GREEN ROUTE FOR PLASTIC BAG MAKERS IN GUJARAT IS A LONG ONE Date: 6/11/19

Reference: TOI Article, 7th Oct’19, Pg 1&2

By: Parth Shastri

With the Prime Minister’s call for plastic-free India, there is chaos among the plastic
manufacturing units throughout the country. Plastic manufacturers are now rushing to get
certified as a “biodegradable plastic bag” manufacturer. The Central Institute of Plastic
Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Ahmedabad, which is the only institute to license the
material as biodegradable, has received at least 50 such applications from Gujarat. However,
this “eEcofriendly” tag does not come so comfortably. Because the current testing method to
label the material as biodegradable takes around eight months.

The first step towards going environment-friendly is to set up a biodegradable material

manufacturing plant and get the “gGreen" tag, and both of them are full of complications. Also,
owing to the higher cost of biodegradable material, ultimately, we, the consumers, are going to
feel the heat. A buyer will not prefer to purchase the costlier biodegradable bag until the usual
plastic bag is not entirely banned or made expensive. Thus, adopting the gGreen plastic bags
has its own challenges.

I genuinely appreciate and support the idea of eco-friendly bags, but I am worried about the
pPlastic, which is already lying in our ecosystem. How will we get rid of the millions of tonnes of
pPlastic which is accumulated in our ecosystem? The Government needs to look for ways to
remove this pPlastic. Since pPlastic is non-biodegradable, so the only option which comes to my
mind is its recycling. But recycling essentially requires the segregation of plastic waste from
other kinds of waste, which is not easy. The recycling methods too need to be cost-efficient and
environment-friendly. Relating the current situation to my education, I concluded that a career
based on research on Pplastic has an excellent scope in the years to come.
KNOW AND OVERCOME THE RAVANA WITHIN THIS DUSSEHRA Date: 8/11/19
Reference: 1) TOI Article, 8th Oct’19, Pg 12, By B.K. Brij Mohan
2) Dusshera greetings messages

The auspicious day of Dusshera marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon
Mahishasura and the triumph of Lord Rama over the evil king Ravana. The day which marks the
end of Navratri symbolizes the victory of good over bad. History says that Ravana was a learned
man and a great devotee of Lord Shiva. What made Ravana an evil king whom Lord Rama had
to kill? It is a question which we need to think over.

If we go back into time, initially, there was a fight between the people from two different
worlds called Heaven and Hell. Then, during the time of Ramayana, the battle was between the
kings of two different countries, Rama and Ravana, and then in the Mahabharata age, the
conflict was between the Kauravas and Pandavas, the individuals from the same family. It is
fascinating to see how the distance between the good and the bad is narrowing down with
time.

Today the conflict lies within us, inside our body and mind. The battle now is between the good
and the evil forces present inside us. We need to overcome all kinds of negative thoughts and
energies present inside us. We need to get rid of the ego, hatred, jealousy, selfishness, and
anger, and work for the betterment of the entire humanity.

This reminds me of some of my resolutions. I have decided to take control of my anger and
worries. I have taken up the challenge of fighting from within, i.e., competing with myself,
rather than competing and comparing myself with another individual. Thus, I am aspiring to
improvise myself and become a better human being.
THE ART OF SAYING “NO” Date: 9/11/19
Reference: Times Life, 29th Sep’19, Pg 2
By: Laetitia Bruce Warjri

We, Indians as kids have always been taught to speak some so-called “polite” words like
“sSorry”, “pPlease”, “tThank you”, “Yes, Sir”, “Sure, Ma’am”, “wWelcome”, “eExcuse me”,
“pPardon” etc. We have always been told to obey our elders, parents, teachers, and other
people with authority blindly. It is considered to be disrespectful to question their advice or
actions. But in life, it sometimes becomes necessary to raise our voice and put forward our
point of view. Here’s where the art of saying “no” comes into the picture.

Everybody is not comfortable and skilled in saying no, especially when the other person is our
friend or a family member. Saying no does not mean that we are becoming self-centered,
insensitive, or rude. In fact, by refusing to do something you are not capable of doing, you are
doing a favor to yourself and everyone else. We, as human beings, have certain limitations that
are beyond our control, and it is fine to stay comfortably in those limits. So, saying “no” is
definitely not being impolite, but the way you frame your “no” really matters. A direct,
straightforward “ no” can sometimes hurt the feelings of the other person.

In general, saying “no” is not at all a problem for me, but when it comes to people who are very
close to me, I get a bit conscious. I usually get into situations when my school friends plan an
outing and ask me to join them. But due to some assignment submission or an exam, it happens
that sometimes I am not able to show up. So instead of saying a direct no, I ask them to try to
postpone it some other day. Thus, I try not to make them feel ignored or neglected. Everything
apart, I firmly believe that saying “no” sometimes becomes mandatory and essential, and hence
one needs to master the art of saying “no”.