's world. Many times I've pondered on the issue of bathing - whether it is mandatory to bathe everyday or the media is promoting bathing just for marketing expensive bathing soaps, body-washes and after bath moisturizers and lotions. Well, in winters atleast one can skip the routine of bathing for two to three days. The kindergarten's over emphasis on "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" is etched on the collective minds of parents and children so that a normal day without bathing is seen as an extreme form of ungodliness. By 'normal,' I mean the days when one is not unwell and completely indisposed to the usual routine of everyday.

Bathing everyday, I think is a recent phenomena. If one types 'bathing' and searches for information, Wikipedia tells us how bathing began to be seen differently in the early 19th century when it was felt that frequent bathing might lead to better health. I also remember studying about the common baths of yore where bathing was a community affair which was more for coming together and enjoying some good time in the water and also cleansing and washing the body. But taking a look at today's scenario, it seems that bathing has become something of a mandatory ritual without which one becomes a social out-caste. But this bathing I am talking about is relevant in the context of only a certain section of the mainstream society and is not homogenous for everyone.

Talking of bathing, many tourists (not a sweeping general statement, please) I have known and observed don't bathe when they are travelling. They do it only in extreme conditions where they know they are filthy and stink. I think that is a better way of going about life. In summers, I know that even bathing two times does not suffice but in winters one can refrain from the conditioning of routine. But for most of us bathing is a psychological factor rather than a real one. The mind refuses to believe that the body is clean without the simple act of water over our bodies. But one can save water and precious time when one decided to go without bathing in winter.

Clean clothes always can make up for the no bathing days. As for hygiene matters, one can definitely get by without the myth of having to bathe daily. But for those who sweat excessively and have body-odour, bathing becomes a necessity rather than an aesthetic mandatory necessity.

So, the verdict is "If you can stand it socially, you can probably get by hygienically," according to Science magazine.

I've gone for about three days without bathing. I don't smell and I feel well. What about you? Still hung-up on feeling clean and good only with a bath/shower. Well, . . .

Postscript: The Indian bathing is the Western showering. Please don't confuse that bathing refers to bathing in large egg-shaped tubs with scented jasmine oil. Many houses in India have a simple bathroom which has a shower and taps and of course, buckets and mugs :) Whatever the size of the bathrooms, whether showering or bathing, the point is about bathing everyday.

Image 1: Internet