Have you noticed that you are calmer, happier and less irritable when you are surrounded by trees, hills or picturesque beaches rather than by concrete skyscrapers, an endless queue of vehicles or piles of garbage? There are a lot of theories, scientific and otherwise that support this sort of association. And sometimes, or most times, you don’t need theories or science; a feeling/ experience is more than enough to emphasize what you thought was true. Well, I felt it too.
On my visit to Bangalore, a couple of months ago, I visited a small ‘walking/jogging’ park near my parent’s home. I was overjoyed to find it lush green. It had been a while since I had visited that park, as I had moved out of Bangalore a year ago. I used to go there regularly, when I had stayed with my parents for a year. At the time, the park was newly built, there were saplings that the authorities had planted, and there wasn’t much ‘green cover’. On now, on my recent visit, I found it overwhelmingly green and it was such a joyful feeling. I found jamun trees and children enjoying the fruits. Just a few years of patience and care was all that was required. To transform a barren looking piece of land into a green haven!
The small bursts of green along the city’s roads are a welcome sight. I remember, the ride to work in Bangalore used to be more tolerable because of the orange bursts of the feisty Gulmohar and the yellow blossoms of trees on the way. Ten years of my adult life, I was fortunate to spend in Mysore and Vellore. No traffic, no congestion, green hills close by, green and clean college campuses. I was fortunate to stay close to my place of work/education. Over the past two years though, one year each in Bangalore and Mumbai has made me experience the pros and cons of living in the ‘Big-city’. I’ve grown up in Bangalore, but life as a school student was easy, and I choose to think and believe that the traffic and other ‘cons’ in ‘those days’ wasn’t as bad as it is now. Well, the minute I use the words ‘those days’, you know I’m old and dusty, a millennial from back in the 90’s. Well that’s the truth, and the truth always has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
My recent trek to the Himalayas was therapeutic! To say the least. It was like a huge ‘shot’ of GREEN in adequate dosage. A perfect cure for boredom and restlessness experienced in the mundane and routine, but not-so-routine city life! The proximity to the mountains and the green expanses left my eyes craving with hunger for more. I could’ve sat there for hours at an end, but there was work to return to! Now I’m back amidst the concrete jungle of Mumbai. And there’s a nice green burst of an indoor plant neatly perched on my writing desk (a thoughtful gift from a friend!), as I type this page. The view outside my humble nest is green and ‘rain-washed’. And these greens make me happier! The green I see now. The green, I saw up there in the mountains. More the green, I’m sure now, more the happiness!
Hoping that there is more green and less grey in our lives this year and all the years to come!
To a greener, happier today and all the tomorrows!