Elemental Emergency

Can we work for a pollution-free future even as we face existential threats?

- Vineetha Mokkil

"You probably doubt that we were capable of joy, but I assure you we were.

We still had the night sky back then, and like our ancestors, we admired its illuminated doodles...

Absolutely, there were some forests left! Absolutely, we still had some lakes!

I'm saying, it wasn't all lead paint and sulfur dioxide"

-Letter to Someone Living Fifty Years from Now, Matthew Olzmann

SEVEN years ago, a family of three moved to Delhi with two bags in hand, and big dreams in their hearts. Rajesh, who belongs to Bharatpur, Rajasthan, found a job as a cab driver in the capital. His wife Jyoti enrolled their six-year-old son, Anurag, in school. Anurag made new friends. Jyoti joined a women's self-help group in their neighbourhood. The three of them got used to Delhi's rhythm, but what they couldn't handle was the pollution. Anurag developed a chronic cough and breathing problems. Hospital visits became a regular nightmare. Rajesh also had his share of health troubles: chest pain crippled him when the air quality worsened in winter. His eyes would water all the time and customers would ask him why he looked so sad when he ferried them across town. He carried on working, but he couldn't bear to see his son suffer. In two years, an anxious Rajesh convinced Jyoti and Anurag to move back to their hometown. He promised to visit them every month.