Balaka Basu's Blog, page 17

April Challenge- Zero Waste

A-Z Challenge is here and most bloggers are busy. In April I am also taking a new challenge but it is a Non-Blogging challenge and I would encourage all of you to take up this particular challenge in the near future. This is the Zero Waste Challenge. Not, zero-waist (I will not even try that one as I love to eat) but zero-waste.

This month I will try not to send anything from my home to the landfills. It is easier said than done. Most of our stuff comes in plastic packets/bags/containers and even if we try it is extremely difficult to avoid plastic or other waste, and that is the challenge.

I am not a waste management expert but using research and common sense I have chalked down a road map. Therefore the first step would be to audit the waste and then segregate them. For the first few days, I wish to only review the waste that goes out of my house. The next step would be to segregate them. A major step in the zero-waste lifestyle is the segregation of waste into four broad segments:

Kitchen waste: I would segregate this waste further into waste for Compost, seeds/stems/roots to regrow and food items that can be consumed by stray animals like bones, and leftover rice, chapati, etc.
Reusable waste:  Sell, Donate and Upcycle. Will use online and offline selling mediums to sell stuff those are in good condition but I have no need for them anymore. Donate whatever I can after making sure that they are reusable. For example, clothes that do not fit can go to homeless people, disaster relief, younger family members, or domestic help. Medicines can go to public hospitals before they expire. Leftover food from a big party at home can go to community refrigerator (I am lucky to have one in my neighborhood, others can give it to NGOs that collect food waste). Old books can be donated to the local library. Other stuff can be upcycled (this can include DIY and professional endeavors). I love to upcycle things and have been doing it for ages.
Recyclable Waste. The need of the world is recycle, recycle, recycle, therefore will try to send as many things as possible to recycle plants. Most plastic manufacturers buyback plastic and therefore it can be given back, clothes can be turned into threads, paper can be turned into the paper, crayons can be turned into crayons, electronic items can go to designated drop boxes. Instead of throwing them to the trash bin will give them back to the recycling industry.
Biodegradable waste that will go into my trash bin but they wouldn’t cause harm to the environment. I am confident this would be an extremely small amount.

I am a huge fan of Marie Kondo and often go through aggressive and exhaustive phases of decluttering. Declutter and zero-waste may sound contradictory however if you closely think about it they are not contradictory but complementary. When you declutter be mindful and segregate your waste judiciously and eventually your house and environment both would thank you.

Being mindful is the key and the first step to zero waste is to being mindful during shopping or accepting anything. REFUSE things that you do not need or that may cause environmental hazards. Being minimalist will automatically REDUCE  consumption and that is the second step in zero-waste lifestyle, the third step is REUSE ( I wrote about it above) and the fourth step is to REPLACE (this is where you can replace your plastic toothbrush to a bamboo one, plastic bag to a cloth one, plastic container to a glass one and so on and so forth. Most people make the mistake of starting with the fourth stage and get overwhelmed in a few days. By replacing we actually create more waste and therefore we should progress to that stage gradually.

Refuse

Reduce

Reuse

Replace

This is just the beginning of my journey, but I will be fine as I have been a minimalist all my life and never like to clutter my space. Now I have become even more mindful. Zero-waste lifestyle is a life of good habits. I have begun my journey now it is your turn to make your small contribution to mother nature by not contributing anything to the landfill or oceans. Hope to meet you on this journey.

 

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Feminism Vs Misandry #writebravely #celebratewritetribe

“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.”– Gloria Steinem

‘Feminist’ has almost become a cuss word these days. People are scared to be called a feminist. Whereas, we belong to the generation where we used to look up to Feminist writers like Simone de Beauvoir, Alice Walker, Germaine Greer, Nawal El Sadawi, Ismat Chugtai, and Urvashi Butalia to name a few. I did my M.Phil in Women’s Studies and was fortunate to have a few famous feminists like Jasodhara Bagchi, Malini Bhattacharya, Shibaji Bandopadhyay, Nabaneeta Dev Sen and Marie Roy (mother of Arundhati Roy)as my teachers. I have always felt proud of my feminist orientation.

However, these days, I am often ridiculed by many for my feminist thoughts. I have been trolled for writing feminist posts in this blog. There was a time when I used to write posts under the category Feminist Monday in this blog, but lately, I stopped. The worst experience happened recently. I met a ‘top’ blogger, who said that she is upset with a particular women’s magazine because she finds their content too feminist. I wanted to clarify and asked if she meant the content was too misandrous. She said that according to her misandry and feminism are the same.

She then went on to say that how much she loves her husband and family and clearly said that feminist women are those who do not love their husbands and are too career-minded and often neglect their kids and family. It goes without saying that I blocked her the moment I came back home.

I often feel like screaming at the top of my voice that please stop confusing misandry with feminism. The Oxford definition of misandry is “dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against men (i.e. the male sex)” While the Oxford definition of misogyny is “dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women“. Therefore you can see that the definition is exactly the same. Whereas, if you look at the Oxford definition for feminism you will read “The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.”

Therefore, to all the morons out there please stop shaming the Feminists for their values, instead brush up your knowledge and stop confusing misandry with feminism. While misandry is more of blind male-bashing feminism is more about equality. We should be grateful to all the feminists for whom today we have the right to vote, right to earn, right to abortion, right to remarry and not get burnt alive as a sati, right to education and even the right to travel alone. Instead of ridiculing them be grateful. And before I sign off let me utter the universal truth once again ” a man can be a feminist and a woman can be a misogynist.”

Happy Women’s Day..and read my earlier post to know why Women’s day is celebrated.

‘I’m Writing Bravely for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – March 2019’

Prompt: “A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” – Gloria Steinem 

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Gwendolyn Brooks- A Poet, A Mother #writebravely #celebratewritetribe

“One reason why cats are happier than people is that they have no newspapers.” – Gwendolyn Brooks

This year Write Tribe chose quotes from seven female authors as prompts for the Write Tribe Festival of Words. I chose ‘word‘ prompts for my previous three posts, however, for my fourth post I am selecting a ‘quote’ prompt. However, I would not base my post on the quote but on the writer behind the prompt, Gwendolyn Brooks. She was the first African-American to win a Pulitzer for her book of poems titled Annie Allen and to date one of the powerful female voices in American Literature.

Gwendolyn Brooks was born on June 7, 1917, in Topeka, Kansas. She was the eldest child of Keziah (Wims) Brooks, a schoolteacher, and David Anderson Brooks, a janitor, who, because he lacked the funds to finish school, did not achieve his dream of becoming a doctor. Brooks grew up in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents often read to her and encouraged her to do well in school. She started writing poems in her free time and by the age of sixteen, she had written over seventy-five poems.

In 1939 she married Henry L. Blakeley, another young writer, and together they would raise two children. Brooks continued to write poetry when the children were asleep or later while they were in school. Her collection titled Annie Allen was released in 1949 and in 1950 Brooks was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the same.

Throughout her career in the writing field, Gwendolyn Brooks maintained a family life and coped with the challenges as a writer and mother. Shortly after her daughter Nora was born, for example, Brooks was supposed to travel to receive an award, but couldn’t find a babysitter for the children. Nora later recollected that her mother limited travels until she and her brother were a little older. Her biographer Jackson wrote:

“This is not to say she did not struggle between motherhood and writing. In December 1951, when Hank was eleven and Nora a three-month-old infant, Gwendolyn confided in a letter to Langston Hughes that her duties and responsibilities as a mother were so overwhelming that she felt she was without time ‘to call my soul my own.’ She barely had a moment for herself, much less to write.”

Isn’t this something that all of us mothers, who are writers can relate to?

Gwendolyn Brooks used her poetic voice to spread tolerance and understanding the black experience in America. A prolific writer, she produced hundreds of poems, had twenty books published, and was recognized and honored with multiple prestigious awards during her lifetime. Gwendolyn Brooks died of cancer at the age of 83, in 2000.

‘I’m Writing Bravely for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – March 2019’

Prompt: One reason why cats are happier than people is that they have no newspapers. – Gwendolyn Brooks

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Serenity- #writebravely #celebratewritetribe

Bhutan is often called the “Land of Serenity”. It is not an exaggeration because the moment you land in Bhutan you can see how peaceful the country and its people are. I do not want to write a lot to describe Bhutan’s serenity and would rather leave a few photos for the readers to see on their own. As they say “a picture speaks a thousand words“. Do let me know if you felt serene after watching these images from Punakha Dzong, Bhutan.

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‘I’m Writing Bravely for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – March 2019’

Prompt: Serene

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Also linking this to Wordless Wednesday hosted by Esha and Natasha.

Miracle #writebravely #celebratewritetribe

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 

― Albert Einstein

I truly believe in the above quote. Everything around me is a miracle. I feel being alive is the biggest miracle and every single moment I am thankful for everything around me. There are millions of babies who die soon after being born, so the fact that I was not only born but also survived four decades on this Earth, isn’t it a miracle? There are millions who are praying for a piece of bread while I am one of the chosen who has bread on my plate, isn’t it also a miracle? I could have been one of them.

Being born a girl is a crime in this country, many girls are killed before they were born while others get killed later, however, I had parents who not only gave me birth but also education and freedom to do whatever I want to do. I could have been that girl in Rajasthan who gets abused every day but I am not, isn’t it a miracle?

So many of my dreams have come true and I consider them no less than a miracle. Life is full of miracles if you want to look at it that way but most of us are busy at looking at the negatives. We see one social media post and start believing that someone else life is far better than mine, whereas if you start considering each moment in our life as part of a mystic miracle we would realize how beautiful our life is.

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” 

― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

When we start believing that life is a miracle precisely then miracles start happening. Miracles have been happening but we were too ignorant to notice them. The key to notice miracles is by looking at everything with gratitude. We should start feeling grateful for every good and even bad things. Bad things teach us lessons and therefore we should be grateful for the lesson learnt. The moment we start realizing the importance of gratitude, our life becomes happy and joyful.

‘I’m Writing Bravely for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – March 2019’

Prompt: Miracle

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Forgive- #writebravely #celebratewritetribe

I have always found it easier to forgive others than hold on to a grudge. Being a Buddhist I am taught that forgiveness and compassion is a virtue that all of us should inculcate. Therefore, I have easily forgiven many those who wronged me and included them back in my life, however, over the years I realized that ‘forgiveness‘ is turning into an Achilles Heel for me. Many consider this virtue as my weakness and start manipulating my emotions.

There was a time when a simple word ‘sorry’ was enough to melt my heart. However, there are many who say sorry but never mean it. Therefore, it is important to understand if the person is saying sorry because he/she wants forgiveness from you or just to get his/her work done. Many would fall in the latter category who use ‘sorry‘ as a tool to manipulate and get their job done. With experience, I am now able to identify these people and honestly, I have stopped ‘forgiving’ them and that has actually made my life far better. However, that does not mean I keep nurturing grudges against them. I never let any negative feelings and always chant for these people to get a better sense.

Previously, I had a wrong notion of forgiveness and considered it as getting back to where it started, thus repeating the same pattern of wrong-doing again. Forgiving others and not holding on to grudges is good but after spending four decades in this world, my life lesson is that at times it is also good to move on. Well, forgive for the peace of your mind but also move on and do not allow that person back in your life, that eventually makes life stress-free.

When you forgive, you do not gloss over or deny the seriousness of an offense against you. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting, nor does it mean condoning or excusing offenses. Though forgiveness can help repair a damaged relationship, it doesn’t obligate you to reconcile with the person who harmed you. Forgiveness brings the forgiver peace of mind and frees us from corrosive anger. Therefore forgive but do not repeat the same pattern and move on from the toxic situation or person. Never let forgiving others become your weak point rather turn it into your strength to let go of negativity.

 

‘I’m Writing Bravely for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – March 2019’

Prompt: Forgive

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Gratitude List- February 2019

Dear February,

You have been awesome. All your 28days were packed with something amazing. Well!!! maybe other than a couple of days. So, let’s say there were 26 amazing days and a couple not-so-good days. So let me first talk about the ‘not-so-good days’.

Pulwama Attack and Aftermath: It is a condemnable attack and it also hit us on a family level. How??

My brother-in-law is in the Indian Navy and he is supposed to get married in the first week of March, but the moment India hit the JEM camp in Balakot, trust me, our first thought was ‘what will happen to the wedding?’ We were scared that he would have to cancel/postpone the wedding and go back to duty. For the following two days, we were feverishly following the news channels and after they released Captain Abhinandan did we breathe a sigh of relief.

The Gratitude list begins here….

Write Tribe Blogger’s Meet: It is always a pleasure to meet fellow bloggers. This time seven of us met at a beautiful cafe in Powai. The morning was spent laughing, chattering and eating. I especially loved the gifts that I received. The bookmarks in the following pictures are handmade by one of the bloggers and we couldn’t stop admiring them). These meets are always like a breath of fresh air. Hope to meet again soon.

Write Tribe Reading Challenge: As you must be aware that I am taking part in Write Tribe #readbravely writing challenge, this month I finished reading two books and continuing the third. The books that I read and reviewed are Ikigai and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Third one that I am yet to finish is Mossad.

Saraswati Puja: Every year I worship goddess Saraswati at my home on the auspicious occasion of Vasant Panchami. This year was no exception. I was delighted to welcome friends and family members at my place for the puja. I especially enjoyed the presence of my son’s friends. I was impressed at their dedication while offering the pushpanjali.

Joynagar er Moa: My valentine’s gift this time was Joynagar er moa. This is a special winter delicacy that is found in Kolkata during the winter months. While living in Kolkata I used to not like it, however, ever since I shifted to Mumbai, I crave for this sweet dish every winter. This time the better half was traveling to Kolkata and on his way back he brought this moa, it doubled as a Valentine gift (wink! wink!)

Trivia: Jaynagarer Moa is made with Nolen Gur (jaggery made from date palm tree extract with exquisite taste and aroma), Kanakchur khoi (a form of popped rice made from a special variety of aromatic rice), Gawa ghee (a type of clarified buttermade from cow’s milk), elach (cardamom), and posto (poppy seed). Both Nolen Gur and Kanakchur rice are winter products (available around November to January) and hence Jaynagarer Moa is available during this period only. The ordinary or common Moa is a small crispy ball made of puffed rice (“Muri” rather than “Khoi”) and jaggery. This variety of Moa originated in Jaynagar city of South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal.  Purnachandra Ghosh is considered the pioneers of Joynagar’s moa with Nitya Gopal Sarkar from Sri Krishna Mistanna Bhandar at Joynagar. That original shop is still there which is now run by Asok Ghosh, S/O Purnachandra Ghosh. There are over 250 sweetmeat shops around Jaynagar city, which produce Jaynagarer Moa with the original ingredients. It is now a popular sweet, being produced in Kolkata and elsewhere, sometimes with cheaper ingredients and chemical flavors. Jaynagarer Moa was given a Geographical Indication tag in 2015 which will enable the product to be protected from unauthorized uses and piracy.  Source: Wikipedia

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Racefor7: Those who follow me on social media are aware that I was part of racefor7, a race to raise awareness about rare diseases. The race took place in Mumbai on 24th February along with four cities in the USA. I am extremely delighted that the race was a huge success and we received support from people from all walks of life. The race will take place in different Indian cities till the 17th of March. If you wish to know more then please click here. (The green logo in the extreme right is our PAG)

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Gully Boy: After ages, I went to watch a movie with the better half. My mother-in-law was visiting us and she volunteered to look after the son so we could manage a little bit of a ‘couple time’ after eons. We went and watched Gully boy and also had momo. I loved the performance of Ranveer Singh. This boy is gradually crawling into my list of favorite actors.

Chitol Macher Muitha: I am usually not fond of cooking but there are few dishes that I love to cook, especially the ones that my Ma and grandma used to cook. Chitol Macher Muitha (a special Bengali fish delicacy) was my Grandma’s signature dish. Many a time, I tried making it in the past but each time I failed, but this time I could finally make it with the perfection that I am sure would have made my grandma proud. I almost had tears in my eyes when I tasted it. The taste reminded me of her and for a moment I could almost feel her presence. I realized food is something that can take you back to your childhood.

 

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This was my February. Let me know how was yours.

 

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Linking this post to #MondayMusings hosted by dear Corinne.

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Happy to join Vidya Sury and her Gratitude Circle

 

Colourful Boats #wordlesswednesday

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Linking this post to #wordlesswednesday hosted by two fellow Bong beauties Natasha and Esha.

Review of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- #Writetribereadingchallenge2019 #readbravely

I had read a lot of good, bad and ugly reviews about this book. Many reviewers absolutely trashed this book while others generously praised. Undoubtedly, I was curious about the book and when I finally read it I found this book  UNPUTDOWNABLE in one word. A real page-turner. I have not read such a thrilling novel in recent times.

This book was posthumously published after the author Steig Larsson died in 2004. This book is the first book on the trilogy. The book was called Men who hate Women in the original Swedish version. The other two books in the series are “The Girl who played with Fire” and “The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest“.

There are three parallel stories in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The first is the story of Lisbeth Salander an unsociable girl who is a genius when it comes to investigative research. She is such a genius that the other protagonist Blomkvist suspect that she probably has Asperger’s syndrome. She is often misunderstood and was also raped and abused. She is the one who has a dragon tattoo on her shoulder blades.

The second story is about Mikael Blomkvist who is an investigative journalist who was sent to prison for libel when he tries to uncover a corrupt business tycoon.

The third story is about a fading Business family the Vangers. Harriet Vanger mysteriously disappears 36 years back and her aging grand uncle appoints Blomkvist and Lisbeth to find the truth.

Every paragraph in this book has a new twist. The three parallel stories blend with each other in such a way that the reader has no chance to get bored. There are too many characters in this book but each and every character contribute to the narrative and therefore none of them go waste. The book also has a historic angle which takes us back to the Nazi era and talks about biblical cleansing rituals. There is also an angle of incestuous rape and secret ritual of human sacrifices combined with domestic abuse and abuse of women in general. The book also gives us a good picture of Sweden and Swedish customs. This book is worth reading and will keep you hooked.

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The prompts this book adheres to from #WriteTribeReadingChallenge2019 are

A book that is a Translation
A book written by someone of a different nationality/color/ethnic group than you
A book set in a country that you want to visit (Sweden)
A book on crime-solving
A book written by an author who is new to you
A book made into a movie

Read my book reviews of 2019 #writetribereadingchallenge:

Poonachi

The Girl on the train

Norwegian Woods

Erotic Stories of Punjabi Widows

Ikigai

French Tree-Lined Road

During my recent trip to France, I was fascinated by their tree-lined roads. Later on, I came to read that there are lots of theories as to why France has so many tree-lined roads and whose idea they were in the first place.

Many think that the Romans are responsible. It’s true that many of France’s roads are Roman roads, designed by the Romans to get from A to B in the most efficient way possible. Many of the tree-lined roads in France are incredibly straight, with trees planted at regular intervals alongside them.

Some people, however, think that Napolean was responsible. The most widely held theory is that Napoleon ordered that French roads be lined with trees so that his troops would be able to march the length and breadth of the country in the shade. It is a logical explanation, although no one knows for sure if it’s true.

Another theory is that the French aristocracy wanted to plant trees to provide shade while transporting foods and goods to and from their homes. It’s a good theory, as many of the roads linking major towns are planted with trees, so the food would have stayed fresher and drier and been in better condition when it arrived.

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This particular row of trees was exactly at the end of Champs de Elyssess. The place where the designer stores ended began this beautiful and typically French tree-lined road. This is undoubtedly one of my favourite images from the trip and I am happy to share it with all of you.

Taking the liberty to link this post to both Parul’s #ThursdayTreelove and Natz and Esha’s #wordlesswednesday